its unbelievable that i stumbled upon this forum... i am in no way experienced with sewing and sewing machines. and whats so crazy about me stumbling upon this site is, i just recently purchased a singer 185j at my local salvation army (for 2.12, with tax might i add.),and ran into the same problem. i had red felt stuck in a spring underneath the half circle piece of metal the needle plunges in to. this felt was stopping the whole rotation of the motor and all its intricate parts. what i did was, i took off the needle and the contraption that screws on to hold the needle in place. then i took off the foot type metal piece that comes off when unscrewed. then took the two screws in the half metal piece off. i slid the sliding metal piece all the way off. and i must apologize now for the lack of vocabulary, i just dont know the shop talk... anyway i then flipped the machine out so it was resting on its side. i placed a book underneath to help aid any straining. now with the machine on its side you have two clear shots at what you need to unravel, untangle, or in my case unwedge, with great views underneath and on top. there are other things to unscrew if need be, but i hope that will solve all your problems. also, when getting that sliding piece back on, you have to come from the back to get it on. i hope i was clear enough. good luck, and take care.
ben, September 2008
