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Part 8: 1997 Sega Jurassic Park The Lost World. Fixing the Snagger & Flipper rebuild.

Pinball Shenanigans·video·33m 36s·analyzed·Dec 31, 2025
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.025

TL;DR

Jurassic Park restoration: flipper rebuild succeeds, snagger fault traced to new ROM version.

Summary

Mike Dimus documents ongoing restoration of a 1997 Sega Jurassic Park: The Lost World pinball machine, focusing on flipper rebuild using LEP kit components and troubleshooting an intermittent snagger (ball lock) mechanism. He performs cabinet cleaning, switch testing, and flipper plunger/link replacement, discovering the snagger issue may be software-related between ROM versions 1.00 and 2.02. Successfully isolates the problem to new code and reverts to original ROMs, confirming consistent snagger operation.

Key Claims

  • The snagger mechanism works in test mode but fails intermittently during gameplay

    high confidence · Mike directly demonstrates this issue multiple times during testing, showing working behavior in service mode but failures when actually playing the game

  • Machine leveling did not solve the snagger problem

    high confidence · Mike levels the machine using a level tool, finds it was significantly off, corrects it, but reports 'sadly, I must report that that did not solve the problem'

  • The new ROM version (2.02) introduced the snagger malfunction; original ROMs (1.00) work consistently

    high confidence · Mike tests both ROM versions multiple times on camera, demonstrates snagger fails with new ROMs and works with original ROMs, concludes 'I am pretty certain that I have isolated the problem. Kind of sucks that it was the new software'

  • LEP flipper rebuild kit improved flipper performance and alignment

    high confidence · Mike completes LEP kit installation, tests flippers, states 'That is awesome. That is perfect' and later 'I am very thoroughly happy and pleased with the flippers'

  • Mike found required flipper parts (plungers, links, coil stops) in his personal stash

    high confidence · Mike discovers NOS Sega links, finds 6304-03 design components, discovers coil stop parts in his inventory, states 'So, I've got two plungers and two links' and 'I've got a whole slew of them'

Notable Quotes

  • “Okay, time for another episode of Jurassic Park Lost World. What the f is going on with this strap?”

    Mike Dimus @ Opening — Sets up the main technical problem of the episode (machine leveling via strap)

  • “I am pretty certain that I have isolated the problem. Kind of sucks that it was the new software that threw me for that loop.”

    Mike Dimus @ Late in restoration — Key conclusion: snagger failure is software-related, not mechanical

  • “That is awesome. That is perfect. I hate aligning and tightening flipper bats, especially with these types of crank assemblies, which just kind of suck.”

    Mike Dimus @ After flipper rebuild — Positive result of LEP kit installation; commentary on Williams crank assembly frustration

  • “I'm not going to sacrifice the snagger in exchange for those goodies. So, I'd like to see exactly what it is that I'm missing out on potentially between the 1.00 and the 2.02”

    Mike Dimus @ Closing — Indicates interest in understanding new ROM features without breaking snagger functionality

  • “So, the uh old original ROMs are staying in.”

    Mike Dimus @ After snagger testing — Final decision to revert to original ROM version due to snagger compatibility

Entities

Mike DimuspersonKevinpersonCorypersonJurassic Park: The Lost WorldgamePinball ShenanigansorganizationLEP flipper kitproductMarco websiteorganizationPinball LifeorganizationTom ChicettipersonSmittyperson

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Mike engaging with pinball repair community via Facebook group to understand ROM version differences

    high · Mike states 'I did make a post in the pinball repair help group on Facebook and maybe I can get some details on that because I fear that I could be missing out on a lot of goodies on the new code'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Williams/Sega flipper crank assemblies identified as problematic due to wear after repeated loosening/tightening cycles

    high · Mike states 'I hate aligning and tightening flipper bats, especially with these types of crank assemblies, which just kind of suck. And you can only get so many loosening and tightenings out of them before they just freaking break on you'

  • ?

    supply_chain_signal: Experienced restorer able to source 90% of required parts from personal inventory rather than making external orders

    high · Mike finds flipper components in stash, discovers correct switch target in parts bin, locates original ROM chips, and finds matching hardware; states 'I managed to basically get everything from my own stash and or locally'

  • ?

    product_concern: Sega Jurassic Park new ROM version (2.02) introduces snagger malfunction not present in original ROM (1.00)

    high · Mike systematically tests snagger with both ROM versions multiple times; old ROMs work consistently, new ROMs fail; concludes 'I am pretty certain that I have isolated the problem. Kind of sucks that it was the new software'

  • ?

    product_concern: Flipper rebuild using LEP kit components resulted in smooth, reliable operation with minimal play and proper alignment

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:02
Okay, time for another episode of Jurassic Park Lost World. What the f is going on with this strap? I'll let you know shortly. But first, couple more submissions for biggest shenanigander of the year. Is Pinball Shenanigans your top channel? Well, I got a message from Chris McKinley and he has moved into third place with 164 videos. And uh quickly we got Sean Craig 142, Pez Johnson 147, Kolks Pinball 149, Kiwi Frenzy 156, Christmas McKinley 164. The current champion was Mark Benavna at 194 videos. But check this out. Tom Chicetti 265 videos. Number one, shenanigander. I'm Mike Dus and [music] this is Pinball Shenanigans.
1:11
Okay, so I actually did a bunch of just miscellaneous things off camera cuz I didn't think it was really worth documenting all of this minor stuff. But I will go over it and let you know what I did exactly. So, I cleaned up the cabinet, just vacuumed it. It was pretty dusty. It's better now, you know. Wiped down the transformer and the speaker. I cleaned up the uh coin box and installed that. I mean, doesn't look very clean, but trust me, it's better than it was. I also um installed four brand new balls. These are the old ones just in case there's any magnetism going on and I want to revert back to the old ones. I installed the missing tilt bob and rod. I removed the housing for the shaker motor and cleaned that and then tightened up the shaker motor just because over the years they can get a little loose and a little violent unnecessarily. And um so it's nice to tighten them down every once in a while just to make sure that they're solid. Okay, what else did I do? Um I cleaned up the decals on the receiver bar just briefly. I also went over the cabinet with my black paint marker and touched up any of the black. You can't obviously see the before versus the after cuz I didn't document any of it, but it looks better, trust me. And I found this sticker on the cabinet here that can show the difference in uh the color of what it used to be versus what it is now. It's a little more pale. Did a little bit of touch-ups on the front, like these lines here a bit. And then this side's a lot darker and original colored red, but

high · Mike tests flippers multiple times, expresses 'very thoroughly happy and pleased with the flippers', and demonstrates consistent performance during gameplay including complex shots like orbit hits and ramp shots

  • ?

    technology_signal: Buzzing noise present in Stern-era equipment (also noted on Stern Pro and Tron Pro); unclear if secondary spring washer addition would resolve

    medium · Mike hears 'typical stern buzzing' from flipper coil, acknowledges 'Don't love that, but I don't really know that there's a whole lot can be done about that. It is just kind of a thing'

    • 3:14
    little touch-ups on that side. Nothing too major. I cleaned up the queen door. It's looking better. And um what else did I do? Is that about it for the uh cabinet stuff? Oh, I did. Uh, where'd it go? Oh, cleaned up the dusty old original topper. So, that's better now. Not that I can really install it in my low basement. Okay. Another thing I did was I added a little square piece of myar. It's tough to see. Right in the center of the magnet to prevent any future wear. And then in switch test, I went through all of the switches on the playfield to make sure they were all working, and they in fact were. Then I went digging just for fun into my bin of switch parts. And you wouldn't believe it, but look what I found. I found one of these um modular square green fluorescent targets. But that's not true. This was not a fluorescent green target, but it was the proper target that I needed. I couldn't believe I had it. It wasn't red. It wasn't blue. If it was, I probably wouldn't been able to live with it. But it was green. And although it's not the same green, it's something that I can live with. And you know, it's going to cost 15 US++. So, probably 30 bucks at least. I landed to get a new one. And all for what? Just for a different shade of green, I think. Uh, I'm going to just let that one slide. So, I got that installed. Those have a little bit longer wood screws, and I literally found those two screws in the coin box. So, that was pretty sweet. I mean, I was digging around in here and I found stuff that kind of worked, but the original screws were better. And then here's the old switch that was in there, and that can come in handy on another machine for a different rainy day. Okay, so what's up with the uh ratchet strap? Basically, what I got to try and figure out today is what is going on with my snagger mechanism. It's being intermittent. It seems to work perfectly fine in test mode, but not in gameplay mode. So, I thought, oh, maybe it's just the machine's not level and the ball is not coming down here and kind of like bypassing the magnet. It's not coming out as much as it should. So, I did level the machine or put the level on it to find out that it was uh way off and I needed to move it to the right quite a bit. And I couldn't really figure out a good way to do that being on the cart. So, that was my solution. I strapped it to the side and cranked it. And where's my level? Um Oh, here. Not supposed to be over here. Now, look at that. Kind of hard to see, but it's darn near perfect. But, um, sadly, I must report that that did not solve the problem. So, I got to dig into that today, see what's going on. I may even I pulled these out of the garbage. I may install the old ROMs to see if it has anything to do with software. I doubt it, but I got to try everything. Oh, also, here's another couple things. I have printed some custom apron cards that I found on the internet, sent them to my printer guy. He sized them. He printed them in thick color paper. Wanted to charge me 50 cents. I gave him two bucks. So, I gave those to Kevin to have them laminated. So, that's coming. Also, Kevin has ordered up me some art blades. So, they are in the mail. So, that's pretty sweet. Which means I have to actually remove these staples. And I do not need a um black cover piece to go on there anymore. But removing these staples, it's going to be a little bit of a pain in the butt. But I have to do that. So, that's on my to-do list as well. And uh Kevin has dark green flipper rubbers coming for me. So I'm pretty near the finish line. Just got to deal with the snagger. Oh, and the other main thing the main thing I'm doing today, I mean snagger is I got to get that working. But I'm thinking I might just le up these flippers and uh just replace the plungers and links and sleeves and stops and not go with the full kit because I think my cranks Let's see if I can lift this up one-handed.
    8:43
    I think my cranks might be okay. I don't know. It doesn't look all that great, does it? That just looks like a
    8:54
    standard valley Williams crank, though. So, I don't know. I'm going to maybe try and just do the poor man's rebuild on these with parts that I have. I've got probably all the correct parts for the most part. Maybe not like official Sega/ Stern plungers and links, but plungers and links that should work. So, I'm going to give that a go and then uh if so, I can save myself like a hundred bucks. So, that would be pretty sweet. I mean, if the flippers are working great after that, then doesn't need to be a fresh rebuild kit. So, anyway, before I get started, I got to go um run to the post office. Is miserable outside. There's a break in the freaking torrential snowstorms that are going on these days, especially today. So, we're going to use this opportunity to go run a couple of quick errands and then I'll be back to deal with this guy. I almost forgot. I got to give a quick shout out to Smitty who is also a top.1% viewer as well, but we won't know how many videos he watched because he's so le that he hacks the system and copies and pastes links into Google Chrome to watch the videos. So, we won't know the true numbers, but uh Smitty is up there as well. Okay, I'm back and uh I'm going to start with uh trying to rebuild these flippers with parts that I have in stock. I've got quite a bit of stuff, so there's a reasonable chance that I can uh make this happen. So, I'm going to start digging around for parts. Okay, I removed one of the plungers and links to get an idea of what I need. I went digging in my stash. This is very similar. I also found some NOS Sega links. Then I found these two guys that could go with them, except I'm missing one of the roll pins. [snorts] Then I found these two guys, which could possibly work. Um, the part number here is 8A/D. Here's the uh plunger and link 8B. So, that is this here. This is a 5156304 01. So, I plugged that in. 5156304
    11:39
    um 01. Well, actually I had it at 01, but this product is discontinued. So, it's replaced by the 63043. So, if you go there, that's here. And so, you can see it says replaces the 6301. This is the Too many numbers, man. I found the plunger and the link. This is the one I need. What is this? Oh, yeah. So, uh, on a side note, okay, so you can see this plunger link has a flat edge on it. So, check this out on the Marco website. I found this service bulletin. I clicked on that and it's basically talking about how the link has improved and the well, three things improved. The plunger, the link, and the switch actuator. So, they got rid of the flat part that you can see right here. Also, they made the plunger and link a little bit shorter so you can have a better degree of sweep and you can make the uh orbit shots better. And then they increased uh a little bit of the length here
    13:02
    and uh some of the material here. So basically my point is is that this is an old design and it has been upgraded and improved as you can see with the service bulletin to this 6304-03 used in Data East and Sega flipper assemblies. Look what I found. Boom. I have four of them in there. So, I've got two plungers and two links. And if you want to compare the new design to the old design for fun, then we can do this. You can see
    13:48
    that the shaft is in fact a little bit shorter and that the flat portion is gone. And so the other thing I was trying to show is that the length here right here of these two legs. Oh, I can stand this up. I can stand this up. And then you can see that the legs are a little bit longer at the back here. So that was another design improvement. So having said that, I've got what I need for plungers and links. So then we go back to the parts page here and we can see that for coil stop I need part 16. Part 16 is 515 630801.
    14:51
    And where was I? Hold on here. Uh, let's copy and paste that. Actually, you know what? We don't need to copy and paste that because look what I found. 5156308-01.
    15:05
    I've got a whole slew of them. Slew. Schllew. Yeah, slew. And I've got the lock washers. I've got the screws. So, I'm good to go in that department. So, it's just as long as those plungers and links are okay and these uh actuators here, then I might just be good to go. And here we have the full LEP flipper rebuild kit. All right, I am done installing the LEP kit. So, these are the old parts. That is a broken spring washer. I replaced that. I also included lock washers, which they uh the screws did not originally have. There's this old plunger link bits are worn to the bone, so I'll be happy to throw all this stuff out. Don't think there's really anything salvageable here except maybe this uh roll pin, but I doubt I'll save that. So, here's what it looks like. It's not going to really look incredibly [clears throat] different, but you can see the new plunger and link. I did clean up everything as best as I could without disassembling everything. In terms of carbon dust, I got most of it on myself, some on the cloth. Uh, both coils have new coil sleeves. And then there's the new coil stops with the lock washers underneath the screws there. And um now I didn't have to change the flipper alignment cuz I didn't have to ever loosen this here these bolts. So from this angle, it looks like things are symmetrical in the down position. Well, let's try the up position. This is really not a good way to do things. But it might actually be okay. It would be nice if I didn't have to align the flippers, but I probably will have to. So anyways, LEP kit installed. I'm going to lower the playfield and uh see what things look like. All right, this is always satisfying. Get rid of that crap. All right, got the playfield lowered. And at first glance,
    17:52
    So, let's see what happens. Oo, look at that. That is awesome. That is perfect. I hate aligning and tightening flipper bats, especially with these types of crank assemblies, which just kind of suck. And you can only get so many loosening and tightenings out of them before they just freaking break on you. So, let's power this on and see if it works. Okay, so
    18:21
    let's test out these flippers. You know what world you go to? You know what world you go to? Feel good. Oh, I hear uh a little bit of your old typical stern buzzing. Don't love that, but I don't really know that there's a whole lot can be done about that. It is just kind of a thing.
    18:53
    I remember having that on my Tron uh Pro and other uh Stern games, but I looked into it multiple times over the years.
    19:07
    You might be able to reduce it a little bit. I I think it's just a little bit of the vibration. So maybe like maybe I can add, [cough and clears throat] sorry, just still trying to get through p puberty here, but maybe I can uh add a secondary spring washer just to I don't know. There's not really any play whatsoever, so whatever. We're just going to have to live with the buzz. Okay. So, I haven't really been paying attention at all. Try and backhand the right ramp. Oo, baby. Just barely. Forehand. Beautiful. Oh, I started a mode.
    20:04
    So, provided that I'm happy with the flippers, next thing we got to do is test the snagger. But I can't do that during this mode. Let's see. From what I understand is that you actually need to beat every single mode in order to get to the end. So, I did not beat that mode. All right, let's lock a ball in one of the orbits. Is this going to do it? Ball two locked. But here comes the Ball two locked. But here comes the snagger. See, look. Why didn't the magnet grab that? Why didn't the magnet grab that? I I guess it's designed so that as soon as the snagger is doing its thing, and if any other playfield switches hit, then it aborts, I think. So sadly the snagger screwed up again.
    21:13
    I'm not sure what to think of it. But I think what I'll do is um maybe I'll test the drop target switch. Make sure that when it's dropping it's actually registering cuz Snagger won't work properly if it thinks the drop target is up. So maybe that could be something. Putting the flippers to the test here by uh trapping up.
    21:48
    with multiple balls. All right, I'll let that go. Multiball [clears throat] restart. There was a restart there. I didn't hit a single jackpot, I guess.
    22:10
    So, I'm very happy that everything on this game is basically working perfectly. The flippers are awesome. baby T-Rex. Like every switch, every solenoid, everything's dialed in nicely. All the targets. [snorts] Let's try and hit that. Oh, did you know, I just learned too that the site B mode. Look, I can change the letters that are lit. S I T E B. Let's hit that brand new target. Oh, does it change with both flippers? Oh, it changes with both flippers. I thought it was just one flipper. So, by flipping it, you got to set it up. So, I can backhand the bee right now. No, I can't. It's like Lord of [music] the Rings. You got to think one step ahead of the game to start your mode. Anyway, let's uh try and get Chewy to say hi. Two more scoops to hatch the egg.
    23:21
    also late. Let's Let's at least see if baby T-Rex is behaving. Uh-oh. Let's just try and throw it in there. Oh, it actually worked. One more.
    23:41
    Oh no, we're never going to find out ever. It's done for good. or until the next game. Anyway, very thoroughly happy and Anyway, very thoroughly happy and pleased with the flippers. Very sad about the snagger. Okay, I had to try this out. Here are the new ROMs that I got off Dave, but still, yank them out, pulled the original ROMs out of the garbage, and stuck them back into the machine. I got to find out if it has anything to do with that or not. So, let's stick this guy on the tripod and try once more. Okay, back on the tripod. I added a couple service credits.
    24:30
    See what happens. I really don't know the difference between the new ROMs and the old ROMs, what all the updates are. I love how when the T-Rex comes out and stomps on the DMD that the shaker motor goes off. That's really cool. Okay, let's find out if it is software related.
    24:53
    I mean, I could just do this just with my hand, but it's not as fun. Look at that. I made quick work of it. I'm ready to block ball already. Here we go. Don't start GPS. Here we go. Boom. Ready. The hell, man? Ready. The hell, man? I'm I'm happy, but I'm also confused.
    25:31
    Okay, let's see. I think the new software allowed you to lock two different balls. Let's see if this is true. Oh, look at this. No. Okay. Oh, look at this. No. Okay. Wow. Oh, got my ball. Should I put in the new software again Should I put in the new software again just to test? I mean, I hate installing and uninstalling and installing and uninstalling game ROMs. I'm going to break a leg probably, but I might just have to. So, the fact that I can backhand that super long and spiralally [music] right ramp, it's good news for my flipper rebuild. All right, so let's go right orbit start multiball.
    26:25
    All right, enough of that. Enough of that. Enough of that. Okay, calm down. Uh, and especially with I when I got my whole strapping system here, I had to unstrap it, restrap it, but I kind of think I have to do it and try. It kind of sucks, but I'm going to stick in the new ROMs again. Okay, here we go again. This time with the new ROMs installed. Just leaving the back box door open this time around. And I'm just going to use my world you come to world you come to hands hands just to expedite the process.
    27:12
    All right. Is this it? Lock your ball. Lock your ball. The locks are lit. Here we go.
    27:24
    Well, that was weird. Top magnet didn't really do its What the What the f, man? Okay, hold on. Hold on. What the f, man? Okay, hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Now you're going to come down.
    27:45
    I don't like that the upper magnet didn't really catch the ball and drop it down properly. That kind of confused things. So, uh, let's try this one more time.
    28:06
    Okay, I'll launch the ball into that orbit. I'll try anyway. There we go. And [music] what the f Oh, now the snagger starts what the f Oh, now the snagger starts doing its thing. I can hear the snagger sound effect still happening. Do you hear that? That's so weird. Okay.
    28:38
    I don't know. I might have to chalk this up to software, which is kind of dumb. But I did a lot of reading on uh this issue. And I think I should share my findings cuz it might be helpful to other people who have had similar issues. So, the old ROMs are going back in. Okay, old ROMs are back installed.
    29:05
    Let's give this another try. This should be fairly definitive except maybe I put my um display ROM in upside down. Did I do that? No.
    29:29
    What happened to my display? Okay, hold on. Going uh backwards again. Okay, I was starting to get worried there. I thought I might have blown up my display driver board or something, but I guess I had the ROM in the ROM socket. I thought I had it in this socket all the time, but when I switched it from here to there, thankfully got my display back. All right, so let's go back to the tripod. Okay, here we go again. Do I need to add credits? I love that Do I need to add credits? I love that sound. Okay, here we go. On a side note, I also did bring my lock bar to Kevin because he goes to the powder coating guy more often than I do and my lock bar is in pretty rough shape. So, actually, I took a video of it. I'll insert it now. Okay, before I bring this lock bar over to Kevin's, got to do a little bit of a before. It's really scratched up. It's really scratched up. Obsessively. Excessively. Holy Ellie, it's just turboing around the living room. I don't know what the f happened to this lock bar. But it should look a lot better But it should look a lot better once it comes back from powder coating. once it comes back from powder coating. But yeah, it needs to be powder coated. Everything else is good. But here we are. Let's start a game first before we try and launch the ball. That is the order of operations.
    31:21
    ready. I'm very very happy that that is working I'm very very happy that that is working consistently on the old code. I am pretty certain that I have isolated the problem. Kind of sucks that it was the new software that threw me for that loop. Fortunately, I didn't chase my tail uh too badly on it. So, the uh old original ROMs are staying in. Okay. I was trying to find the difference between the code variations between the old and the new. I was not able to just yet, but I did make a post in the pinball repair help group on Facebook and maybe I can get some details on that because I fear that I could be missing out on a lot of goodies on the new code, but I'm not going to sacrifice the snagger in exchange for those goodies. So, I'd like to see exactly what it is that I'm missing out on potentially between the 1.00 and the 2.02, but we will have to wait till another episode because uh my time has run out. I still have some more things I'd like to do on this machine, but I'm also in weight mode now for drop target decal, apron cards, side art, lock bar. Oh, and I got to order the little Jurassic Park keychain on Pinball Life, I believe it is, for two bucks. So, I got to get on that. But I initially thought I was going to have to place a somewhat sizable order for this machine at either Marco or Pinball Life. But I managed to leapt things together, found the target, rebuilt the flippers. Cory had this drop target for me. I managed to basically get everything from my own stash and or locally. And uh that's pretty sweet that I didn't even have to make an order yet except for that keychain, but I'll tack on to somebody's order cuz it's like a $2 thing. But anyway, I will see you on the next episode.