Tele-Elmar 135/4 focus patch issue on M6 TTL

[JeffMerlet]

New to RF. Got 2 months ago my first Leica a M6 TTL with a 'cron 35/2 that I'm really enjoying.

Yesterday I received (bought from the auction site) a tele-elmar 135/f4 (from 1970 but in E+ shape) on my M6 TTL but the focus patch is not changing when I'm turning the focus ring on the lens. I unmounted/mounted several times the lens to be sure that I was doing it correctly, tried different apertures, etc. but no luck.

For me, it seems as if the kens is not "able to communicate" the focus change to the camera. As it seems that the lens as almost not been used at all (as really like new), I imagine that some CLA would need to done on the lens to lubrificate the "mechanical part signaling" the focus change to the camera. Or is it due to a simple incompatibility between the lens and my M6 TTL?

The owner told me that the lens was working fine on a M5; and I do not know anybody around me with a Leica (otherwise I will have been able to try it on another body).

I am just looking for some feedback here to know if it is a common case or not, or if it could be a serious issue with the lens, etc.
I am certainly going to return the lens, but as the lens is in such good condition (outside, glass, baldes, etc.) that I am willing to keep it and sending it for a CLA, but I do not know if a CLA could fix that or not.

Thanks by advance for any help/advice.

jeff

 

[JeffMerlet]

Just figured out the issue that I'm documenting here in case someone has the same issue.

On the back of the lens there is a flat arrow head metallic piece that is transmitting the focus ring change to the moving 'wheel' on the camera side. The issue is that this piece is not moving back when reaching infinity certainly due to a lack of lubricant and potentially the spring (pulling it back) that need to be changed. The piece is not stuck as it is possible to push it back down when at the closest focus.
At this stage, the lens simply needs to be fixed by a Leica repair expert (CLA, spring change).

Jeff

 

[pmd]

Hi,

Did you have the lens repaired? If so, what did the repairman do to get the lens to work again?

PMD

 

[Sonnar Brian]

PMD- welcome to the forum. The OP has not been here for 7 years.

The fix for the lens is simple enough, old lubricant is usually the problem. Worse than that- a spring to return the cam to the correct position. Most repair techs can do this easily.

In the US, Youxin Ye would be a good choice for this repair.

If this is something you want to try yourself, feel free to post a description of the problem with some pictures of the area causing the issues. The 135/4 is very similar to the 135/4.5 Hektor and others for the RF cam mechanism.

 

[pmd]

Brian,
I apologize for not checking the OPs activity.
Unfortunately I'm in Sweden so your suggestion for a repair tech would be a bit too expensive. 🙂
I am trying to find a tech closer to me, but any suggestion from the forum on how to possibly solve the problem myself would be greatly appreciated.

The OPs description of his problem is very similar to mine. Probably the same cause, also. I'm enclosing to pictures of the thing the OP calls a "flat arrow head metallic piece".
Like on his lens the the piece only moves when i rotate the focus ring towards infinity focus, i.e. the piece moves outwards. Rotating the focus ring the other way should pull in the piece but it does not move. It's easy to push the piece in with s light pressure of a finger, so it seem the piece is not stuck in sticky lubricant. I suspect that there is a spring inside the mechanism which should pull the piece in, but is broken.

The first image shows the piece in its position when the lens is focused at infinity.
The second image shows the piece in its position when the lens is focused at closest focus. I have pushed it to that position after rotating the focus ring to closest focus.

Thank for any suggestions!

PMD

 

[Sonnar Brian]

@pmd - The first thing to try is cleaning the mechanism with a little bit of alcohol (at least 91%) and swabbing any dried grease. You can also use Lighter Fluid. Just a little bit, on a Q-Tip. If that does nothing, you will need to remove the mechanism- the four screws would be my guess as needing to come out. The "Lens Head" usually screws off of the focus mount fairly easily, might be best to remove it.

I am sure others can suggest a repair shop to do a clean-lube-adjust on the lens.

 

[Coldkennels]

I've had one of these mechanisms apart on a Canon 135mm (very similar construction). Brian's right: remove the four screws and it just comes away. Looking at the screwheads on yours, I think someone's been in there before, so who knows what you'll find.

It's probably just congealed lubricant causing too much resistance for it to move freely, but if whoever took that apart before you owned it lost a spring, you might be in for a bad time.