Canon QL17 GIII aperture problem

[zeranico]

Hey there

I just bought a Canonet QL17 GIII for what seemed a fair price.....

but after checking it out I noticed the aperture seems to be stuck at around 16 or something ... the wheel turns ok but I can see that it doesn open up wide for example if I adjust it to 1.7....

the shutter and other mechanism seem to work perfectly and the former owner says it worked fine last time he used it (might be a few years ago though)

any ideas what could be the problem?

 

[40oz]

Aperture only moves with the ring if the camera is wound. It will stop down, but not open back up until you wind it.

 

[zeranico]

I´ve tried moving it in all ways possible just no I wound it set the aperture to 1.7 and shutter to bulb and held the shutter down for a few secs, wich should make the aperture open wide but nothing happens

 

[zeranico]

Aperture blades are stuck due to oil on them.

damn .... is that hard to fix?

 

[gb hill]

A repair manuel for your canonet is here. Good luck with it.

http://www.pentax-manuals.com/repairs.htm

 

[cosmonaut]

I freed a sticking shutter with a Q Top and lighter fluid. Just a drop though and then let dry. It may take several cleanings to do the trick. Getting the len rings off is not to hard. I just took a very small screw driver and tapped around the ring to free it up. It's not as hard as you would think. It can be done.....
Cosmo