I am fancying a speedy 2551.50 but have been reading that the 3303 movement is problematic. Can anyone explain the problems and the remedies in simple terms for me.
Thanks

 

I think you might have the wrong reference number for the watch. But the 3303 and family had issues with some of the chronograph parts that required upgrades made to them. Most watch movements get tweaks and upgrades over time to resolve reliability of ease of maintenance problems - for example a Rolex 3135 that came off the assembly line at Aegler in 1988 is not the same as one produced very recently. So to a certain extent watch brands use the buying public as a test bed for long term testing.

The last changes were made to the 3303 and related movements for these problems back in 2008, so anything produced after that time would have the upgrades done already. Any watch that goes in for service should have the upgrades completed as part of the service.

Note that if you have been reading comments about this movement on WUS, be aware that there is one poster there who seems to have made it his life's goal to trash this movement at every opportunity, and most of the comments about the negative aspects of this movement are his. When asked to provide evidence of the problems, he refers to other threads where he has trashed the movement, so he is basing this off no real evidence.

I have serviced these many times and only once did I see an actual problem that had developed that was related to the parts in question. So even before the upgrades were done it was a reliable movement, and after they are done, it's solid.

Cheers, Al