Ultimate Newbie

Hi everyone, Thank you all for the good advice and troubleshooting. I changed needle, thread, re-threaded, tried 2/3 holes on the one near the tension, turned the pigtails, and for a few minutes we were back in business. But I guess the old fella must have heard me on the phone trying to arrange a well-deserved spa date for him, because he started acting up again. I think I will step away and see if we can get a service scheduled soon. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience - it’s so encouraging and appreciated. Have a great weekend everyone, —JD

Nigel! You just saved my Saturday [and did my marriage a favor.... ] Much appreciated for your very good advice! New tension unit is now installed, but my top thread is still way too tight and snapping threads. I’ve gone burr-hunting, replaced the 3-hole guide, unthreaded and re-threaded. Back to the drawing board... Thank you, thank you. —-JD

Hi all, I have an old Utlmate XX and the tension spring was misbehaving, so I ordered a new tension unit. There’s nothing in the manual I got with the machine, so I was hoping the part would come with instructions! Can you help? Do I need to take the side off to access the interior? Does the whole tension unit unscrew from outside the side panel? Frustrated, —JD