Spent a whole weekend fixing a 1990s boombox just for a broken belt

I found my old Sony CFD-5 boombox in the garage and the cassette player wouldn't spin. Figured it was a simple belt change. Opened it up, cleaned everything, and ordered a new belt kit online. The new belts looked right, but the main one kept slipping off the flywheel after I put the whole thing back together. Had to take it apart and put it back together four times over two days before I realized the replacement belt was just a tiny bit too thick. Anyone know a good source for exact-size belts for these old things?

2 comments

2 Comments

faitha401mo ago

Man, that hits close to home. Spent an entire Sunday wrestling with a 90s dual cassette deck for the same reason. Had the service manual and everything, but the new belt just would not seat right on the capstan. Ended up using a thinner belt from an old VCR repair kit, which sort of worked but the wow and flutter is terrible now. Where do they even keep the good rubber these days?

clairebaker1mo ago

Check the belt material itself. Some new belts are made from the wrong type of rubber and will never grip right, no matter the size.