N64 Gears com VS Kitsch Bent Part 2 

I think it is worth replacing the bowl (at least, if it's worn out): Basically, if the stick sits too low, then its pivot point won't make contact, and so the top end of the stick will rattle around creating a dead zone in the middle and reducing the stick's range. (Basically, for the stick to read "all the way to the right", the bottom end of the stick has to go all the way to the left. But if you push the top end of the stick all the way to the right but the middle of the stick moves as well, then the bottom end of the stick isn't going to go all the way left. If the bowl on your controller is still in decent shape it might not be important to replace it. I just got into N64 stuff, got three controllers that were in fairly sad condition (a LOT of ground up plastic dust inside those sticks when I took them apart!) and replaced bowls, gears, and sticks with Kitsch-Bent parts. I think it was well worth it, about $40 (shipped) for parts for 8 controllers to turn near-unplayable controllers into rather good ones. I think replacing the bowls made the biggest difference in my case, but I think it was worth replacing the sticks and gears, too.

If that's a Kitsch-Bent bowl I found that the hole for the X axis wheel is too tight. I drill them out with a 1.5mm (I think?) bit before using them.

Why and the hell. After all these years of cleaning and refurbishing vintage electronics and retro video stuff, have I never thought to use a damn paint brush for cleaning?….

You need to add grease the top of the smaller gear rail that the stick slides against. All these replacement gear sets will grind a little from the circle flashing from injecting molding. Some are better than others but grease will make a difference. Some can be sanded down just a hair to make them better. Although it's easy to overdue it.

Random question but how are 1,20$ per bowl and 0,95$ per stick "too expensive" ?

too bad all these videos never show actual gameplay with the solution installed.

Here’s another thing to check if you ever experience the joystick “sticking” and refusing to center, or feeling a weird click or bump. Check the spring. Years ago my practically new Red controller started doing this, it was way too long to return to the store and I never let any savage players use it lol. Anyway I opened it up, and found that my spring was oddly *slightly* larger in diameter on one end than the other, I measured. It was installed with this larger diameter mounted on the “bottom” on that little white ring with the lip. In certain scenarios, the spring was slipping past the edge of the ring, that’s when you felt a “click” or “bump”. Once the spring eventually slips too far, the white ring will cam out, slip into the spring and everything seizes. Depending on the severity, you might be able to pop everything in place by pushing the opposite direction. Eventually mine got so cranked up in there nothing moved, so I opened it up. After some trial and error a few times I discovered my spring situation. Placed the wider end on the top half, the narrower end down towards the gears, and the white rings little inner lip thing snapped snug on the inside of the spring coil. Works like a charm the last 24 years or so!

I find that the kitsch bent bowl doesn't quite fit snug into position where it won't wiggle on top of the center peg inside the JS assembly. I shave the center peg down until the bowl stops rocking on top of it, the peg on either side can stay the same height bc those fit in the part just fine, but not the center peg. IMO there is a slight problem w the Kitsch Bent bowls that they will not address. Just wanted to give you my biggest tip bc I've been doing this a while and while I love kitsch bent parts, I sent them an email about this like a year or more ago, to try to find more information or at least get the parts fitting better, and make sure I wasn't doing anything specifically wrong, or that they didn't get a bad run of their bowl part that was somehow off from their intended design.... They never got back to me. I just shave the center peg down, and once it's not rocking, I know it will all close up without the stick sticking ( I shave off flashing on the gears w the x acto knife also). That bowl piece rocking on top of the peg is literally the source of so many problems, I hope they fix it one day so I can stop shaving OEM controller parts down out of necessity.

If you file down the bowl on the Kent they work better.