Minolta XL-400 Repair Guide (Fixing a broken Super 8 Camera)

*Update* It Lives! See my first test footage here: • Minolta XL-400 Super 8...
A rambling guide on how to fix a Minolta XL-400 Super 8 camera if you happen to have the same problems as I did.
The two problems I was having after picking up this camera were 1) No Power from batteries to the camera. This was easily resolved by taking the right hand (short length) side cover off and removing the battery positive terminal tab at the front of the camera and cleaning some corrosion where the screws were mounting the tab to the frame. 2) After restoring power to the camera, the motor would run but not turn the sprocket wheel, this ended up being resolved by removing the left hand side cover, and scrubbing the corrosion/rust from the back end of the drive shaft and bracket where it terminates in a simple hole in the metal bracket. I used isopropyl alcohol to clean both and then minimal lubrication on the bracket/back end of the shaft to inhibit rust from returning. Pay careful attention to where you add lubrication and don't use anything too low viscosity since some of the drive shaft parts upstream need to be free of lubrication in order to have sufficient friction to turn the sprocket wheel and advance the film.
Also I just found a video from a brave RUclipsr who went much further into tearing down a similar camera: • Super 8 camera teardow...
Some good info there on the workings of the shutter mechanism and metering system I did not get into or understand well when filming this.
Very few tools are needed but I would recommend the following:
- JIS J000 or J00 screw driver/driver bits (I got a big variety set from: www.ifixit.com...)
-Small needle-nose pliers/flathead bits for removing e-clips (these are tricky, do some research if you haven't dealt with them before)
-Isopropyl alcohol in a small needle tip squeeze bottle like the following: www.amazon.com...
-Toothpicks/Q-tips/tooth brushes for cleaning. Air bulbs are helpful for cleaning debris where you cannot reach. Careful of lint and fuzz from Q-tips/brushes.
-Machine oil/mineral oil/synthetic oil for lubrication of metal parts only. NOT 3-in-one or WD40, these will dry out and spread where they shouldn't. I used tri-flow synthetic lubricant with PTFE/Teflon, maybe a synthetic grease would have been better. Do your research, lots of arguing online about what to use, but whatever you do, first clean with alcohol, then only lubricate where needed, and very minimally.
-White lithium grease for plastic parts, DO NOT use the oils on the plastic gears, it can cause the plastic to swell and break over time. They probably don't need lubrication anyway, just clean them well.
-A clean work space and a system for organizing hardware. This mat helped me not loose any more than I did: www.amazon.com...
If like me, you also lose a bunch of e-clips while working on your camera, these ones from McMaster kinda-sorta work as replacements: www.mcmaster.c... However, they are DIN German standard dimensions and the originals are JIS Japanese specification, so the profiles are different and the DIN clips are not a perfect fit on the camera's shaft features. I found my ejected e-clips on the floor, and lodged above the grip mount, but you may not be so lucky. I couldn't find JIS e-clips for sale anywhere online outside of enormous bulk quantities, so if you know where 2mm stainless JIS external clips can be purchased, please share the details below!

[@gabrielkimbrough]

Awesome thank you! Just got one of these from an estate sale for $10. Classic batteries were left in so theres corroded terminals. Hoping i can repair. 🤞

[@benyameenhello]

Nice! I'd be interested to hear how your repair goes.
I just got my first cartridge back from developing, looks like it worked fine from the first few frames I could see, I'm waiting to have it scanned digitally now since I don't have a projector ready yet, but that'll be the next repair project.