The manual crank have also the same nylon gear! According to what I see inside the body of the enlarger, this small gear (at the end of the crank arm or motor arm) enter in a similar gear but larger (in metal) and this is that gear which contact the SS worm-gear shaft.
I post also on a French forum and they think that Durst may have used standards gears and that they probably be retrieved on specialized markets. They said also that gear cutting is a rare speciality that need very rare machines. The exact material is probably POM (Polyoxymethylene) like Acetal. Some Durst 184 users on the French forum will probably make some searches to find the exact gear on speciality market firms, they talk about 20€ value (around 20$US)! I will let you know if something interesting will be post there.
I think the plastic gear is very solid when it contact correctly the second gear. It is when we remove the motor that we can do a bad movement and brake it. The manual crank is maybe less prone to break the gear as the arm turn on itself so no stress on the gear. The problem with the crank is when you overturn when you're at top or bottom of the enlarger column.
The motor arm is not mobile (unless you activate the motor) so a great care must be applied when you insert it. If the motor is jammed on top like mine, it is a good idea to remove the upper limit rod of the motor. This way you can enter the motor with some angle as needed to feel that the gear contact correctly the second gear. When the motor is reinstalled correctly and lowered to middle position, you can removed, replace the upper limit rod and realign the motor exactly with the red dot at top and gears will be still in theirs good positions.
Ok Bob, I will have nice visit with you, Osheen and Hugues.
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