Everything worked fine until this weekend, when I tried to play some old tapes. First It made some screechy noise while playback. Same noise remained when I played brandnew tapes. A day later the noise disappeared - its still not really quiet, but no more screeching. Than it ate my tape. Not an old one, a almost new mixtape. It was all inside the tapedeck and not easy to remove.
I opened the Crown once to clean the inside and potis. But Tape-Mechanism seems to be not so easy to access. Because of the sound while playback i guess the belt is causing the trouble, but I have no clue, how to change it.

Did anyone changed the belt on a 950 and can give me some assistence?

It seems to me that the take-up spindle is not spinning fast enough and the capstan is working properly, thereby getting tape all in the box. Definitely open the boombox and check belts for the spindles. Maybe someone else with a 950 will give exact instructions for that model.

Thanks for your reply fatdog.

Is the take up spindle the small rubber one on the bottom, which move up when I press "play"?
Because this is the spot where the most tape messes around.
Suggestions of any other 950 owner would be very helpfull. I dont want to damage anything and I don´t know, how to access the belts. You can just remove the front of this unit and anything else including the whole tapemechanism is screwed to the back.

DRMZ, what you are referring to is the pinch roller (the rubber wheel which raises). The pinch roller raises to press against the capstan, thus providing friction necessary for the capstan to pull the tape.

If the take-up reel (the right cassette reel) is not spinning fast enough, it won't be able to keep up with the capstan and result in the "eaten" tape.

It appears that the motor is working properly, but for some reason the take-up real isn't spinning fast enough. It could be a loose belt or even a missing belt.

I don't have a 950, so unfortunately I can't be of more assistance as to how to get to the belts on that model. Don't be afraid to try repairing it. You'll likely find that it's easier than imagined.

maybe your radio is very hungry?

most chewing issues are caused by a dirty or cnackered pinch roller.

worn belts a dirty pinch roller take-up reel,, spindle not ingaging properly ie worn belts or in a lot of cases belt stretching where it does not push the gear toward the take-up reel causing it to slip or a bad o-ring on the gear where it can be so worn out those are just some of the causes

Thanks again for your replies.
I´ll try to fix it this weekend and keep you updated.

@walkgirl: NOT FUNNY!

so did you get this hungry box to stop eating tapes?

Yes, I fixed it! I opened the case again, removed the casette-door and the backplate of the tapedeck. Then I cleaned the tapemechanism, especially the pinchroller, which had some small old tapepieces wrapped around the axis. Cleaned the head then and now its running nicely again. I still don´tknow, how to change the belts, but I can see them and they look like new and are on the right place.
I tested two different tapes: it runs well now.
Hopefully no more issues with the crown. I don´t want to loose more tapes.

Glad to hear you got it working! I would imagine that there are some screws holding the cassette mechanism to the body. Find those and you should be able to remove it and ultimately get to the belts.

the 950 has like 3 or 4 screws holding the tape drive to the body ,its very easy to work on .

Yes, I saw them. Good to know. Thanks.