Leica LTM - Recommended Time Interval for Cleaning

[Pioneer]

I have a Leica LTM that I have been using pretty steadily (two to three rolls per month) for a little over 4 years. It is still running just fine but out of curiosity what time interval did Leica recommend for having these Barnack Leicas cleaned and lubed? I know that this is not an exact science, but what is a good time interval based on the experience of this group.

 

[chuckroast]

I have a Leica LTM that I have been using pretty steadily (two to three rolls per month) for a little over 4 years. It is still running just fine but out of curiosity what time interval did Leica recommend for having these Barnack Leicas cleaned and lubed? I know that this is not an exact science, but what is a good time interval based on the experience of this group.

My rule: When it stops working reliably or every 20 years.

 

[Pioneer]

My rule: When it stops working reliably or every 20 years.

That sounds like a good rule to me. I have usually burned holes in my shutter curtain by this time so being 4 years on with no attention is a new experience for me. 😀

 

[Coldkennels]

An addition to the solid advice from @chuckroast: it will depend a lot on the "CLA" that was last performed on the poor thing.

A "flush clean", or adding more lubricant on top of the old stuff? Yeah, you'll probably have to have someone redo that (and continue to crank the shutter tension higher) every few years.

A proper full strip down, deep clean, rebuild, and relubricate? That should run a lot longer.

I say this because I'm still bitter about the frankly piss-poor (and overpriced) service on a IIIf at a certain London-based Leica specialist back in 2014 that only made it two years before having to go to Red Dot to be done properly. After that it kept running until a "patched" section of the shutter curtain failed in 2022, and the curtain had to be replaced.

 

[Godfrey]

I have a Leica LTM that I have been using pretty steadily (two to three rolls per month) for a little over 4 years. It is still running just fine but out of curiosity what time interval did Leica recommend for having these Barnack Leicas cleaned and lubed? I know that this is not an exact science, but what is a good time interval based on the experience of this group.

Hmm. That's about 5200 exposures in four years ... really not "a lot", just a reasonable amount of use. Unless it's showing signs of distress or inconsistent operation, I'd keep shooting. 😉

I never think of the interval between services myself. Most of the film cameras I've bought in the past 25 years I had refurbished/overhauled/serviced when I got them, and none have needed anything since that initial cleaning and setting to right. EG: My M4-2 desperately needed a service when I got it, the rangefinder was out of collimation and calibration. So I had it CLA'ed and the rangefinder serviced. My tech guy told me it could use a new shutter and calibration too, but that was 13 years ago and it's still working fine. 🤷‍♂️ I'll get to it someday...

G

 

[Dralowid]

The Leica III that I bought in 1965/6 from Wallace Heaton needed a service in 2000. It is still working well though gets much less use nowadays.

So I'd suggest 25 year intervals if done properly and if the camera is used regularly.

I suspect the service interval would get much shorter if the poor thing is hardly used at all or, for that matter, if it is used daily and intensively.

 

[Jonathan R]

The Leica III that I bought in 1965/6 from Wallace Heaton needed a service in 2000. It is still working well though gets much less use nowadays.

So I'd suggest 25 year intervals if done properly and if the camera is used regularly.

I suspect the service interval would get much shorter if the poor thing is hardly used at all or, for that matter, if it is used daily and intensively.

Wallace Heaton - that name takes me back. I used to pop round to their shop on Fleet Street to buy supplies for our school darkroom.

 

[Dralowid]

Wallace Heaton - that name takes me back. I used to pop round to their shop on Fleet Street to buy supplies for our school darkroom.

Second hand round the back and a great annual catalogue with exotic things like Reids and Alphas in it.

 

[Pioneer]

Hmm. That's about 5200 exposures in four years ... really not "a lot", just a reasonable amount of use. Unless it's showing signs of distress or inconsistent operation, I'd keep shooting. 😉

I never think of the interval between services myself. Most of the film cameras I've bought in the past 25 years I had refurbished/overhauled/serviced when I got them, and none have needed anything since that initial cleaning and setting to right. EG: My M4-2 desperately needed a service when I got it, the rangefinder was out of collimation and calibration. So I had it CLA'ed and the rangefinder serviced. My tech guy told me it could use a new shutter and calibration too, but that was 13 years ago and it's still working fine. 🤷‍♂️ I'll get to it someday...

G

The shutter was replaced by Youxin almost exactly 4 years ago and though he didn't say anything I think he would have if he thought it needed further work.

I try to give all my cameras some regular use so none of them are really getting beat to death. My ZM probably gets the most use but even that is only about 100 rolls a year. Even that will probably slow down a touch as my Argus is just coming back from a good cleaning so it will be joining the herd as well. It is kind of like kids and dogs. You have to give all of them some attention on a regular basis or they start acting up. Even my K1000 sees the sun pretty regular though it can slow down a little in the winter. Face it, I'm not getting any younger so my bones are getting less and less fond of those walks through the snow drifts.

I had my Contax II serviced, cleaned and adjusted by Henry (RIP) back in 2010 and that one has been running with the same level of exercise without a problem since then. I kind of figured the Leica would run for quite awhile as well but when I read though my pile of books, etc, there was nothing mentioned so I thought I would ask.

 

[Pioneer]

The Leica III that I bought in 1965/6 from Wallace Heaton needed a service in 2000. It is still working well though gets much less use nowadays.

So I'd suggest 25 year intervals if done properly and if the camera is used regularly.

I suspect the service interval would get much shorter if the poor thing is hardly used at all or, for that matter, if it is used daily and intensively.

That is a fair amount of time. The only camera I have that goes back anywhere near that far is my K1000 and that is only into the 70s. I finally sent it in about 10 years ago for a lube job. I wish my truck would go that long between lube jobs but it seems to crave the attention. 😀

 

[chuckroast]

The shutter was replaced by Youxin almost exactly 4 years ago and though he didn't say anything I think he would have if he thought it needed further work.

I try to give all my cameras some regular use so none of them are really getting beat to death. My ZM probably gets the most use but even that is only about 100 rolls a year. Even that will probably slow down a touch as my Argus is just coming back from a good cleaning so it will be joining the herd as well. It is kind of like kids and dogs. You have to give all of them some attention on a regular basis or they start acting up. Even my K1000 sees the sun pretty regular though it can slow down a little in the winter. Face it, I'm not getting any younger so my bones are getting less and less fond of those walks through the snow drifts.

I had my Contax II serviced, cleaned and adjusted by Henry (RIP) back in 2010 and that one has been running with the same level of exercise without a problem since then. I kind of figured the Leica would run for quite awhile as well but when I read though my pile of books, etc, there was nothing mentioned so I thought I would ask.

Yes, my "It Broke/20 year" recommendation assumes the camera is being fired regularly. I fire every mechanical shutter in my stable monthly at the lowest and highest speeds as well as exercising backs and bodies. The greatest enemy of precision equipment of this sort is lack of use. The lubricants will pack up and the migrate if you do don't use them regularly.

FWIW, I do this with other mechanical devices as well. Regular light use ensures better long time life: Even if conditions don't require it, I run in 4-wheel drive for a few miles any time the road gets wet to keep everything moving happily (4WD on bone dry surfaces that cannot allow the wheels to slip is not recommended). Ditto mechanical watches. Ditto fountain pens, etc.

For that matter, I try to make regular use of my own carcass regularly 😉

 

[Pioneer]

At one time I had so many cameras and lenses that it was almost impossible to keep them all adequately exercised. Now I am down to just a few rangefinders, only a couple of slr cameras and a few large format shutters. I probably still have too many but I like what I have so I'll keep them around for awhile.

Because of where I live my old truck gets off road pretty regularly so it gets lots of chances to go in and out of 4-wheel. Lately with hunting season it has been almost daily. Of course I am not too sure it qualifies as a precision instrument. 😀

 

[rfaspen]

My truck loves to have its front wheel hubs locked from time to time. 😎
Not a big SUV type....my precious little Toyota 4WD is smaller than my wife's standard sedan here in the US. My little nimble truck can go where nothing else could. Since I'm not into destroying the landscape, we ( my truck and I) usually just navigate back roads and sometimes washed out former roads.
Always with a Leica on the bench seat.....(I'm only partly joking).....

 

[Jonathan R]

My ZM probably gets the most use but even that is only about 100 rolls a year.

Only?! 10 exposures every single day?! I don’t mean to divert this thread away from the question of camera service interval, but that seems like pretty intensive use to me, given that I’ve used fewer than 300 rolls in my entire life. Are you professional?

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Only?! 10 exposures every single day?! I don’t mean to divert this thread away from the question of camera service interval, but that seems like pretty intensive use to me, given that I’ve used fewer than 300 rolls in my entire life. Are you professional?

I've shot about 7000 rolls of film. I've been into photography since I was a kid, and have been a professional since I was 18 (I am 50 now). My commercial work has been all digital for the last 25 yrs, but I still shot a lot of film for my fine art work.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Leica's recommendations for these cameras are probably not valid anymore. Modern synthetic lubricants last a very long time, and if you've had the shutter curtains replaced modern ones probably last longer then the originals did. Old natural oils broke down faster than modern lubricants; cameras used professionally were often CLA'd yearly and those used by serious amateurs probably needed overhauled every 5 or 6 yrs back when these cameras were new. You can probably go 20 yrs with one that is properly serviced today.

I see a similar phenomenon with my watch repair work. Old watches that have not been serviced in decades full of dried caked up old lubricants. Watch manufacturers in the 50s recommended having the watch serviced yearly! Today manufacturers recommend servicing mechanical watches every 5 or 6 yrs, and that is probably not really needed for many of them given the long life of modern watch lubricants.