Hitachi CX-W800E tape belt replacement

[GrahamM]

Hi All,

I have a old CX-W800E which was working well but I think got a bit hot in the sun last year or some other environment issue.
Both Tape drives have stopped turning and after changing the large main belt on deck 1 with a similar size spare I had its playing again but very distorted.

I'm thinking the belts got shot in the heat. Has anyone replaced these before and know good replacements and also how to get the inner belt off as it obstructed by a small white peg with spring?

I also had to fiddle with the CD lid microswitches as not always detecting the lid closure but I think slightly more stable now.

I can post pic is anyone is interested

Cheers

 

[caution]

This model doesn't show up on any belt listings, and the belt part numbers from its service manual are not cross-referenced anywhere.

Trying belts from a sampler pack is one way to find the length but you can do it better and for free by simply wrapping a piece of string around the pulleys and subtracting about 5% for tension. More info here. Once you have the right length, measure the old belt's cross section and you're ready to buy a high quality replacement

 

[GrahamM]

Thanks for the advice and taking a look. I did check the page on here with belt listings and Google the two parts in the service manual with no luck

I've added a couple of pics, doe's anyone know how I should remove the second drive belt past the small white plastic thing with spring?
It stops me taking the belt off from around the main pully, and I don't want to break it (the spring).
The belts don't seem that bad. Is there a way to recondition them a bit or is it best to just replace them?

 

[goodman]

Buy a " Belt Kit For Cassette Player" from a parts store or from eBay:
You need to remove this big wheel and fix the white washer with the spring.
Next boombox is a different model, but has a similar mechanism.
at 06:40 how to remove the wheel.
at 34:00 how to glue the washer with the spring.
watch the video:

 

[GrahamM]

Thanks for the video goodman.
The two decks have started playing with original belts without much interference from myself. I did try a new belt i had from the motor to flywheel but that didn't make much difference to the sound.

Here is a link to a shared album that has a couple of videos showing the sound from each deck.
Doe's anyone know if this is a drive issue or something more serious?

CX-W800e

5 new items · Album by Graham Mills

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[goodman]

Hmm, that doesn't sound good.
Did you fix the white washer with the spring?
It shouldn't touch the big wheel...

 

[GrahamM]

Hmm, that doesn't sound good.
Did you fix the white washer with the spring?
It shouldn't touch the big wheel...

Hey, I haven't touched that yet, just popped the belts of the pulley and back to see if loosened anything up, check for slipping etc.
I did wonder that the white peg if for as it rubs on the flywheel on both decks. Making that rubbing noise.
Hard to tell if fault as it's on both and I haven't seen enough to tell if by design.

 

[GrahamM]

Hey, I haven't touched that yet, just popped the belts of the pulley and back to see if loosened anything up, check for slipping etc.
I did wonder that the white peg if for as it rubs on the flywheel on both decks. Making that rubbing noise.
Hard to tell if fault as it's on both and I haven't seen enough to tell if by design.

I have found this thread so will investigate later

Hitachi 3D2 tape mechanism

Hi there, I am currently working on a Hitachi 3D2. After doing some service (cleaning, painting the red ring, new woofer chassis, new piezo tweeters it performs better than expected. I have a question regarding the tape mechanism. All functions work OK, however I had a scratching noise coming...

www.boomboxery.com

 

[goodman]

Yes, this is a problem. The white plastic washer should not be touching the flywheel on both decks.
It should be fixed as shown in the video at 34:00. Good luck.

PS - The same problem is in this thread too - Hitachi 3D2 tape mechanism
My answer was the same.

 

[goodman]

Is there any news on the repair of this boombox?

 

[GrahamM]

Is there any news on the repair of this boombox?

Hi, been a bit busy to try this but I will let you know as soon as I get further

 

[GrahamM]

@goodman thanks for the advice.

Ok so now both decks are fixed.
I removed the flywheel but carefully removing the split washer and making sure not to loose that and the small washer under the wheel.
Took off the white cap and spring. Put a very small amount of super glue on top of the peg and push cap and spring back on. Basically its just push fit but lost it grip.

I also replaced the belts but prob didn't need to.
2 x 60mm and 1 x 90mm
Only had one good 90mm so put old belt back on deck 2 as the other new one didn't sound good, prob too much give.

Uploaded new video to album https://photos.app.goo.gl/qb4urZMSRjZY7c8W8

TODO
- Deck 1 just are my tape after a few minutes of testing so need to check that out.
- One of the two CD player lid microswitches are faulty. If you touch the lid while playing it just cuts out. Prior to opening to fix the tape drive we had to put something heavyish on the lid so CD starts. I was hoping a small play would fix this, but seems to only improved slightly

 

[GrahamM]

These are the two micro switches.
I'll update with the part code from service PDF later but couldn't find via Google.

Are there serviceable with electronics cleaner spray or is replacement best option?

 

[goodman]

I see that you managed to fix the problem with the mechanisms.
That was a good news.
I didn't understand what was happening with deck 1?
Try spraying the micro switch.
I also found a service manual, it might be useful to you: Service Manual

 

[Superduper]

Hmm, that doesn't sound good.
Did you fix the white washer with the spring?
It shouldn't touch the big wheel...

That’s some cool psychedelic space tunes. That system is common, I’ve seen it before, used on cheap deck systems with that paper thin flywheel, which due to lack of weight, is hardly a flywheel at all. It’s a spring with a nylon rubbing block that, yes, rubs on the flywheel, and I suspect its purpose is to introduce some resistance to the assembly and mimic a heavier flywheel and perhaps dampen any oscillations that might exacerbate wow and flutter. If that rubbing block doesn’t have the proper tension, and the original belt is now oval, it’s entirely possible to have excessive wow and flutter and insufficient tension (friction) could cause out of control run away speed. Imagine an oval rock rolling down hill, the action will be anything but smooth. You might try using a pick to retract the block and slip that thin belt past it off.

 

[GrahamM]

@goodman

Hey, so it seem to be working good now. Deck 1 issue after the pause spring issue was the belt had slipped off so ate the tape.

CD lid fix was to spray the switched with contact cleaner and I also put a thin plastic washer on the underside screw hole to raise the broad up by about 1/2 mm. This was to just push them down a little more when lid it closed.

I also contact spray cleaned the volume sliders as they were crackling and volume jumping up and down.

They only small niggle is someone at some point has drop small amount of super glue on the CD lid which is hard to remove
To be fair it is about 40 years old and I'm sure I've aged worse

Updated the album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/qb4urZMSRjZY7c8W8

 

[GrahamM]

That’s some cool psychedelic space tunes. That system is common, I’ve seen it before, used on cheap deck systems with that paper thin flywheel, which due to lack of weight, is hardly a flywheel at all. It’s a spring with a nylon rubbing block that, yes, rubs on the flywheel, and I suspect its purpose is to introduce some resistance to the assembly and mimic a heavier flywheel and perhaps dampen any oscillations that might exacerbate wow and flutter. If that rubbing block doesn’t have the proper tension, and the original belt is now oval, it’s entirely possible to have excessive wow and flutter and insufficient tension (friction) could cause out of control run away speed. Imagine an oval rock rolling down hill, the action will be anything but smooth. You might try using a pick to retract the block and slip that thin belt past it off.

Thanks for the info.
I did initially try some lubrication where it touches the flywheel but it didn't seem to make a difference. Even after changing the belts.
Fixing it back away from flywheel definitely resolved the playback sound issue.

I'm wondering if I should have used grease instead and that would have removed the scuffing sound and allowed normal playback speed with a little stability?
I assumed it was always a dry contact and shouldn't touch.

 

[goodman]

Congratulations on restoring this Hitachi. Now you can listen to your favorite cassettes and CDs.
I had Hitachi - TRK-3D2E 4 years ago, but it is no longer part of my collection. More info here:

Goodman's Boomboxes Collection

I can't believe It - I have only 14 boomboxes and 14,000 views on this topic! :thumbsup: Thank you guys... :-) List of my boomboxes: :-) 01 - Sharp GF 777 Z 02 - Hitachi TRK-WX88W 03 - Philips D 8304 04 - Philips D 8082 Le Cube 05 - Siemens Club 735 (a.k.a. Sanyo M9996) 06 - Sanyo C35...

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