[dariusf]

Thank you much for the details. Had hard time putting back the metal square ring but after several tries I think I got it in right. Works great.

Thansks

[ag_one80]

Originally Posted by reddog187

WARNING: Do this at your own risk

All thes pictures are thumbnails so if you need a closer look, just click on them.


Pop off the retaining plastic piece. You can use anything really(small screwdriver, fingernail, whatever) just be careful not to break off the clips that keep it in place. As you can see if you keep your Pearl in your pocket it quickly sucks up all the lint it can. Hehe


With the plastic retaining clip off you can now remove the assembly.

There is also metal retaining clip on top of the trackball assembly, you must remove that first. It is very delicate, so be CAREFUL not to bend it. It's already removed it the picture above.


Now as you can see the magnetic rollers is what actually makes the trackball work. It sticks right to my screwdriver, which makes for easy removal.


Now it's out you may want to blow a little canned air into the where the assembly sits and make sure all is clean in there.


Now out, from left to right is Trackball Assembly, Metal Retaining Clip, Plastic Retaining Circle, and of course my Pearl.


Trackball Assembly viewed from the bottom. Notice the tabs on the Left and Right sides. These tabs fit into the slots in the Pearl. Also notice the metal retaining clip that holds the whole thing together.


Trackball Assembly viewed from the Right side. Keep in mind the metal retaining clip and how it is a different shape from the bottom view. (You may want to mark this, just make sure you know which side is which and what is top and bottom) It took me quite a few trys to get this right the first disassembly.


View of the bottom of the Trackball Assembly.

Closer view of the assembly. Using Cardinal Directions. (North, South, etc, etc,) The orientation of the assembly now is where the metal tab is pointing South.(Bottom)

If there is lint caught in your trackball you will be able to see it now in the four openings in the North, South, East, and West. If you do not want to take the assembly apart then if you may be able to use a needle or some thing small to try and get it out.


Closer view of the North side of the assembly and how the tabs from the East and West sides will differ.


Closer view of the West side, if you're looking at if from underneath. Notice the different metal tab and the bottom piece of the trackball assembly and the little round knob. Remember these. Totally different from the North and South side.


Now the take the assembly apart! BE VERY CAREFUL not to bend this! VERY Delicate!!!!
As you can see you just need to get a screwdriver underneath the retaining clips and the assembly will come apart by itself. There are VERY small pieces. So don't lose anything!!!!


This is the Trackball assembly fully taken apart.
List of Parts:
4 Magnetic Rollers
1 Metal Retaining Clip
1 Top piece of trackball assembly
1 Bottom piece of trackball assembly
1 Trackball

Now if you have it all apart and this is your first time, and your trackball wasn't working, you probably find quite a bit of lint wrapped around the magnetic rollers.

If you look closely at them, you can see little tiny ridges that the trackball actually catches on and make the magnetic rollers move in turn moving your cursor. If there was lint caught up in them then you probably have come to the conclusion, that your trackball will not work if those won't catch. So clean them off and we can now put it all back together.


In this picture, I am puting the rollers back into the top piece of the assembly. I should be actually putting the magnets on the other side of the assembly. I got mixed up. I forgot about working on it from the bottom so it was suppose to be flipped. So all of the magnets should be flipped. If you put it back together wrong you will know. Look at the previous pictures on what it should look like.


Also in this picture the magnets needed to be flipped. Another tip is to have the metal retaining clip in place. I kept it off before I took the picture since the magnets kept sticking to it. It will help keep them in place so you can get the bottom piece on. I'm glad I have clean finger nails.


Picture of the assembly, without my fat fingers. (remember i had to flip the magnets) South side.


With the trackball itself and the metal retaining clip...now to stick the bottom piece on. Remember the tabs and the little plastic knob? This is a view of the south side, just stick the bottom piece with the metal tab sticking down. It may take quite a bit of jostling, but it should snap right back together. Just be careful not to bend the metal retaining clip.


Stick the fully assembled trackball back and in and it should work like a dream. It didn't for me since I needed to flip the magnets. Hehe, but I took it apart and flipped the magnets and all is well.


There we are, back in place and fully functional!!! It beats spending $60 on a new assembly!

Hope this helps everyone. If you have questions, just post I'm subscribed to this thread.

this was very helpful.thanks to you and the pictures,I have a fresh trackball,but I have another question.Is there anything I can get so I can make the trackball LOOK like new,I been really careful with it but the other day I got it a little dirty.any advise?

[jR*]

i swear i was shakin while i was cleanin it ..

[hagop37]

Actually, the best daily maintenance for the trackball is to roll it with a sunglass-shammy! You know, that fine piece of cloth that comes with expensive sunglasses for the lens!

Your welcome!

[dours]

my trackball quit going down and left, so i disassembled the the piece, took alcohol and some lint free cloths, cleaned it all off, and began to reassemble. As I was placing the last roller in place, I DROPPED THE DARN THING. It bounced off my lap table and right down the crevice in the couch. Lost forever. I searched and searched short of taking a knife and slicing the couch open. Bummed out, I finished reassembling and once done at least it goes down again. And up. Thats all for now. Have to wait til Friday to get the new trackball. Bummer.

[bbua88]

I've done this to my sisters pearl, it wasn't really a trackball anymore, it was a greaseball...lol

[dycon08]

Hi
Please help with a small issue i am having with my 8800. The tracking ball seems to stick or jam , and to say view email i have to press the ball really hard to access anything

Any ideas
Thanks
D

[bbua88]

Originally Posted by dycon08

Hi
Please help with a small issue i am having with my 8800. The tracking ball seems to stick or jam , and to say view email i have to press the ball really hard to access anything

Any ideas
Thanks
D

My sisters trackball did that, you have to disassemble it and clean all the dust bunnies out of it, and it will scroll just like it did off of the assembly lines.

[leopardess]

This is AMAZING! I love love love Pinstack! =-D Thanks so much for posting this.

I had been having trouble on and off with my trackball scrolling down and was too nervous to actually take it apart. Today I could not scroll down at all, no matter how hard or long I tried. I followed your pictures/directions and washed the assemply with dish washing detergent and hot water, rinsed in very hot water, and also rinsed in rubbing alcohol. I dried with a paper towel and put it all back together. Oh, and I used a very small screwdriver to both pop the pieces out as well as pick the dust bunnies out of the assembly so that I didn't have to take that part apart. =) So that's my story!

I just love my pearl, working smoothly again!

Thanks guys

[offthahorseceo]

Originally Posted by leopardess

This is AMAZING! I love love love Pinstack! =-D Thanks so much for posting this.

I had been having trouble on and off with my trackball scrolling down and was too nervous to actually take it apart. Today I could not scroll down at all, no matter how hard or long I tried. I followed your pictures/directions and washed the assemply with dish washing detergent and hot water, rinsed in very hot water, and also rinsed in rubbing alcohol. I dried with a paper towel and put it all back together. Oh, and I used a very small screwdriver to both pop the pieces out as well as pick the dust bunnies out of the assembly so that I didn't have to take that part apart. =) So that's my story!

I just love my pearl, working smoothly again!

Thanks guys

Did this make the trackball any cleaner?

[StarMile]

My lord, I just performed this procedure on my 8320 and it's nearly good as new! Yeah the trackball still looks dirty as hell, but it's rolling nice and smooth for the first time in months. I got fed up after spending the entire day not being able to scroll down at all and did a search for this thread.

If any one is hesitating it's easy as pie with a set of those tiny electronics screwdrivers and some tweezers. Some non magnetic tools might make it a tad easier, but who has those things laying around? Not me, that's for sure...

Thanks again

[ArtSmart]

Originally Posted by StarMile

If any one is hesitating it's easy as pie with a set of those tiny electronics screwdrivers and some tweezers. Some non magnetic tools might make it a tad easier, but who has those things laying around? Not me, that's for sure...

Caution to those who haven't done it yet: I wouldn't say that "it's easy as pie." The biggest risk is losing a tiny part, so I recommend doing it on the carpet. I use a toothpick since it's non-magnetic. Also, I don't take all the rollers out at the same time, just so I don't have to fret the reassembly orientation (especially since the photos all have it backwards). I leave one or two rollers in while I clean the others. Since I'm a farsighted 55-year-old geezer, my magnifying lenses are absolutely indispensable. Bought them at an electronics shop.

I've done it literally dozens of times now, so it takes just a couple of minutes for me now. But for newbies, please be extra careful not to lose any of the tiny parts.
--- Art

[manoj_2002]

I dis-assembled it with confidence after seeing the pictures and all and cleaded it.

I put back the assembly and the metal rim, no problem.

But the top retainer(plastic ring) does not fit too well. I am able to use the trackball now, but I know it did not fit well. I see that the ring has notches on bottom on 3 sides only (did I break the 4th notch?). Should I just push harder?

or should I just throw the piece out and get a new Curve?

[grymtyrant@msn.]

Just did this on my curve and it was a pain in the ***. Be careful of the little metal rollers. They are really hard to get all back in.

[StarMile]

Originally Posted by ArtSmart

Caution to those who haven't done it yet: I wouldn't say that "it's easy as pie." The biggest risk is losing a tiny part, so I recommend doing it on the carpet. I use a toothpick since it's non-magnetic. Also, I don't take all the rollers out at the same time, just so I don't have to fret the reassembly orientation (especially since the photos all have it backwards). I leave one or two rollers in while I clean the others. Since I'm a farsighted 55-year-old geezer, my magnifying lenses are absolutely indispensable. Bought them at an electronics shop.

I've done it literally dozens of times now, so it takes just a couple of minutes for me now. But for newbies, please be extra careful not to lose any of the tiny parts.
--- Art

I did mine in large white ceramic / stoneware dish I normally use in the oven, it's about 1.5" deep and made it easy not to lose any thing. Personally, I'd have lost parts had I used the carpet. I also considered using a white linen dinner napkin... either way, just use something where you can see the parts and keep track of them easily.