between the two style Delco radios with the EQ (touch control v. turning knob) and cassette with search feature...Are the cassette tape mechanisms interchangeable?
A repair shop has been unsuccessful with getting the tape deck to work properly on an 87 Delco unit with touch control. I have a NOS EQ radio out of a Cadillac (removed when new in 1988) but it has the knobs for volume, etc. instead of buttons. Both tape units are the Blaupunkt style. I'd like to just swap the tape transport from one to the other but when searching for replacement belts, I saw that the Fierostore states that the belts for the EQ radio (with knobs) will not work with the touch control radios.
The owner is pretty nostalgic about his old mixed tapes. I'd like to make this thing work for him. Thanks for your help.
Hey thanks. I called them. They (like the rest of the world) no longer repair or sell cassette decks. Oh well, I'll just have to take it apart and try it out.
I bought a refurbished one off eBay and it only barely works. It was not the exact Pontiac Model as it lights up white. Working cassette decks are getting to be rare as hen's teeth.
Jscott, unfortunately that doesn't surprise me. There are capacitors inside of early Delco ETR radios that leak over time...even if it's been sitting on a shelf, NOS. Luckily the radio that I'm going to work on has already had the electronics gone through. At that time, my guess is the shop turned the adjustment screws when replacing the belts in the tape deck. Nearly impossible to return them to the right spot. Oh well, I'll try out what I have and hopefully it works.
I sent them an equalizer cassette radio I got from the junkyard and it had a bunch of issues; they fixed all of them. The cassette had problems with rollers (or something?) that had petrified and crumbled. When I got it back everything worked like brand new. Fast turnaround too.
Talk to them they might be able to give a quote over the phone or email.
You are almost certainly having issues with a capstan roller that is hard as a rock. Likewise the take up reel assemblies are likely to have rubber rings on the outside that are also hard. Both the white and red 88's here have no joy in cassette land. They won't even let the cassette adapters work; they just eject tapes or adapters immediately. Try the place another poster mentioned to see if they have a way to replace the rubber components.
I loaned my Dad my 1975 vintage Akai open reel deck a long time ago and just got it back last week. I am guessing I am going to have the same issue with it. I'll post here if I figure out a way to make new rubber rollers for tape devices.
Order after figuring out what the problem is, stuck capstans or whatever it is because just replacing the belt may just burn up a new belt. not much to cassette decks and fairly simple to take them apart and check to see what size belt you may need.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.
[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 05-06-2016).]
Ray/Kevin and Fiero123. Yesterday I talked with the owner about the radio, he said that a radio repair shop has been chasing issues with this radio for about a year. They've replaced the drive motor, pinch rollers, belts and have tried to make adjustments. I told him that I can take his mixed tapes and convert them to either CD or MP3's. He was not amused haha. The complaint is that after approx. 30min or more of listening, the sound gets garbled and he has to put his finger on the tape to make it sound right. If he changes tape direction everything clears for a few minutes, then the problem returns. I don't know what's happening after 30 minutes of use that isn't happening when the tape is first inserted. But while bench testing (using my old TopGun soundtrack), it acted up exactly how he described. My only guess is that heat is playing a role. I bench tested my NOS Cadillac radio (played for hours without a glitch) and I'm going to swap the cassette drive from that unit to the Pontiac radio. What's thrown me off is the Fiero Store's advisement that the belt for the EQ radio with knobs will not work with the EQ radio with touch controls. I had always thought that tape drives in those two radios are identical Blaupunkt units.
Mine actually plays better the longer I play it. Evidently there are some rubber components that are hard that soften as it warms up. When I first get in they tapes don't want to play but then it gets better.
Seems weird that it would play for 30 minutes and then start having issues.
So what a time consuming effort trying to find info on the GM Delco 1988 Fiero radio cassette player model: 16040862. My results are: It has V pulleys V diameter of .075, that means it uses a square belt. The belt length measured with a string is 9 1/2", 242 mm. I split a rubber band down the center with a razor knife to .075 that worked fine for the replacement belt. On the back of the motor is a small hole to a potentiometer adjustment screw. Turn clockwise to increase speed if needed. Here is a link to a belt suppler. https://www.turntableneedles.com/8-Track_Cassette_Deck_Reel_to_Reel_Rubber_Drive_Belts
