Pentax ZX/MZ gear failure (Whir of death) in action

If you want to repair this camera:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Pentax+Z...

MZ-S version: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Pentax+M...

The Pentax ZX/MZ series is very notorious for having the mirror motor gear fail due to it being manufactured out of cheap plastic, splitting and killing a $10 (at a thrift store camera body). Repairing the camera can cost anywhere from $80-110 and there are a few places that can do this repair on a Pentax body (replacing it with a brass gear).

Go on PentaxForums and you'll see tons of horror stories, same with various reviews. eBay is also flooded with Pentax ZX/MZ series cameras with the mirrors jammed up for a reason, or untested $15 cameras that'll jam up mid roll for this same failure.

In this case I was filming a review on the ZX/MZ saying why not to buy this camera, and I'll upload it later but for now I thought I'd clip this part out for people who are thinking of buying one (Please don't). If you want to buy a Pentax AF camera, buy a PZ/Z series or SFX or similar. A cheap plastic Nikon/Canon/Minolta will be vastly more reliable as well.