Yup, I've had the exact same problem with my second MK2a. I've posted about this before.
An annoying side efect of this was that in my case the player ratteled in it's sled because the handle didn't snap back enough. But last week I had to send in my unit for repairs (it didn't remember time/date) and since David couldn't find the exact cause of it himself and Hugo was out of the country, David transplanted my HD's in a new unit and sent that one to me.
This new unit not only works great, but also has a nice snappy handle. Two problems fixed at once! Thank you Empeg!