Gitzo G1570M maintenance

[Nissin]

I recently got a used G1570M head. All the movements were stiff, but I greased the fore/aft tilt control and it's now very smooth. I'd like to do the same for the side to side tilt, but haven't been able to access the front of the head. There's a black plate with a screw cover (shown in the image) which I can't remove. Does anybody know how to do it? The same goes for the pan control cover. Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Nissin

[Nissin]

Solved. The plastic cover was deeply embedded into the head of the hex screw, but it came out after a bit of brute force with a very thin jeweler's screwdriver. After cleaning and greasing the pan/tilt control, it now moves smoothly.
Nissin

[Colin Graham]

That resistance in the side tilt drove me crazy. On my 1570M there's a constant force spring in the tilt arm sleeve (between the platform bracket and pivot) that keeps tension on the side tilt clamp. It's a pretty serious spring- I think this is what helps keep really heavy cameras from getting too floppy when loosened.

Anyway there was way too much stick-slip for my 5x7, so I removed the spring and fully compressed it in a vise to see if would reduce the tension a little. This took about 3mm off the overall length of the spring when extended. It'll probably rebound eventually, but this really helped loosen up the side tilt. It's pretty easy to do, just unscrew the tilt arm and pop out the sleeve. I might see if McMaster-Carr has a shorter version of the same diameter spring and just swap them back out if I ever use the head for a heavier camera.

[Nissin]

That resistance in the side tilt drove me crazy. On my 1570M there's a constant force spring in the tilt arm sleeve (between the platform bracket and pivot) that keeps tension on the side tilt clamp. It's a pretty serious spring- I think this is what helps keep really heavy cameras from getting too floppy when loosened.

Anyway there was way too much stick-slip for my 5x7, so I removed the spring and fully compressed it in a vise to see if would reduce the tension a little. This took about 3mm off the overall length of the spring when extended. It'll probably rebound eventually, but this really helped loosen up the side tilt. It's pretty easy to do, just unscrew the tilt arm and pop out the sleeve. I might see if McMaster-Carr has a shorter version of the same diameter spring and just swap them back out if I ever use the head for a heavier camera.

Colin:
Thanks for your message. Like you, I had trouble removing and reinserting the spring that releases the fore/aft tilt hub. Getting it back into place took some real force and more than a few choice words! The side to side tilt mechanism can only be accessed from the front by removing the plate shown in my first message. After forcing out the hex screw cover and then removing the hex screw itself, I was able to expose the hub. It was covered in congealed grease, but after cleaning with alcohol, and a generous application of silicon grease, the movement is now very smooth. The pan movement is a still a little stiff, but tolerable for my purposes.

[Colin Graham]

Thanks for the tip on how to remove the pivot cover plate- I was going to take that apart next if the spring hack didn't work, and probably would have tried to pry off the wrong part.

[Willie]

Is it better to use silicon grease compared to synthetic bearing grease like we do on wheel bearings? Already have the synthetic stuff and it lasts on bearings - why not in the tripod head?

[Peter De Smidt]

I used silicone grease. It worked better than this: http://www.joes-no-flats.com/Products/675/Joe%27s-PTFE-Wet-Lub I didn't try synthetic bearing grease. Seems like it should work well.

[Willie]

I used silicone grease. It worked better than this: http://www.joes-no-flats.com/Products/675/Joe%27s-PTFE-Wet-Lub I didn't try synthetic bearing grease. Seems like it should work well.

Ask because I know the synthetic bearing grease still works at 45 below zero. Yes, we do still photograph when it is that cold. Also in 120 above temps and I'm sure the tripods and heads get hotter sitting in the trunk or closed vehicle at times.