The meshing teeth, the external teeth and the sealing faces all seem fine. The problem is that the the teeth do not mesh to close the zipper. I am thinking that my poor technique has sprung the slider block. I have had this happen in the past with camping tents and I was able to tighten the slider by squeezing with a pair of pliers.
The block is a pretty rugged hunk of brass and the tapered shape makes it hard to get a bite on the closing end with pliers.
Is there hope, anything else to check for? Can the slider alone be replaced? The suit has 41 dives on it and is otherwise fine. The zipper other than this problem is still in like new shape as well. I hope it's not new zipper time.:11:
The last 40% to close will not engage. For the life of me I can't see a darned thing wrong or different about it.
Spectrum, call your LDS where you purchased the suit and and have them call Diving Concepts. It should be warrentied. If so, they can fix it quickly for you. Do not mess with the zipper yourself until you talk to them. There might be an easy fix they can suggest to you.
Pete, if you don't get a fix after following PinkPADIgal's good advice, take another look at the slider and at the inner zipper teeth, especially where they first fail to close.
I've never had the problem you've encountered, but I've had occasion in the past to examine my zippers carefully for possible misalignment or debris.
You've done a close examination already, but try the following (assuming BDM or YKK zipper).
Although it's highly unlikely that this very rugged slider has been splayed out at the bottom, you could judge this with the parallel jaws of a vernier caliper. The sides should be perpendicular to the base. I just checked two of my zippers and it's easy to judge.
Also, my sliders appear to have about 0.010" or less of play between the inside of the slider at the rear and the external zipper teeth.
Also, check the bottom lip of the slider, which should be at a right angle to the sides.
If the base and/or bottom of the slider are splayed out, I think a small vise or c-clamp or even Vise-Grips would be better than pliers to provide a controlled squeeze to bring things back to original position with less risk of going too far. You may need to fashion a pair of blocks to keep the slider in position relative to the clamp or vise.
A more likely cause is a damaged inner tooth. Take a magnifyer and really look carefully at the inner teeth to see if an overhanging end of a tooth "T" has been partially broken off or rounded excessively. Unless you can obtain a replacement tooth, this may be unrepairable.
Another likely cause may be a tear of the reinforcing fiber in the zipper tape, which may not be visible on first examination. This could allow a tooth to get out of position as it's being lined up by the slider. With the zipper open, try wiggling each individual tooth to see if any are looser than the others. If so, the fiber in the tape may be broken. There's no repair that I can think of for this except replacing the zipper.
Also look for foreign matter jammed deep into the folded rubber base between a couple of the inner teeth. This may not have been visible when you first looked. It may be hard to tell except by a small bulge between a couple of the inner teeth (zipper open).
You might be able to remove the debris with a fine pick, tweezers or with a jet of water from a Water Pick.
Also check inner tooth spacing and height to see if one has been moved significantly out of position in relation to the adjacent teeth or base tape. A small amount of variation in spacing is normal. You've already looked, but it wouldn't hurt to check again, especially while trying to move each individual tooth with your fingers (zipper open). Again, I'd say there's a slim chance of being able to repair this, since the tape or it's reinforcing fibers under the tooth may be torn, but perhaps you could get it to stay in correct position somehow.
Good luck. I feel your pain....especially since your zipper's only got 41 dives on it.
Dave C
