if you have to lower needle it means hook timing is out,open the cover at bottom of machine and find the gear that operate the hook.loosen the screws holding the gear and move hook slightly while holding handwheel in one position.the hook point should be just above,not more than 1mm.the needle eye with needle bar at its furthest point from hook start.that implies far left position.tension is bit more difficult to explain but if you can guess tension it should be with a pull off 20grams.try and try again is all you can do if you want to save money
johan
July 2013