With the needle at “bottom dead center," examine the area between the back surface of the needle and the hook basket needle guard (the needle guard gap). There should be a small amount of clearance in this area. That is, the back surface of the needle should not be touching the hook basket needle guard. The image below displays the ideal needle guard gap (which is approximately 0.001”/0.025mm).
If the needle guard gap is incorrect, adjust the hook position using the procedure outlined in Hook Timing Inspection and Adjustment.