Hmmm, very funky. I would suggest sending it in to a repair service like Garry's Camera Repair (cheap and good). Sounds like a botched self repair by the previous owner or something got knocked around.

The SRT series is a well built camera and lenses are pretty inexpensive for them too. It is worth putting a few bux into it now as it will last for years to come.

I say that being a Minolta junkie. My first SLR was a Minolta and it never let me down so I stuck with them.