Area pointed out:

Same area on a Kenmore 158.17600

In the Kenmore pic, one of the screws protrudes and the other is a "set" screw, therefore hard to see.

How to time your hook and needle:

Unplug your machine from the power source. Once you loosen the hook, you must be careful not to engage the machine's movement except by hand.

You should have a new, unbent needle PROPERLY inserted. This means that the needle should be up as far as it can go before the needle screw is tightened. A very large needle will be more visible.

Turn your hand wheel until the needle just begins its upward stroke. "Just" means about the length of the eye of your needle. Maybe a tiny bit more.

After loosening the highlighted screws, you can then turn your hook manually. Turn your hook until its point crosses the center line of the needle just at the little dip in the needle shaft.

When you feel it is in the correct place, carefully tighten one of the screws you initially loosened. Then you should be able to rotate it all and tighten the remaining screw.

Make sure all screws are carefully tightened! Try moving the machine, with no thread, completely through a few cycles by hand to make sure there is nothing knocking or banging.

Then thread the machine and retry manually to "sew". If everything looks ok, THEN plug it in and try a very slow stitch.

If you need to go back in there and try again, I suggest that you have the crucial point be a little closer to when the needle begins its rise.

Repair manuals will give you the millimeter specs. But as I said in another post, I have successfully "eyeballed" this repair several times in my career.

Good luck!

Thank you!

This could bring a number of old machines back into useful service.