• Published on | Jul 17, 2012 | by FozzTexx

Where do you go for gears?

I recently dug out my Apple IIgs which had been in storage for many years. For the most part it worked fine, but the eject mechanism on the 3.5" floppy drives had siezed up. Unfortunately I found this out the hard way. After trying to eject the floppy a couple of times, the motor just completely stopped working.

I took the floppy drive apart to find that the sliding metal pieces were very sticky. I dug into the eject motor only to discover this:

I disassembled the other floppy and lubricated the eject mechanism before it could get destroyed, but now I have one drive in need of repair. Having to shove a paper clip in to eject the floppy is extremely inconvenient.

Where can I get a replacement gear? I've searched online but there really doesn't seem to be anyone that sells gears that has a site that can help you with matching it. It seems like there must be something already made out there that will match. Maybe a gear from an RC car?

I'm not really sure how to specify the gear so that I can order one, any help would be appreciated.

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+1  Posted by Tim McQueen • Jul.17.2012 at 21.22 • Reply

+1  Posted by Ryan P • Oct.20.2012 at 09.00 • Reply

Look inside an RC car, you may find something similar to that around the motor. Worth a look.

+1  Posted by Frank Z • Aug.28.2013 at 18.11 • Reply

Hobby shops carry gears like that but sizes may vary.

+1  Posted by Tom S • Feb.05.2014 at 06.58 • Reply

Pretty good selection here: https://nordex.com/. I've placed small orders there, but it's been years.

+1  Posted by Zax • Apr.02.2014 at 16.44 • Reply

It would be cool to see an update on this, could you 3d print a new one?