Revival of my past (AR3a/McIntosh preamp/amp/.....help needed

[Guest ghstudio]

Now that I've retired, it's time to get the old gear out of storage and reassemble my early Stereo setup from the 60's. I have a pair of Ar 3a's, a McIntosh 2505 amp and McIntosh C26 pre-amp. The pots on my AR3a are, of course, not working and need cleaning or replacement.

I see that Layne has a complete crossover rebuild kit for $72 plus $6 for the woofer caps....and that's an option, if I can actually reach them..but...is there a more reasonable source for the caps? I know one can go crazy with this stuff..I am not using special wire, I don't use special audio or speaker wires...I just want to restore the speakers to at least their original smooth sound.

I haven't found any article that tells me what voltage capacitors I need. I can find the mfd's, but not the voltages.

Does it make sense to clean the pots (and how) or should I just replace them (or even bypass them as some have suggested)?

When I replace the woofers (I've already sent them to be refoamed), what should I use around the edges to seal the woofer to the speaker front panel?

Finally, I do have the old stuffing, but I hate that stuff. Is there something else i could use?

[Guest nathanso]

In the event that you haven't yet powered up your long dormant equipment, I recommend using a variac to slowly introduce electricity to help re-form the electrolytics. Monitor the current as you increase voltage (over 1-2 days) to ensure it is not suspiciously exceeding spec. Blown fuses are a red flag.

Signs of excess current probably mean a shorted cap(s). Some would preemptively re-cap all electrolytics and other caps of dubious longevity. Caps that have partially degraded can introduce hum.