Teac X-1000R Streetside Find

[Anaxas]

I managed to pick up an intact TEAC X-1000R that was discarded at the curb after a neighbor texted me a picture of it - It was quite dirty and obviously stored in sub par conditions. I've never had a reel to reel before and don't know anyone that does , but I'm guessing that I'm quite fortunate to get my hands on one for free.

I've cleaned off all the dust and grime inside and out. The belt had turned to tar, but I've extracted it and the belt path is clean. I've freed up the stuck pinch roller mechanism after watching a video from "Bigg Matt". All the other rollers move quite nice and freely. Power on (DBT) shows the display , button lights and bulbs work.

I was hoping that someone could give me some advice on what to check before I invest some money into it. I've worked on many receivers and Dual turntables before, but this is all new territory for me. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[turnitup]

I’m not familiar with that model, but WOW, what a beauty! R2Rs are a lot of fun to have. Tapes are rare, expensive, and some delaminate with age. I own about 40-50 tapes. Most of the tapes that I have are either originally recorded by the (original owner), or commercial retail tapes of early 60’s pop music of the era (not so great artist selection). Classicrock tapes are expensive! I have a number of classical recordings that are very nice.

Sonic wise, I have been astounded at the clarity and quality of some of my tapes. I think that in some circumstances, they may outperform vinyl. I hope that you get your new deck performing. I think that you have a very desirable/valuable piece of equipment there!

 

[mcgjohn]

I managed to pick up an intact TEAC X-1000R that was discarded at the curb after a neighbor texted me a picture of it - It was quite dirty and obviously stored in sub par conditions. I've never had a reel to reel before and don't know anyone that does , but I'm guessing that I'm quite fortunate to get my hands on one for free.

I've cleaned off all the dust and grime inside and out. The belt had turned to tar, but I've extracted it and the belt path is clean. I've freed up the stuck pinch roller mechanism after watching a video from "Bigg Matt". All the other rollers move quite nice and freely. Power on (DBT) shows the display , button lights and bulbs work.

I was hoping that someone could give me some advice on what to check before I invest some money into it. I've worked on many receivers and Dual turntables before, but this is all new territory for me. Any help would be appreciated.

pretty nice find.

would suggest the following.

make sure the pulleys go back into the same position they came from. They are slightly different sized diameter. you can get a new belt from vintage electronics.

looking at your photos, the heads appear to have low hours on them. You may want to at least recap the power supply board (located at the back of the unit).

For auto reverse the switches are located on the large bottom audio board. If they need cleaning they are a bit of a PITA to get to.

Other than that make sure you apply a drop of oil to the pinch roller shafts.
a drop or two of oil to the capstan shafts.

 

[Anaxas]

Thanks for the advice! I've confirmed all 3 motors work, the capstan motors starts when the tension arms are raised. The 2 tape reel motors spin nicely (when the tension arms are raised into a sweet spot) and the pulleys appear to be returning to their normal positions. I've made sure not to mix up the positions and I'm very careful about the many washers. All rollers cleaned, shafts and guides have been synthetic oiled or silicone greased.

Agreed that it looks like it's been low hours - just stored in very poor cold/humid/dusty conditions, some unfortunate scratches and dings and the only button traumatized is one of the timer buttons above the heads - the silver cover is very loose and shifts wildly when pressed.

I found another post with some useful information and pictures. I'm deciding if I should try and salvage the wood case since it has several chips.

I'll manage to get a belt and slowly test some more. If everything checks out I'll take the plunge and try to get some tape and a take-up reel - maybe the large reel spacers too if I'm feeling rich.

 

[radiokom]

shafts and guides have been synthetic oiled or silicone greased

Remember, you should use only lubricant prescribed by manufacturer or analog. Silicone grease? Where? Not familiar with 1000, but I doubt manufacturer prescribed silicone grease. It should be avoided anywhere except closed dampers. I have cleaned many transports where someone sh*it in silicone. No idea why.

 

[Numone]

The X1000 is an excellent R2R deck; you’re a lucky guy as these are worth $1-2k, especially with what appears to be a very low use deck. Whilst everyone says recap this, replace that, I suggest before going to huge time and expense, see how I performs on recording vs the source. My tech, who is very well respected here in the U.K., does not recap unless there is a specific issue associated with failed/ing components. I have 3 Teac decks - an X10R, an A7030GSL and am A3300-10. They have not been recapped and they perform well within manufacturers spec.
So in terms of maintenance, get the workshop manual.
Get rid of all existing lubrication on the capstan assembly as this will be gunge.
Replace the belt, but mark the flywheels with their position before dismantling; if you don’t and they’re the refitted on the wrong side, the auto reverse with not operate and you will have issues with tape tension.
Replace grease with Lubriplate 105 and for oil, use a fully synthetic 5w30. I use Mobil 1. The deck has dbx inbuilt, which is one of the best NR systems. To get the best from this, input and output levels are critical, so RTM!

 

[Anaxas]

Remember, you should use only lubricant prescribed by manufacturer or analog. Silicone grease? Where? Not familiar with 1000, but I doubt manufacturer prescribed silicone grease. It should be avoided anywhere except closed dampers. I have cleaned many transports where someone sh*it in silicone. No idea why.

Silicone grease only on the washer/spacer where it rides along the path to bring up the pinch roller - nothing copious, just enough to keep the loose arm and washer in the correct alignment so I didn't have to fight the placement.

 

[radiokom]

Silicone grease only on the washer/spacer where it rides along the banana shaped path to bring up the pinch roller - nothing copious, just enough to keep the loose arm and washer in the correct alignment so I didn't have to fight the placement.

View attachment 3293197

Anyway, clean this sh*it immediately. You should not use anything silicone based. Nice deck, better than X-2000 what, I believe, is famous because of Pulp Fiction )

 

[Anaxas]

Get rid of all existing lubrication on the capstan assembly as this will be gunge.
Replace the belt, but mark the flywheels with their position before dismantling; if you don’t and they’re the refitted on the wrong side, the auto reverse with not operate and you will have issues with tape tension.
Replace grease with Lubriplate 105 and for oil, use a fully synthetic 5w30. I use Mobil 1. The deck has dbx inbuilt, which is one of the best NR systems. To get the best from this, input and output levels are critical, so RTM!

@Numone - Thanks for the guidance.

 

[radiokom]

Replace grease with Lubriplate 105 and for oil, use a fully synthetic 5w30. I use Mobil 1.

In accordance with SM for lubrication you should use Mobil DTE Oil Light. It is mineral turbine oil and should not be mixed with synthetic. Sintered bearing already consists original mineral oil, so simply lubricate in accordance with SM.

Industrial-products

www.mobil.eg

You can buy from this seller (trusted) or find it somewhere else.

30ml Mobil DTE Oil Light ISO VG 32 Bearing Oil Sony OL-2K | eBay

Mobil DTE Light is a premium performance circulating lubricant designed for applications including steam and hydro turbine sets.

www.ebay.com

 

[Tinman]

Well, the X-1000 IS a whole lot better than the later, (last) X-2000 accountant cost cut special. So you actually really scored one of "The Big One's".
Totally worth restoring and a very good deck. Some ebay flipper is in tears right now that you beat him to it!

 

[Anaxas]

Just about to source some belt, reels, hubs and tape - this is the photo of the way it was left on the street.