Zorki 4 slow shutter speed problem

[summar]

I have a Zorki 4 with a peculiar problem. When I set the shutter to speeds below 1/30, I can hear the slow-speed escapement engaging. But when I release the shutter, it opens and closes -- at 1/30 -- and the escapement runs down afterwards! It runs down for different lengths of time (longer and longer as I set it to slower speeds).
The fast speeds work correctly and the camera generally is in fine shape. I'm wondering if anyone else has run into this problem and whether it might be complicated (expensive) to fix. I've looked at Rick Oleson's diagrams but that kind of work is beyond me.
Any comments or advice would be much appreciated.

 

[wolves3012]

I can have a fair guess at the problem. The slow speed escapement blocks the second curtain by means of a tiny lever sitting under it. The shutter wants to run at 1/30th but the lever holds the second curtain back. When the escapement runs down, it pushes the lever aside and the curtain gets released, ending the exposure. The lever is clearly not engaging on your camera. Might be several reasons, such as the cam that operates it being out of alignment or the spring that pushes it into position being missing/broken/displaced. The lever itself may be stuck, gummed up with dried grease etc (the most likely thing, I'd say).

The only way to find out is to remove the escapement and see what's going on. The sticky at the top of this sub-forum shows you how to get at it. With the escapement removed the shutter should fail to close until you push that tiny lever aside (easier to see that to explain) but I suspect it will close and you'll have to figure out why.

If you don't want to attempt this yourself, it needs to go off to a repairman. Alternatively, you can just not use the slower speeds!

 

[summar]

Thank you, wolves. My guess is that it's a misaligned cam or a displaced spring, because the slow speeds were fine until they suddenly stopped working right. But who knows? I'll follow Rick Oleson's diagrams and at least have a careful look at the mechanism. If I can't figure it out/fix it, I'll probably just leave it and go with just the faster speeds -- I never use the Zorki on a tripod anyway.

 

[wolves3012]

Thank you, wolves. My guess is that it's a misaligned cam or a displaced spring, because the slow speeds were fine until they suddenly stopped working right. But who knows? I'll follow Rick Oleson's diagrams and at least have a careful look at the mechanism. If I can't figure it out/fix it, I'll probably just leave it and go with just the faster speeds -- I never use the Zorki on a tripod anyway.

Not wishing to sound superior to Rick's excellent site, my sticky will show you in detail and with pictures! His site isn't specific to this model and often has sketches or generic photos.

 

[summar]

I don't know how I overlooked the sticky! Those directions and pictures are very clear and I'll be following them closely when I've worked up enough nerve . . .