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This has been one of those weeks where all I’ve wanted to do when I got home is sit in front of the PS2, mindlessly punching my way through rappers. Unfortunately, the console started freezing up couple of days ago, ending with my trusty PS2 no longer loading discs.
After instantaneously looking up new and used PS2s online, I found that even a used one couldn’t be had for less than $90. It was at that point that I became aware of my inner geek who said,
“Just what the hell are you doing? A real geek wouldn’t be price shopping for a new PS2 right now. A real geek would get a screwdriver and open that fucker up to find out what’s was wrong with it. It’s dead, the warranty was over 5 years ago, and even if it catches fire, you’re no worse off than you are right now. You’ve got a whole bunch of screwdrivers, a fire extinguisher, nothing to lose, and you’re standing here comparison shopping? I’m actually feeling ashamed of you, right now.”
My inner geek was right. I closed out pricegrabber, and did a little googling on PS2 repair. Eventually, I came across an excellent article showing how to take apart the PS2 to clean and readjust the laser. After successfully performing those tasks, I realized that the disc loading issues were due to a grinding noise coming from the screw that drove the laser up and down its guide rails.
If you hear a grinding from inside a PS2, the lube that you are going to need to fix it is not red lithium grease or plain lithium grease, which you can get at Wal-Mart in the auto section. No. The stuff you need is called white lithium grease. The problem is that while a few forums might mention that this is the stuff you need, no forum or article actually tells you where you can get it. Neither does Google.
I’m here to tell you. You can get White Lithium Grease at Sears in the Tool/Automotive section for about $3 a tube.
You smear the head of a Q-tip full of grease and run it along the two laser guide rails and on snake motor screw, and put the rest back in your tool box, never to be used again. You then gently move the laser assembly up and down the rails until it moves smoothly without catching. Once it does, reassemble the console and pop in your favorite game.
By doing this, you can rid yourself of $87 if not $126 worth of shame and get back into the ring.
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August 25th, 2007 at 9:21 am
Thank u but how can i open the ps2 if i am a geek who barely knows repair can u pliz send me a step by step explanation for how take it apart and put it back 2gether? pliz i need 2 fix my ps2 i want 2 play naruto again and guitar hero II i really want 2 play megaman again pliz pliz snd me a step by step procces pliz.
September 8th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Daniel, you are not a geek. You are an idiot. Try clicking links in the article. And, try typing in English. Geeks don’t use “2″ instead of “to;” blond bimbos do.
Fantastic article, by the way.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:14 am
Dude i`m from malaysia and in my country i dont think they sell the spare part for ps2, mine is only 2 month old but already have the red screen appearing .. its really disapointing .. i was thinking to buy a new one instead of doing something that might make the thing more broken than before .. what do you thnk ?? need help here .. feel cheated .. started to feel like this whole game thing is not for me .. ohhh crapp ..