I got a Kenmore 158-16801 from shopgoodwill.com. It has a drop-in bobbin; that’s new to me.
It almost works, just won’t pick up the bobbin thread.
I checked threading, changed the needle, tried two types of bobbins in 4 different ways, replaced the bobbin casing…and it still almost works.
The timing seems okay; the hook passes the needle right behind the eye.
ETA: can’t find crossout text; it’s definitely the timing.
Any suggestions?
Have you checked YouTube?
Thanks!
I believe I watched that video around 8:17 this morning. She just holds onto the hook, and it gets adjusted; maybe that’s how it works with newer machines, but when I tried that, the hook stabbed my finger. There’s some kind of set screw that needs to be loosened, but not one of the dozen videos I’ve watched has shown just where that is.
The latest one narrated actions, “See here’s the first screw…” but just had a static view of the machinery, without pointing out what they were talking about or showing what they were supposedly doing.
Other videos have blurry footage or fat fingers blocking the view. Or they’re just too different to adapt the directions to my machine.
I’m going nuts with it.
I retimed a couple of machines years ago, just based on a photocopy of a page from a repair manual for a different type of machine. It’s not that hard, but even if I still had that page, the drop-in bobbin has a different setup.
In case you’re wondering, I am crazy frustrated!
So sorry…I have a Brother with a drop in bobbin…I hate it when I have any problems with it or the Kenmores…I have spare parts for both and have done repairs on them for years, but I am going to take the Brother in for service since it is computerized…give me an old fashioned mechanized machine anyday…heavy as heck and reliably simple in operation!
Hope you resolve it…
thanks for being patient with my ranting!
My suggestion is take it in for servicing! I don’t know how to fix the car & I wouldn’t try.
But fixing it myself brings joy in more ways than one. I get the satisfaction of figuring it out, and I get to cuss all I want. It’s a hobby.
I used to get machines free from Freecycle and Craigslist, fix them up and give them away. That lets me puzzle them out, but not have a lot of money invested AND I don’t have to store them forever. If I had a huge studio space, I’d probably have dozen of machines. My personal best was 7 at once.
They just get out of whack… I had one with a table and everything that I left in Austin when we moved to LA because it wouldn’t stay working. I’m still mad I don’t have it.
Sounds like it does need pro service. The bobbin in mine was vertical and everytime I got it fixed it would work flawlessly until I tried something too thick everytime. Then it would skip stitches.
One thing that works for me is to clean the bobbin case with an ear swab and/or compressed air. Sometimes it’s just dust/lint or a stray piece of thread that mucks it up for me.
I can’t help with your machine, but I can help with strikethrough.
Letter s between < > at the beginning and a /s between <> at the end. If I typed them out it would just strikethrough and not show you how!
Thank you! When I saw you posted here, I hoped you were going to tell me how to strike.
You’re welcome! Glad I could help with something! 
lying awake in bed last night, I had a revelation; maybe the set screw thingie isn’t directly under the needle, but off in the side of the base I hadn’t opened yet.
So first thing this morning, I opened that up, and discovered a thingie with two set screws further to the right on the shaft!
I’ve loosened and turned, tightened and tested se-e-e-e-erveral times. The needle’s lowest position moved one time, but not since–I actually made it worse! That’s kind of promising.
I keep checking in hoping to see a post that you’ve gotten it fixed!
Have you read this article on silverbobbin .com? The first solution under ‘Troubleshooting bobbin thread’ sounds like it could be a potential answer. If nothing else, the article has some interesting information on the history and origins of the Kenmore machines.
Interesting site, thanks!
I have moved beyond the bobbin, though; the machine is somewhat disassembled so I can watch the hook miss catching the upper thread; if it were working properly, the hook would then loop the upper thread around the bobbin to make a stitch.
Until I figure out what screws I need to loosen, there’s no reason to put the bobbin back in!
I’ve actually got the hook picking up the bobbin thread!
unfortunately, that involves a clothespin wedged to keep the shaft from drifting from right to left. Now to figure out what would work better…
and why the shaft is drifting, of course.
So the machine is in timeout, in a box in the corner. I hope it is repenting its bad behavior and planning to do better.
But I did have a win today! The inkjet printer has been refusing to work since we got a new modem. I tried a dozen things last week, and was just so disheartened that none worked, AND THEN I couldn’t get the sewing machine to work.
I went shopping for a new printer; one mentioned it had a USB port, and a lightbulb went off. I plugged the printer into the computer, and it worked!
So I have hopes for the sewing machine, too.
