Rx 5250 Woes

[XDJ659]

Guys, thank you for all your valuable input on my 5250 woes. I am going to take a step back and put this on hold as I wait on an Esr meter and some other items.
I will try to do my best troubleshooting on this RX(#1) and start from square one and start a fresh post with my finding for just this boombox to help avoid any confusion I might have caused here.
Thanks to Superdupers' valuable input, I will now take the time to try and better diagnose the problem as I really like this old boombox.
In the meantime I guess I'll post Rx#2 so maybe I can start working on that one.
Thanks to all.

 

[XDJ659]

Update and..closure I guess?
This is for box #1
Well got some parts in and after making an audio signal tracer, I found that my volume button was bad (would never go to zero volume, causing the constant distortion on the speakers), one bad amp ic and replaced all the caps around it. Sounds great so far.
I will be putting this one back together and see if the tape mechanism still works after replacing the belts.
Real happy that it is working again. I know a full recap is the better way to go but for now I am leaving it as is. Cheers.

 

[caution]

Congrats on getting to the source of the issue, it's a good feeling! Trying to suss out weird audio issues can be a real pain the keaster sometimes, especially when it's not your typical dirty switch/pot/connector.