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Stern Flipper Link Replacement NOTICE: For some very important information, please read the Technical Article Notice and Disclaimer, found on our Technical Articles Index page before performing any of the work described below. The information given below assumes you have read the Notice and Disclaimer first. CONTACTING US: (Please Read) Parts & Supplies: Free free to call or e-mail us if you have any questions about parts that we sell which are mentioned in any of the Technical Articles on our site. Technical Help & Questions: E-mail and Phone Help: We do not provide any technical help by phone or e-mail, unless you bought your game directly from our shop. If you did not, we cannot help you- please do not contact us. We simply do not have the time or resources to provide technical assistance by e-mail or phone for games that did not come directly from our shop. Instead, please see the section below on "Do It Yourself" for further help. Pinball Repair: If you have a game that you need serviced or repaired, please see our Game Service & Repair page for further info. Do-It-Yourself: For information on working on your own game, see the online repair guides at www.pinrepairs.com Stern solid-state pinball games made between 1978 and 1985 used a unique plastic linkage between coil plunger and flipper crank, which gets brittle and breaks over time. Stern stopped producing parts for these games in about 1985 and they have been nearly impossible to find ever since. We've had good luck making new plunger linkages from a Williams bakelite link piece- the piece used on Williams outhole kickers. It's part # 01-4251. In the past, this piece has come in two thicknesses- the proper piece should be about 1/16" to 3/32" thick. If you happen to get one that's thinner, then you have to double them up. The thin ones will break with just a couple of flips. The end of this link that has the big hole in it will fit right over the stud on the Stern flipper crank. You will have to clip off the end of the link with the small hole- clip off right across the center of the small hole. Then you have to drill a small hole in the other end of the link where it will fit into the plunger/roll-pin. Use your old Stern linkage piece for a template. Then pop the roll pin out of the plunger, remove old linkage, install new, and tap roll pin back in. The large hole on the linkage piece is slightly bigger than the stud on the flipper crank, so you have to make a bushing to fit between the stud and linkage. We went to our local hobby shop and got two pieces of aluminum tubing- one just smaller than the other. The small tube fits perfectly inside the big tube. The small tube fits perfectly over the stud on the crank. The large tube fits perfectly inside the large hole on the linkage piece. So together, they have the right diameters and thickness to make a perfect bushing for the new linkage piece. Cut off two small pieces of this new "tube", about 1/8", clean the burred edges, and use them for bushings. Place the bushing over the stud on the crank (I use a dab of white lithium grease for lubrication- available at any good auto parts store). Then place the linkage piece over the bushing and stud. Then install your retaining clip onto the stud. About as perfect a fit as you can get! End of Stroke Switch: For EOS switch, you can use Williams part # 03-7811 without any modifications- fits right in and works great. Back to Top

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