I have an issue with my MontBlanc 146 LeGrand Solitarie, piston gets stuck at the bottom of the barrel.

[Humberto]

I bought this MontBlanc fountain pen a few weeks ago and it was all full of dried ink. I cleaned it and I think I forced the piston mechanism, as I could unscrew it and I took it apart. Now when I try to suck ink from the reservoir, the piston gets stuck at the bottom of the barrel. Any tips on how to fix this issue? Thank you very much. 

[Uncial]

It sounds like you need to lubricate the piston head. Can you post pics?

[Humberto]

Yes, I can, which pics should I specifically send? Thank you

Edited October 27, 2024 by Humberto

[digitorum- Leonardo_W]

On 10/27/2024 at 12:19 AM, Humberto said:

I bought this MontBlanc fountain pen a few weeks ago and it was all full of dried ink. I cleaned it and I think I forced the piston mechanism, as I could unscrew it and I took it apart. Now when I try to suck ink from the reservoir, the piston gets stuck at the bottom of the barrel. Any tips on how to fix this issue? Thank you very much. 

Maybe you accidentally broke the helix rod ? the dried ink can prevent the piston to move easily.  If you can separate the bottom cap from the pen, it is most surely broken.

Fortunately, it is reparable, the best is to send it to someone who repairs Fountain pens, ask before hand if they do that repair on Montblanc, OR send it to Montblanc, it will be a standard reparation, should cost around 100-110 € / USD

[Humberto]

What is a helix rod?

Sorry, I am pretty new to Montblanc pens

[digitorum- Leonardo_W]

3 hours ago, Humberto said:

What is a helix rod?

Sorry, I am pretty new to Montblanc pens

This little plastic with a shape in helix or DNA like (coming out of the know on the picture) , make that when you turn the know, the piston goes down or up. This is usually what breaks. 

[Humberto]

I'll attach you a pic of mine and tell me if you think it is broken, because it seems like it looks the same way as yours but I am not sure

 

[digitorum- Leonardo_W]

Can you post a pic of the end of the pen ?
This doesn't seem broken, maybe just unscrewed

[Humberto]

A picture like this? Sorry I did not understand what you mean. Do you mean unscrewing the top?

[digitorum- Leonardo_W]

On 11/17/2024 at 1:39 AM, Humberto said:

I'll attach you a pic of mine and tell me if you think it is broken, because it seems like it looks the same way as yours but I am not sure

 

Ok, sorry for not being clear enough, on the attached picture you can see the brass part within the circle, and it would help to get a picture from an angle so you can see what's inside (like the yellow arrow) 

 

[Humberto]

[Humberto]

I removed the piston, the second picture is the piston itself. Also, it struggles sometimes to write, like I wanna make a line and if I go a bit too quickly it does not write it. Why could that be?

 

Thank you so much for all of your help

[digitorum- Leonardo_W]

I really am not sure what you did, this part on this pic, should be still in the pen :

 

If it isn't , your piston felt off and is just inside, I advice to give the pen to a professional, it won't cost much to have it fixed

 

[Humberto]

Oh in the pic I just took it out because my pen allows me to take it out. Do you have any clue about the other problem though? Thank you very much

[digitorum- Leonardo_W]

Most logical to me is that the plastic transparent piston might have popped out of the rod (what is highlighted in yellow on my pic)

[Humberto]

And what should I do about it?

[digitorum- Leonardo_W]

2 options: 
- find a nibmeister (close from you or to send the pen to) to fix this
- you could buy the 146/149 tool (on Ebay) and unscrew the brass part that holds the rod + piston and maybe it is just unclipped, in which case it would be easy to repair , but might be something else, in which case you should go to the 1st option 
The tool is the thing you see on my last pic.

Good luck  

[CS388]

6 hours ago, Humberto said:

And what should I do about it?

 

It seems you can dismantle and rebuild the pen? 

 

Take it apart until you have the parts as in  digitum-Leonardo_W's picture.

Make sure the seal is firmly placed onto the shaft - it doesn't click into place, but you can feel when it's hit home. Lubricate the seal and barrel, reassemble. 

This is the first thing to do, if it doesn't correct things, then it may be a broken part?

 

Your flow issue is probably not connected to this, but you'll need to tackle this first. Then do  the fine tuning.

Nice pen.

 

Good luck

[Humberto]

I am so sorry, with what should I lubricate the seal? Because I read online it should be silicone grease or something like that. Also, thank you very much, I will also try searching for a nibmeister just to see what they think about it. 

 

Thank you all for the help with my fountain pen. 

[agentdaffy007]

On 11/20/2024 at 7:22 PM, Humberto said:

I am so sorry, with what should I lubricate the seal? Because I read online it should be silicone grease or something like that. Also, thank you very much, I will also try searching for a nibmeister just to see what they think about it. 

 

Thank you all for the help with my fountain pen. 

 

From my research, people say 100% pure silicone grease like Molykote 111 or Aquaseal.

 

I found Aquaseal from a diving shop locally. I will give it a whirl when I am fed up of my dry piston MB 146 Solitaire SS.