Posted by Wayne Parham [ 66.139.43.134 ] on April 14, 2004 at 10:11:09:

In Reply to: Help! posted by Sarah on April 13, 2004 at 15:40:34:

Hmm. That's a good question. I've seen this symptom from bad motors but I've also seen it from sticky rubber on the mechanism. Obviously, if it's the motor, you'll need to repair or replace it. But if it's just that the mechanism is dirty on the 33 RPM side, you may be able to clean it.

Honestly, I've seen the "gummy rubber" symptom most commonly on roller-drive turntables when the pinch-rollers got sticky. Those containing pinch-rollers are usually not really quality tables, so if it has a roller-drive, I probably wouldn't mess with it. But if it's a nice turntable and it has just gotten dirty, then cleaning might take care of it.

One last thing about solvents. Do be careful what you use to clean with. If you find rubber deposits on a pulley, there's a good chance that whatever rubber wore off on the pulley is pretty well decomposed. So you may need a belt or pinch-roller anyway. But be careful with stuff like alcohol and other solvents. It will clean that metal pulley nicely, but it might turn any rubber it comes in contact with into gummy bears.

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