Thunder 1-A bass pickup pole pieces

First of all this is my first post on this wonderful forum

Yesterday i bought my third lefty Thunder bass, this one being my first active Thunder bass. While i was cleaning this sucker (which looked and smelled like it had spent a lifetime over a deep fryer ) i noticed that the pole pieces (though i know they are adjustable) were really loose and easily came out of the pickup: should it be possible to do this and does it harm the pickup in any way?
There was also some black "goo" on the bottom of the pole pieces: is this some kind of locktite that used to hold the pole pieces in place?

Thanx in advance for any answers/advice!

Hi ace and welcome

I've screwed the pole pieces right out of a Thunder bass to clean the rust off them before and it was ok.. they went back in nice and tight not loose so don't know what could be going on with yours.

Jay

Thanx for your comment Bowenjaybee.

Let me rephrase my earlier comment: they are not that loose, but compared to my other thunders, they screw in/out pretty easily (though they stay in place pretty well).
I have another question for you: how did you remove the rust from the pole pieces? (the exact same reason why i wanted to remove my pole pieces btw)

Cheers

Rust removal can be tedious, especially with little bits like those. They do make little sanding blocks made of rubber with an abrasive mixed in before being formed. Those work pretty well. Not sure where you are located but I've bought them at Sears before. Other wise, rust inhibitor like WD-40 and buff with rag or even 400 grit sandpaper (lightly). Good Luck!

Chris

I just used a sewing needle and lightly scraped the rust away then used a bit of 0000 grade steel wool to finish... slow and boring but it worked great.....it is a good thing to remove the poles completely otherwise you will have debris stuck all over the magnets which is a pain in the butt to remove.

Had this problem with loose adjustable pole pieces.
Just wrapped a bit of PTFE tape around them, works fine and no audible sound difference, not to the human ear anyway.