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Beolover SyncDrive: DC Platter Motor Replacement for Beogram 4002 and 4004 (Type 551x and 552x)

Late Beogram 4002 and the 4004 (Types 551x and 552x), which have DC platter motors instead of the earlier synchronous AC motors usually suff...

Monday, December 1, 2025

Beogram 4002 (5513): New Wood Plinth, Dust Cover, Keypad and Installation of a Commander Remote Control System

I recently functionally restored a Beogram 4002 (Type 5513) for a customer in Virginia. He decided to also get its cosmetics upgraded with a new walnut 4000c style wood plinth, hood and keypad, and also get a Beolover Commander remote control system installed.

This shows the final condition of the unit:

Beolovely! Almost like new!

My first project was replacing the cracked wood plinth:

Its left front corner had taken a hit at some point:
I put the frame into the oven at 250F. After baking it for 30 min I took it out and with a carpet knife cut the wood panels from the metal fixtures. The glue gets weakened by the heat treatment and the metal parts are easily liberated when hot. The more difficult task is the removal of the hardened old glue remnants. I usually soak the parts in Goo Gone for 24 hrs. I spray the product on and then wrap the parts in plastic foil to prevent drying out:
After 24 hrs the glue can be rubbed off with a bit of effort. This shows the cleaned parts after washing them with dish detergent:
I use 3M 300LSE double sided tape for glueing the parts into the new frame. This shows the tape backed parts together with the new 4000c style walnut frame:
I use two small Beogram 400x aluminum cover plates as alignment help for gluing the metal frame pieces at the right height into the wood frame:
I also use a strip of parchment paper on one side of the metal parts for keeping it from sticking while pushing it into the corner on the other end. The aluminum plates have a thickness that matches the machined recess in the wood frame perfectly, which makes it easy to glue the metal parts at the proper level. This shows the nice alignment achieved with this method:
Her a shot of a corner:
Beolovely! On to the keypad.
This shows the original keypad with finger smudges (on the right) together with the restored keypad that I installed:
The first step was replacing the cracked original plastic brackets that hold the RPM panel in place. They often crack when people pry out the RPM panel in an off angle:
Luckily there are perfectly reproduced replacements available at the DKsoundparts store in Denmark. This shows the two new replacements together with the extracted original parts:
All one needs to do is transferring the metal springs to the new parts:
This pictures shows them installed:
And here bolted into the new keypad:
The new brackets need to be adjusted that the RPM panel is flush with the left keypad side:
Before I put in the new keypad I installed the Beolover Commander remote control receiver board:
It plugs directly into the keypad jack of the main PCB. This shows the keypad installed with the Commander auto-repeat indicator LED bolted in under the keypad screw:
My customer also wanted a new Beolover Carriage Motor for Beogram 4000, 4002, and 4004 installed. This upgrade makes the carriage run more quietly while drawing less current, which protects the H-bridge transistors. This shows the original motor still in place:
I unsoldered the leads and took it out. This shows the original motor still in the enclosure together with the new replacement:
The new replacement fits perfectly into the space with the two provided rubber rings for damping its vibrations:
This shows it bolted in with the leads soldered back on:
The final upgrade was a new hood. This shows the new hood together with a new aluminum trim strip:
The first step of the transfer is unbolting the old hood from the metal hinge. The screws are easily accessed after prying off the aluminum trim on the sides of the hood. This reveals the mounting screws:
The centered alignment of the new strip is a snap when using the Beolover alignment aides (orange):
I usually use a blue tape strip for making a pencil alignment mark:
Once the alignment has been marked, the hinge can be bolted into the new hood and the trim can be installed:
A crucial moment is the bending of the side parts. The Beolover bending block that is included with our trims helps getting a precise corner fold:
This shows one of the corners:
Beolovely! And here a picture of the completed hood assembly:
This Beogram was now not only perfectly restored on the inside, but also in perfect cosmetic condition on the outside! Here a few pictures showing off its lovely looks: