fixing a nikon ai lens ?

[davidswiss]

I have a 55mm f2.8 Ai lens in which the aperture is stuck at f16 It was ok but it's had little use over the last few years and the grease on the aperture blades needs to be eased or removed.
I've never done any work on a lens but gather from other posts that this job is not too difficult. Any advice would be appreciated, even if it's "take it to a technician".

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Richard Haw's instructions for this lens.

Repair: Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 Ai-S

Hello, everybody! It’s starting to get a lot colder now and the bugs have all crept back to their hiding places to wait for the coming spring next year. I love bugs, they’re tiny but th…

richardhaw.com

Nikon used some awful lubricants during part of the run of this lens, and seepage to the blades was common.

 

[peterm1]

Aperture blades should never have grease on them - though many do because over the years it can leak from the helicoids. This usually happens because in hot summers the grease softens and runs especially as the grease gets older and the components in the grease separate. If this happens, to fix it properly, the helicoids need to be disassembled and the grease needs to be fully replaced but this is about the biggest job that can be undertaken on the lens as it needs a complete breakdown. But cleaning it off the aperture blades more superficially can be a stop gap measure and is in principle simple with many lenses................... However, according to the above link this is a particularly complex lens to work on so you may be better advised to put it into the hands of a technician even for that task. I have cleaned some Nikkors but not this one and might be inclined not to try given Haw's description.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Any Nikon lens with CRC, or any lens with a floating group for that matter, is going to be pretty complex and may just be a pie tin of parts for a beginner.
Phil

 

[wlewisiii]

Richard Haw's instructions for this lens.

Repair: Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 Ai-S

Hello, everybody! It’s starting to get a lot colder now and the bugs have all crept back to their hiding places to wait for the coming spring next year. I love bugs, they’re tiny but th…

richardhaw.com

Nikon used some awful lubricants during part of the run of this lens, and seepage to the blades was common.

I saw the title on the thread and without reading looked up Mr. Haw's site and then came back to see you'd already linked it 👍

But, yeah, I agree with Peter. I'd not go inside that one myself 😉

 

[Horatio]

Or it could be your “sunny 16” lens.

 

[davidswiss]

Thanks chaps, I'm off to get a quote just now.

 

[kbb]

Nikon USA still services this lens as of 1 year ago. Price was reasonable.

 

[peterm1]

PS I forgot to mention...................I had a Nikkor AI 105mm f1.8 serviced recently due tot he same problem. I fell to chatting with my camera guy who told me that a number of this era's Nikkors are prone to this issue due to the way they are designed and built with the helicoids in especially close proximity to the iris. I am pretty sure he mentioned the 55mm f2.8 as one of those especially prone lenses due to this design arrangement.