Sony TC-WE435 Cassette Deck – Belt Replacement

I’ve been picking up broken cassette decks for years and my first attempt at replacing belts went so poorly that I swore I’d never try again.

Well, that was a few years ago and my audio repair skills have improved so I thought I would give it another try.

I first started on a Sony TC-WE635 which took me a few hours to finish. There were several things I messed up along the way which took more time.

However, the next evening I replaced the belts on the above pictured Sony TC-WE435 and it went much faster and was considerably easier the second time around.

I used the below video to help me figure out the best way to access the belts. I highly recommend watching as it made things much easier.

I also cleaned both heads as well as the pinch roller and capstans on this unit. I even bought a tool to demagnetize the head.

Once I put everything back together, I was surprised at how well tapes sounded on the cleaned up machine. My wife thought I was playing a record instead of a tape!

I’m going to keep my eye out for these and pick more up when I can.