Replace Asian 21J (DG2813)

[cougar1]

I have a steelfish with a dead asian 21J movement and I'd like to replace it.

How easy is it to replace? If I buy a DG2813 from cousinsuk can I just swap it out (I have basic tools etc). I'm not interested in upgrading the movement I just want the watch working again but from reading the forums it doesnt seem to be as straight a swap as thought. Are there issues with size of the movement (i.e. might cause stem alignment issues) or the size of the part where the hands are replaced. I've seen some mention on forums about recessed cannon pinion and not being able to fit the hands. If it just gets too awkward I'm gonna leave it but that would disappoint me as I'd really like to be able to do a basic 21j movemnent swap. Any comment or ideas?

[jmb]

The DG2813 I bought from cousins had a recessed pinion for the sweep hand. The 2813 I got from ofrei worked out OK. I don't know if this can be specified to Cousins or not but it might be worth an e-mail...

[Toadtorrent]

Like J said, the swap can be a straight one, but only if you get the right cannon pinion height. I'm not sure all vendors are aware of the variant. If you can get a tech sheet from them, you might get lucky and know which one you are getting. in advance before ordering. The 2813 should be a direct swap though.

[cougar1]

Thanks guys. I'm just looking for a straight swap DG2813 <-> DG2813. So is it or isnt it a straight swap I don't mind having to check this out a bit with cousinsuk but I keep on reading that if the very basic asian21j DG2813 fails then its not worth servicing just straight swap out. Then it seems a straight swap is not all there is to it? Alot of people seem to be doing the high beat upgrade i.e... DG2813 <-> DG4813, which confuses things. I'm not really interested in that. Just the straight DG2813 swap.

So do I have to worry about cannon pinion height for this? Its not too easy to get a straight answer and I've searched multiple forums. Some say yes no problem, some say no the DG2183 the reps use is different than those replacements bought in the shops.