Gas Thieves Help Themselves To Tanker's Fuel:
opening up the lens would be a fantastic idea!
Before you try taking the lens apart have another Pentax-M 50mm f1.7 on order so you'll have a lens to use after you destroy the one you have.
I had this problem with a canon EF24mm on my DSLR's, I removed the bayonet mound very carefully and turned off about 0.5 mm off the face that contacts the lens body. Fixed!
Should not of dumped water in there like that. I would take it to the shop but if little bit of water went in the motor .You can get a manual or maybe even the owners manual you have and it should tell you the order the plugs go.
As these lenses are available for around ?30 it probably not worth it, they were the 'kit' lens of the period and there are thousands still around, it's a very common lens. The f1.4 is thought to be the best of the 50mm Pentax lenses, they also made an f1.2 and an f2. For the focus you need to go into the object lens end, for that you need to press onto the bezel to get a grip, the part that has the writing on. The easiest way is to use a rubber sheet glued to a cylinder of wood the correct diameter for a 'snug' fit, they usually come apart fairly easily, it's a normal thread, anticlockwise (looking at the front of the lens) will unscrew it. Going in from the camera end is not recommended as then you are entering the aperture controls and there are a few spring loaded parts that will jump out at you. You will be disturbing the 'collimation' of the lens whatever you do so even if you manage to repair it, it can still be out of alignment unless your very careful, counting the number of turns you need to remove the front element for instance. This problem is usually caused by the original grease becoming a solid 'lump' as it dried out over the years, sometimes just working the lens can cure it, lighter fluid will dissolve this old grease readily and you will not have to delve too deeply into the lens to cure this, if it's a broken focus spiral then it's a nice paperweight as the new part (which are still available) will cost more than a replacement lens off . The A (Auto) version of this lens is far more useful because on a Pentax DSLR they can be used in any mode as the camera can control the aperture. Chris
