Slow speed on left side of my tape

quebecois

Active Member
I own a Sony TC-WE475 stereo cassette deck I bought for 25$ about 5 years ago. Last year, the playback side (left side facing the unit) started to sound weird, like the playing speed was suddenly too slow. Recording side (right side) plays correctly, though, but I plan to copy several cassettes soon and I'll need both sides to work well to make copies.

What fixing cost should I expect? Is this unit worth that fixing cost? I don't know a lot about cassette decks, I don't want to get ripped off of 60$ if it is a 25$ fix. I'd fix it myself if possible.

I hate to send good stuff to the junkyard, and I wouldn't mind to pay 30 or 40 dollars to have it fix.
 
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Well, well, I'm not proud of me on that one...I just noticed that the pitch control was ON, with the dial button completely at the left, slowing down the motor a lot ! This explains why it plays slower then before.

I noticed that the PLAYBACK side plays a bit slower than the RECORD side when the pitch control is out, though. Could it be an indication that time has come to replace the bigger flat belts on each side ?
 
Have you cleaned the tape guides, heads, capstan and rubber roller? If not, try that, and do it on both sides.

Also it could be that the belts have stretched enough and are starting to slip, perhaps more with cassettes that have more resistance. Replacement belts are available, look online. Sorry, I don't have a link ready to post, but somebody else might. My Sony dual well cassette deck is going to need new belts soon, too. A couple of days ago I looked inside, and it looks like I will just have to temporarily move a circuit board to have access to all of the belts. Maybe it'll be that easy on your model. While I had it open I ran both sides and put some Radio Shack No-Slip fluid on the belts and the pulleys they run on, and maybe I can put off the belt replacement for a while. I don't know if that fluid can be purchased anymore; I've had this bottle for at least 20 years.

If you replace the belts on your deck, you might (as I will) put a drop of oil on all of the motor shafts. Motor bearings needing lube, is something else that could cause a speed problem.
 
Thanks for your answer, Steve, I'll try to send a picture of the internals, but the way it looks, I think I'll be able to replace the flat belts without removing anything. What about the tiny belts ? What are they for? Would it be better to replace them while I'm in there ?

I haven't cleaned or lubed anything yet, I just opened it two hours ago for the first time.
 
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not sure on best products for this . i always used my own spit on a cotton bud with no problems . you might call them q tips . if dirty you will see brown stuff on the cotton bud . this is left over from the tapes .some are worse than others . the speed is controlled by the capstan where it feeds the tape past the rubber wheel any slipping here will give low play speed . that rubber wheel needs to be clean .
 
thanks Pete, at your suggestion I tried different tapes, and it seems to be related mainly to one specific tape. I'll test a few more tapes later tonight.
 
be worth looking at the rubber wheel to see if it is anything but black colour .any brown and shiny needs sorting .
 
longer play tapes can be thinner and may slip more . like the old 120 minute that we all avoided back in the day .
 
the worst one is a BASF 90 minute ferro extra 1, "extra stable cassette mechanism and super reliability" !!!
 
the worst one is a BASF 90 minute ferro extra 1, "extra stable cassette mechanism and super reliability" !!!
i used to find some of the cheaper less advertised cassettes were better than more expensive advertised ones . memorex were worst ones . tdk seemed good .
 
does it use one or 2 capstan motors ? if one it rules that out .
next is rubber wheel as speed is set there .
next thing is tight tape so its hard to pull through . playing fine other side same tape rules that out .
next is sticky brake on the side where tape is feeding from .. cant think of correct names here . supply reel i guess ..
does it have reverse play ?
 
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