RCA Victrola Reproducer Repair HELP!

[gramophoneshane]

My advise with the HMV 5a & 5b is that if they sound alright, don't bother reconditioning them.
They both use felt gaskets, and I've found replacing them doesn't seem to make any difference to the sound quality.
Carsten once suggested that the felt would enable air leaks, and felt that greasing the gaskets would improve the sound. I tried this on one of my 5b's, and it didn't make any difference either.
Next time I've got some rubber gasket, I'd like to try that in one of them & see how it sounds.
Chances are, if you got a 5a or b, the pivots shouldn't be out of wack, so if there's no buzzing etc, I think you're better off leaving them as is.