How do you tighten a loose joystick on a Nintendo 64 controller?

Answer 1

Although there are hundreds of sites discussing loose thumbsticks, most recommendations say to simply replace it, which is not generally a viable option. The cause of the looseness is the plastic wearing away on the black plastic parts in figures 4c and 4d in the following guide: http://codebook.potchgult.com/stickrepair/stickfix.htm

The only way to fix this is by somehow building up the parts of the plastic that have been worn away - one suggestion is to use a lighter to soften the plastic and reshape it slightly, or you can somehow build up the worn away parts. Note that it's only a matter of about 0.1mm, so it's less than the thickness of a standard piece of paper - not exactly easy to fix.

These methods are both very difficult and may end in permanently destroying the controller, which is worse than just having it slightly loose, and it may not even help. Some professionals, such as people that work in 2nd hand games stores have ways to refurbish the controllers, but they have never shared the secret with me. If anyone knows how to actually 'refurbish' these without buying a new thumbstick, I'd love to hear how.

Answer 2

There are many ways to fix an N64 controller. The easiest and probably most cost and time efficient would be to purchase a new controller. You can find controllers on Ebay and Amazon for $10, or if you go to a local game store that has more vintage systems.

.j.