Beocord 9000: Identifying Repairs

The disassembly of the tape transport allows me to get to various nooks and crannies for cleaning and locate hard to see places that need repair. This makes sense from a restoration stand point but you pretty much have to disassembly a majority of the transport anyway to replace the rubber wheels.

NOTE: Don't disturb the part of the transport where the tape heads are mounted. Chances are they are still in alignment or, at least very close. There is no need to remove them at this point unless you know they are defective.

Here is a picture that identifies the four rubber wheels that will need to be replaced.

The replacement wheels and the rubber belts I will use are parts I get from Martin Olsen. He has done the research to make sure these replacement parts are accurate reproductions for the Beocord 9000.
Here are the replacement parts for the belts and wheels.

This picture shows the tape heads and the pinch roller (or thrust roller). The picture also shows what type of dust and dirt builds up inside these machines.

One of the rubber wheels to be replaced is part of the Beocord clutch assembly. Every clutch assembly from a Beocord 8000 to 9000 deck I have seen has cracks in the plastic where the pulley shaft mounts (via small brass inserts in the plastic).

I went ahead and disassembled the clutch assembly to apply the fix for the cracked plastic. I cut sections from a brass tube and epoxy into place so the brass sleeves prevent any more damage. The tubing I used is 8.73mm (11/32 inch) x 0.355mm (0.014 inch). I got mine at a hobby store that specializes in parts for remote control airplanes and cars. I used a Dremel tool to cut sections off then file off any burrs. When mounting the brass sleeves I remove the brass mounts the clutch shaft fits in to.

The final repair to identify is the repair of the tape head transport leaf springs. I already know there is one broken spring mount. I need to also check for any other places there are cracked or loose plastic pieces. I found these bad spots by the gears that dampen the cassette holder open/close function.

I will repair those spots with some epoxy when I fix the leaf spring mount here.

I wanted to get the epoxy step done and cured so I could continue with the tape transport. I actually did the cleaning and epoxy step last night so I could continue working today. This picture shows the re-installing of the leaf springs that hold down the tape head transport. Some new TriFlow Red Grease, the 2.5mm ball-bearings and the springs are complete. Next it is on to installing the new wheels and lubricating the moving parts. That should mean the tape transport will be ready to reassemble and test.