🚀 go-pugleaf

I have a Mac with 400K drives which are not going to be upgraded. The
internal drive started making a scratching noise when the head seeks.
The disks were not damaged. I took it into a local Apple dealer
(Clancy-Paul in New Brunswick, NJ) who charged me $27.50 to tell me
"well, the problem is in the drive." Turns out that they only do
swaps, not repairs. The replacement would cost $124 plus the old
drive. 

This is not reasonable - I can get an 800K external drive for $200 or
less, with no exhange (of course, it's not a Sony).

I "fixed" the problem by cleaning the leadscrew and lubricating it
with Tri-Flon(sp?), a Teflon+oil lubricant often used on bicycles. I
am concerned that the problem may develop again, since the noise is
not completely gone, though it is greatly reduced. If a problem
should develop again, and I do need to replace/repair the drive, I
will need to know if there is a source that will exchange the drive to
me, directly, for a reasonable price, like $80.00 or so for a new
drive, or $50.00 for a used, working drive. 

Can I use the an external drive mechanism to replace the internal
drive? They look the same, except the extra circuit board in the
external. 

Anyone know of a Mac drive source?

Anyone got a junk Mac with a good internal drive?

Any other ideas?

Thanks, 

 Ed Segall

Replies to:

uucp:   ...{harvard, seismo, ut-sally, sri-iu, ihnp4!packard}!topaz!caip!segall
arpa:   segall@caip.rutgers.edu