I bought quite cheaply a Sony WM-55 which was not working at all . I replaced the belt and it now works fine except it chews the tapes and seems to play first one side of the tape then the other but chews the tape in doing so .Has any one any ideas how to stop this happening ? I have noticed that the roller on the right is not so close to the pin as it is on the left side .Could this be the problem and ,if so, how can you cure it?.Can anyone help me as i am not technical Philip
Try using some rubber conditioner on the pinch roller. Had a similar issue that was resolved by doing this.
Most probably pinch roller needs to be replaced. But a temporary possible solution as "fromjuan" mentioned is to clean the pinch roller.
Try running the machine with the cover off and see where the tape gets eaten. Very often in Auto Reverse Walkmans, tapes get eaten when the takeup reels are not turning properly. A Walkman in this case will still eat around the pinch roller/capstan! Sanding, reconditioning or replacing the pinch roller is necessary when the old roller becomes shiny/glossy and cracked. You should check the condition of this first.