DIY Cassette Deck Drive Belts

Music suddenly stops, deck starts going back and forth, and then the cassette is ejected in disgust, you insert it back and listen a sound of a motor spinning uselessly, that's the sound of a drive belt failure.

this can also happen to the cd receive and ejecting mechanism, cd will get stuck inside

Some of you might ask, who the hell still uses cassette decks ?! well.... me like most people have retrofitted an aux cable to their OEM headunit or using Cassette tape adaptor, for preserving the look and some functionality which otherwise can't be obtained from aftermarket headunit .

The real questions is ,,,DAMN !, where the hell am gonna find one today ?! we have to make it !

Step 1: Making a Replacement

i've looked for something that could be made to length with out having an obvious joint that hinders the mechanism's movement, embroidery floss or stranded cotton seemed logical, which can easily be obtained.

• When removing the mechanism, remember to take note of how to belt is guided in the mechanism, if its not possible the original can be guessed by trial and error using the original belt, OR google is your friend.
• The belt is removed from the mechanism and the mechanism is cleaned with a soft brush. this would be the perfect time to inspect them, to see if the belt failed because of normal use or something went wrong.
• Couple of strands of cotton are rough cut longer than the neoprene belt.
• The cut strand the is guided along the mechanism's pulleys
• A single knot is tied to insure that the thread wont come of.
• The knot is then moved to the smallest pulley on the mechanism, why? because the knot there wont slip and can then one can tie another knot without the first one getting loose

i've found that one knot will unravel obviously, two MIGHT unravel, three create a big lump but makes a strong knot, four is huge and unnecessary.

Step 2: Improving the Replacement

• The excesses thread is cut with a pair of scissors as close as possible to the knot.

*if there is a little slack in the belt, the next step will remove it

• The made belts are then bunched together and twisted to make a strong singe one.
• The belt is covered with tire repair cement, because it strengthens it, and reduces slipping (increase its friction), it can be found in a tube or can, also in cheap tire repair kits (silicone sealant could work but takes long to dry)

Step 3: Verdict

Worked Perfectly! it should last till i can find a replacement

from (2015-10-6) till _________ <- i'll get back to you when it fails :D

The mechanism makes a more obvious sound using this belt, can't tell if that's for it being thicker or the rubber cement.

Though this belt is definitely noisier,but i can't hear it over the sound of the music !

Comments

[dooggg]

Did u make that housing for the player as well? cool wheels

[MaciDub]

The cassette tape module/mechanism looks very similar, to the one used in BMW C33 and C43 head units, though the flywheels are a bit different in my C43.

[Raja AltafH]

i am seaking cassette deck motor drive RUBBER BELTS how can i get

[MaciDub]

eBay, amazon, probably banggood etc. too, have assortments for about what you'd pay for a single if you can find it.

[MaciDub]

Thanks for the pic, looks just like the casette tape module out of my BMW C43 head unit, and I was looking for a drive belt diagram!

[swander]

rubber bands work too, (although not in the case of long car audio belt apps) but they are too stretchy to provide a rock solid wow and flutter ratio (warble) but they do work to determine of the deck is salvageable. They often break after a few months of sitting though. Once you get it to work with a rubber band, you can use the string method to determine what size belt you REALLY need. string up your belt path tight with a single strand and cut where they overlap. Measure the total length, deduct 10% to compensate for stretch and go online or to a electronics store and buy a generic replacement belt. Usually about $5. Old belts slip, even if they look good from a visual standpoint, they get stretched and due to their low elastic design, cannot recover to provide the proper torque to the drive wheels.