Dragged out my old Sony reel to reel deck that I bought new in 1970. Haven't used it in about 25 years and noticed the pinch roller is gummed up and will not engage. I found service instructions for sale online from a vintage electronics site and I'm taking it apart for cleaning and lubrication. Belts, idlers, and motor all seem to be fine at this point so I'm going to go straight for the sticky pinch roller linkage which is a common issue. The grease dries up and gets hard after many years of non-use. I had to use lighter fluid on the shaft to heat up the old grease enough to get that sucker off. That was the hardest part. Took about an hour to disassemble the head stand to get to it and another hour to heat and pry the lever off. So far so good. Next I will clean, lube and reassemble. With all the disposable electronic stuff out there today it's nice to work on a well made mechanical machine. Video before repair showing problem and after repair.
I also replaced the head pressure pads with self-stick felt pads that I cut to fit. (see photos). These pads are a little hard compared to the original felt but they work fine. I'm not recommending them as there are probably better ones out there.
41 Comments
steve
1/31/2012 03:56:02 am
Hi joe, just bought the same unit and i think i'm having the same problem. How did you get the flywheel off? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Joseph Greco
1/31/2012 05:12:27 am
Steve, I think there was a plastic retaining washer that holds the flywheel in place. You have to carefully pry it out and then the flywheel will come out. You can buy a step by step PDF for tearing down and servicing the Sony 355 deck at http://www.vintage-electronics.cc/sonypdf.html
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Antony
6/3/2012 11:23:21 am
Joseph, thanks for posting those pics. I was just trying to pull the head stand away but couldn't disconnect it from the InstStop linkage on the left...now I can see how you did it. Out of curiosity, when there is no tape in the player, does the take-up reel spin at the same speed regardless of the speed you've selected?
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Joseph Greco
6/3/2012 01:07:59 pm
You're welcome. To answer your question...if there's no tape in the player the automatic shut-off switch is engaged and the take-up reel spins briefly and then stops.
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Antony
6/3/2012 11:15:49 pm
hi again. I've got the head stand out and I'm wondering how you got that flywheel off. Was it difficult? I can't see any pins, bolts, etc like at the end of the linkage arm.
Joseph Greco
6/3/2012 11:51:33 pm
Antony, As I said in a previous comment some flywheels have a small plastic retaining washer on the top side. You have to carefully pry it off to get the flywheel out.
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Josh Denty
1/3/2013 07:40:31 am
Hi, I'm restoring one of these decks and my instant stop button isn't working. Any idea how that's put together? It's mystifying me.
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Joseph Greco
1/3/2013 08:50:02 am
I don't see anything about it in my tuneup manual....and I've never messed with it. Matter of fact I don't recall ever using it that much. Sorry I couldn't help
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Josh Denty
1/3/2013 09:58:58 am
Alright, I actually may have figured that part out.
Joseph Greco
1/3/2013 10:38:26 am
Josh.....the tape is driven between the capstan and the rubber pinch roller. You might have a worn pinch roller or possibly it's not engaging properly....not enough tension (or friction) to control tape speed. Just a guess; I'm not an expert.
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Re: TC-355 runs too fast: yes, motor cap has no effect - if bad the deck runs too slow (and gets slower as the motor warms up) and if cap bad - the motor gets hot. Service manual specifies: for speed adjustments: replace the motor pulley with one of a different diameter (yes, I know it is obsolete - unobtainable) - out of luck. Usually these decks run too slow due to a hardened capstan idler wheel (grind the surface - or: re-coat with new rubber).
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Bob Nicoll
1/4/2014 11:47:47 pm
Joseph, you have provided a real service to those of us with a Sony TC-355. I have one of these, and tried to use it after several years of sitting idle... the pinch roller and gates would not move when selecting play. I suspect the problem is what you experienced. My only problem is that I cannot get the unit open! I removed the knobs and rear two deck screws but it will not lift. I opened the unit many years ago to replace a belt, but don't remember how I opened the unit.
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Joseph Greco
1/9/2014 12:42:30 pm
Thanks Bob.....there are "five" screws that must be removed. The two in the rear that are visible and three that are hidden under the chrome tape head cover. It can still be difficult to get the cover off after many years. Carefully go around the edge with a thin screwdriver to gently loosen it and it should pop up.
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Basin Bob
7/19/2014 04:42:58 am
Hi Joe,
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Joseph Greco
7/19/2014 05:09:36 am
It just takes a little heat to melt the dried up grease. You can use a butane lighter or you can also wet the grease on the shaft with a small amount of lighter fluid and then light it. BE VERY CAREFUL! Again, I recommend the service manual instructions from Vintage Electronics (see link above in blog) for proper procedure, lubrication advice and re-assembly steps.
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Joseph Greco
7/19/2014 05:12:49 am
I should add mine was really frozen and it took me several times with the lighter fluid to loosen the grease enough and pull off with pliers. Take your time and go slowly; it will eventually come off.
Oz
11/25/2014 11:25:41 am
Great photos! Saved me when putting back together my disassembled head assembly. Was having trouble remembering even with my photos the locations of the thin levers since the vintage manual depicts those from a different model. Oh and BTW, I found that using a small kitchen blow torch used for creme brule works perfectly and accurately. Only took mere minutes to dislodge the seized lever shaft!
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Joseph Greco
11/25/2014 02:02:58 pm
Thanks.....Glad to be of service.
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Oz
12/3/2014 03:07:29 am
Hi Again,
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Joseph Greco
12/3/2014 06:52:29 am
Oz,...I'm not familiar with this problem. Hopefully someone else can help.
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John
12/9/2014 10:22:17 am
I have two TC- 355. The first one changed speed from horizontal to vertical, There was a lot of slop in the mechanism. I cleaned it and tried to get rid of the slop on the flywheel. The tape head mechanism is held in place by 4 screws. I was able to adjust that also. When it is turned off, see if the flywheel spins for period of time.
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Oz
12/9/2014 01:23:32 pm
Hi John,
Jeff
12/5/2016 08:49:03 am
I know what you mean. The Sony's are actually fairly quiet machines. If you really want it quieter, you will need to replace all of the rubber idler wheels inside. When they dry up and become stiffer than fresh from factory - they transfer a lot of noise. There are places that do put new rubber on your old wheels, weather it be for a phono turntable, pinch rollers for any deck, or these idler wheels. If these decks run noisy: usually the main cause is: the capstan idler wheel has hardened (fresh rubber dampens the running noise; there are other items that cause noise as well: worn capstan bearing for example). Some parts places refurbish the hardened idler wheels by grinding the rubber down and gluing a new rubber tire onto the old wheel - requires a precision lathe or it will warble.
John Demchak
6/4/2015 11:04:09 am
My TC-355, which I bought new around 1968, had the sticking mechanism as described here. It's been a couple years since i messed with it. I just bought another one online that was supposed to be a parts unit. Disassembly and cleaning of the big arm and a motor capacitor got it working except the capstan idler pulley slips. Now I was ready to tackle my original TC-355. Apparently whatever lubricant I applied 2 years ago has soaked in and softened the hard grease cus now the capstan works normaly. There are some other problems but I don't think I need to take the head stand apart.
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Marco
9/7/2016 12:00:08 pm
Hi Joseph
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Joseph Greco
9/7/2016 12:33:41 pm
Marco........I'm not an expert but it seems to me the problem with most of these old machines is dried lubricant. I would suggest doing what I did; which is to take it apart and clean and lubricate. As I said in my original post my problem was the pinch roller not engaging due to hard and dry grease. The play lever engages the pinch roller so I would start with that and also check the play lever for any binding or lack of lubrication.
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Marco
9/8/2016 05:03:36 am
Thanks Joseph, it really makes sense to start from a good cleaning and it's quite a project given the complexity of the machine. Anyway I tried to purchase the PDF service manual from vintage electronics site, hope I can get it soon.
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Antonello
12/5/2016 07:48:51 am
Hello Mark, I'm also trying to fix my tc 355. I have the same problem, the dry fat! that fat you have then used for lubrication? I was not able to buy the service manual, always it gave me a system error. I thank you for the info that possibly you can give me.
Marco
12/5/2016 01:39:44 pm
Antonello
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Antonello
12/6/2016 02:55:53 am
Grazie per la risposta Marco! sai se sia necessario un grasso particolare per la lubrificazione delle parti?
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Marco
12/6/2016 01:30:31 pm
Ciao Antonello
Jeffq
12/7/2016 05:41:48 am
Yes, A guy I know who has been a reel to reel tech for decades says he's always used Lubriplate 105 (White grease). He says he's never had a problem using it, or it drying out, etc.
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Tom
12/29/2016 01:51:07 pm
I have a Sony TC-355.... I can't seem to figure out why I have one speed. No matter what speed I select it goes full speed. Any help would be great
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8/13/2017 10:05:35 am
my tc -355 won't play when I turn the switch to play it wiil go foeward and ff abd rewind
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George
11/25/2017 06:16:53 am
Joseph, Thanksgiving weekend Thank you. Did the cleanup and my TC355 is rolling tape.
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Joseph Greco
11/25/2017 01:59:10 pm
You're welcome; glad to be of assistance. Cheers.
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Dick
1/11/2018 09:46:47 am
After replacing the motor run capacitor, greasing my TC355 and putting a couple drops of gun oil in the hole on the motor, I was still having speed problems after it ran for an hour or so. In desperation I shot some white lithium grease down the shaft under the fan and it has been running OK. I also needed a belt and I found a place in Denver that sells O rings of various sizes (www.rocketseals.com). Size 2-238 Description EPR-70 is a perfect match for the larger belt and you can buy 10 for around $25.
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Yves
6/7/2018 07:00:21 am
Hello Joseph,
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Joseph Greco
6/7/2018 10:20:00 am
Very good; glad to hear that.
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