Pioneer CT F1250 Pinch Roller removal

[GARDJBLAR]

Very interesting read .I have been using a small punch with a sharp tip and center it on the push pin of the roller.I use a block of steel under the pinch roller that i drilled a hole in.The pin when punched threw go's in the hole in the steel plate.The pinch ass'y rest's flat and prevents any misalignment issues I have done this for years as a bench tech and have fine tuned the process. The pin has 2 spacers so don't lose them.I also saw the dried lube so it was nice to have it re-lubed as well. Reinstall with care and repeat process in reverse. Don't forget to wash up when your done.I used to work at an authorized Pioneer repair shop in the 80's.It's exciting that all 10 years of working there on such beautiful gear that I never ever thought I could own.Or find myself working on again.This has given me a new leas on life.and I'm very happy to see all the love here. Have fun!

 

[Eagle1]

Very interesting read .I have been using a small punch with a sharp tip and center it on the push pin of the roller.I use a block of steel under the pinch roller that i drilled a hole in.The pin when punched threw go's in the hole in the steel plate.The pinch ass'y rest's flat and prevents any misalignment issues I have done this for years as a bench tech and have fine tuned the process. The pin has 2 spacers so don't lose them.I also saw the dried lube so it was nice to have it re-lubed as well. Reinstall with care and repeat process in reverse. Don't forget to wash up when your done.I used to work at an authorized Pioneer repair shop in the 80's.It's exciting that all 10 years of working there on such beautiful gear that I never ever thought I could own.Or find myself working on again.This has given me a new leas on life.and I'm very happy to see all the love here. Have fun!

You hit on some very good points on the pinch roller removal, and I'm glad you posted it. One little twist in the pinch roller arm assy and you're screwed. Misalignment of the tape path and premature roller wear will result. One also must be aware of how to remove both arm assy's taking note to remove the "e" washers and the locations of the spacer washers when replacing. Also do not stretch the tension springs. I believe alot of problems with used decks are caused by the former owner(s) grabbing them with a pliers and trying to force the removal process. My purchased CT-F1250 was a fine example of such abuse.

 

[reeltimeau]

Very interesting read .I have been using a small punch with a sharp tip and center it on the push pin of the roller.I use a block of steel under the pinch roller that i drilled a hole in.The pin when punched threw go's in the hole in the steel plate.The pinch ass'y rest's flat and prevents any misalignment issues I have done this for years as a bench tech and have fine tuned the process. The pin has 2 spacers so don't lose them.I also saw the dried lube so it was nice to have it re-lubed as well. Reinstall with care and repeat process in reverse. Don't forget to wash up when your done.I used to work at an authorized Pioneer repair shop in the 80's.It's exciting that all 10 years of working there on such beautiful gear that I never ever thought I could own.Or find myself working on again.This has given me a new leas on life.and I'm very happy to see all the love here. Have fun!

I bit the bullet & finally replaced the take-up pinch roller being very careful not to do any damage to the assembly. After replacement, all the problems I had with (1) Playing 100 minute Sony cassettes, but not 100 minute TDK's, (2) Playing the A side on some cassettes but not the B side....well, these problems disappeared!! The deck will now play all cassettes. The old pinch roller didn't look all that bad other than a little "crazing" to the surface & it might have been slightly hard, but obviously this was enough to cause problems. I think these dual capstan decks require near perfect pinch rollers to perform correctly. I'm happy

 

[ChopperChas]

Where can I get a new pinch roller? I've heard talk of replacing the OEM size pinch roller with a 14mm pinch roller... what's the advantage of that?

Charles.

 

[pustelniakr]

Where can I get a new pinch roller? I've heard talk of replacing the OEM size pinch roller with a 14mm pinch roller... what's the advantage of that?

Charles.

Here is the best in the country, but you will have to carefully remove the roller from the assembly, and send him only the roller: http://www.terrysrubberrollers.com/ Terry removes the old rubber, and puts on new rubber.

If you distort the holder when taking the roller out of it, you will play heck getting it to line back up (bad mojo), so be careful. The transport is VERY sensitive to pinch roller alignment. I use a small pin punch and small hammer. I drill a small hole in a small section of 2 x 4, and drive the roller shaft into it, out one side of the asembly. The shaft will drive out easily from one side, and significantly harder from the other side, so test and pick the correct side, The tightness on the one side is used to normally retain the shaft. Once the tighter side lets go of the shaft, it will drop right out, the rest of the way. That is how you will know you are doing it right.

Use the 2 x 4 and hole when it is time to reinstall, since the shaft sticks out ever so slightly on both sides, when installed correctly.

I do NOT recommend modifying the original design. Second-thinking the designers of this high-end and sensitive design will generally backfire on you. Terry has done many of these for me, and has the proper dimensions for it.

Enjoy,
Rich P

 

[Moucherons]

The rollers can be removed. I just sent a set of CT-F1250 to terry Witt to be rebuilt. He told me that Pioneer techs used to have a special tool that would hold the arm, and push the pin out. I used his advise and mounted the arm in a hobby vise and used a small flat tipped drift and a small hammer and gently tapped the pins out. They came out pretty easily. I will use the same method to put them back when the rollers are sent back. My deck also kept loosing tape alignment and I found out that the rollers had turned rock hard. I think new rollers will fix the problem.

Thank you Ozric, this is exactly the information I needed to send mine to Terry!