Nikon FM2n - Help!

So, bad luck has struck once more. Well, I got some kind of sticky residue under the aperture mechanism on the mount; it didn't move freely like it shuld... and I guess there was a crack in it already that I didn't see... and my dad is more handy with those kind of things, so I asked him if he could take a look at it and perhaps clean it out for me because I had no idea what I was doing. He has more experience in that field. Well, we took the front off and cleaned out the spring and around the black plastic bit... but it was still a little sticky... and after finally trying to reassemble it, it seems like that crack I referred to earlier finally gave and it broke. That takes my main shooter out of commission. Any recommendation? I wasn't able to fully unstick the mechanism and I don't think I'm able to fix it without replacing anything, but tell me if I'm wrong. I know I'll have to at least replace the black plastic bit.

Sorry to hear about that. I think you should still be able to find parts for the FM2n, and my advice would be to take it to an experienced repairman. There should be quite a few in your vicinity, maybe someone here on APUG can recommend someone.

As for how the crack appeared in the first place, I am a bit stumped. Did you or someone else try to force-mount a non-AI lens on it without lifting the tab? That is about the only thing I can think off (apart from using the camera to inflict trauma or hammer in nails).

I think it was cracked in the first place and I hadn't noticed prior to messing with the thing. I believe that attempting to repair the camera did it in. I've never owned a Non-AI lens, so I couldn't have done that unless the owner before me tried something like that on the body.

The person I got it from (APUG user "maderik") should know what to do. He's local to me (as in, I regularly swap equipment with him personally), so it's not hard to get a hold of him. I just hope it isn't costly to fix. In my experience, seemingly little problems can always prove to be bigger trouble than they first appear. They also tend to be more expensive.

A bunch of Nikon bits are available on the bay. Search for "parts" in photography.

Pro camera repair also sells parts.

It would help to know if parts from other bodies are compatible though. I would assume FM3a parts are equivalent, but I don't know if those parts are much easier to find.

It's pretty much FM2 or FM2n. The FM3a is more like an FE2 in a lot of respects. There are a couple black FM2/FM2n bodies that were just listed in the past 3 hours or so. Both of them are being sold as parts cameras. One may be fine, but is untested. The other has a damaged shutter.

-J

Well, that's fine I guess. I think I'll probably buy the most broken one I can as long as those particular parts are intact. Can't afford anything at all until I replace my car's clutch though... *sigh*