Rotex 125 slips out of Rotary mode

[estaud]

I bought a very well used Rotex 125 (probably a mistake, but the price was right). When using it in rotary mode the switch on top slips from rotary mode into random-orbital. I have to turn the sander off to switch it back into rotary. The more resistance/pressure I use when sanding/polishing, the faster and more often it slips.

Does anyone have experience with this? Is the particular part(s) that causes this user-serviceable? Or maybe this is a sign that everything is wearing out? The unit is way out of warranty, and I'm guessing it wouldn't be worth having Festool do the repair.

 

[AlexThePalex]

It is just a worn part. If you're handy you can replace it yourself.

In the menu bar of this forum there's an option Additional websites > spare parts catalogue where you can find an exploded view of the sander and find the parts you need. You can order them directly from Festool or one of their dealers.

 

[estaud]

It is just a worn part. If you're handy you can replace it yourself.

In the menu bar of this forum there's an option Additional websites > spare parts catalogue where you can find an exploded view of the sander and find the parts you need. You can order them directly from Festool or one of their dealers.

Thanks Alex. I just took it apart. I see the parts around the switch are not too expensive and are easy to remove/replace, but I can't really see if something is worn or not. Not sure if it's just the switch mechanism which has become loose/warn or perhaps something in the gearbox or elsewhere is providing too much resistance and that is causing the switch to pop out of rotary mode.

 

[estaud]

Finally. I ordered both parts in the image linked above, #29 & #30. It was hard to tell which was the culprit, maybe it was the combination of both. The old parts seemed very slightly worn compared to the new ones. With the new parts, the problem has vanished. It took a long time for me to confirm because of course, the brushes gave out right after the repair, so I had to order those too. Thanks to everyone for the advice.

The other thing I learned is that it's very easy to call Festool to order the parts directly. I started by ordering through a dealer site and after 10 days called to cancel because they didn't turn out to have the part or to have a way to tell me they didn't have the part or when they would get the part.