# Protostar Fail (or noob fail) **URL:** \ **Category:** Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance\ **Created:** [April 27, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/protostar-fail-or-noob-fail/13760 "2010-04-27T01:01:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![treeturtle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/76d3ee/32.png) [@treeturtle](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/treeturtle)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/protostar-fail-or-noob-fail/13760/1 "2010-04-27T01:01:39Z")
Well I got my first yoyo not long ago and its been fine for a few weeks, but all of a sudden… First, my bearing started getting really loud; I didn’t notice much of a slow down, but something definitly wasn’t right. Then, this happened: [](https://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/treeturtle927/Photoon2010-04-26at20502.jpg) I unscrewed it to fix some crazy knot I managed to create and instead of it unscrewing normally, the axle came out of one side completely. Now, it seems no amount of force can unscrew it from the other side. I’d like to think that I didn’t over tighten it because the yoyo has marks showing how far to tighten it, but I’m not sure what else would cause this. Has this happened to anyone else ever? How did you fix it? ---
**Author:** ![CaliBuddha](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/calibuddha/32/156_2.png) [@CaliBuddha](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/CaliBuddha)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/protostar-fail-or-noob-fail/13760/2 "2010-04-27T01:08:36Z")
Im not positive of what the problem is… The yoyo is supposed to come apart like that… Can you screw it back together? ---
**Author:** ![treeturtle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/76d3ee/32.png) [@treeturtle](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/treeturtle)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/protostar-fail-or-noob-fail/13760/3 "2010-04-27T01:12:05Z")
yeah i can put it back together and play just fine. The problem is that my bearing is stuck between two metal discs that won’t come apart ---
**Author:** ![Yummy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/yummy/32/14065_2.png) [@Yummy](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Yummy)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/protostar-fail-or-noob-fail/13760/4 "2010-04-27T01:15:29Z")
That is perfectly normal. If you ever actually need to get the spacers off the bearing you can use a knife to pry them off. ---
**Author:** ![anonyo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@anonyo](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/anonyo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/protostar-fail-or-noob-fail/13760/5 "2010-04-27T02:10:38Z")
But be VERY careful. Better yet have a parent do it for you. There are other ways too. You can get pliers to pull them apart or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Mikers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mikers](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Mikers)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/protostar-fail-or-noob-fail/13760/6 "2010-04-27T02:13:07Z")
I really hate this spacer system. I hope YoYoFactory changes it before the next batch of Protostars. ---
**Author:** ![yoyojamben](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/yoyojamben/32/289780_2.png) [@yoyojamben](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/yoyojamben)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/protostar-fail-or-noob-fail/13760/7 "2010-04-28T18:36:28Z")
> [@Mikers](#): > > I really hate this spacer system. I hope YoYoFactory changes it before the next batch of Protostars. I agree. Not the spacer system itself, but I would enjoy them to not be as tight around the bearing itself, so that you could pry it apart with our fingers 😃 ---
**Author:** ![riderundead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3bc359/32.png) [@riderundead](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/riderundead)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/protostar-fail-or-noob-fail/13760/8 "2010-04-30T05:42:29Z")
I’m not fond of this spacer system. I use a razor blade to pry gently. You have to work your way around the bearing prying a little here and a little there it comes off eventually. I don’t dig the protostar bearing AT ALL! The centertrack bearing that came in my proto had lots of slop in it and just generally reeked of cheapness. I put a new 10-ball in mine and its much much much less noisy. ---
**Author:** ![hidas](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/hidas/32/486_2.png) [@hidas](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/hidas)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/protostar-fail-or-noob-fail/13760/9 "2010-05-02T01:40:56Z")
The spacers in the Protostar are horrible, i agree. Tip: Don’t tighten the yoyo more than you have to. I usually just screw the yoyo together until it won’t come apart. This is NOT where the arrows are lined up. Loosen it if you have to. ---
**Author:** ![Smoke770077](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Smoke770077](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Smoke770077)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/protostar-fail-or-noob-fail/13760/10 "2010-05-02T02:49:31Z")
Look what YYF just put out!! Aren’t they awesome! [![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/9/9/1/991c77d1c6c089a65d21b9b197fd78fece27b398.jpeg "YoYoFactory Spacer Removal instructional") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INyRFN49_qc)