Sony WM-EX562 Drive Belt

Changing the drive belt for the WM-EX560 is extremely simple, because it is not hidden behind the PCB, however it still requires some basic skills. The factory belts are usually 0.5 mm to 0.6 mm in thickness and ideally, you should replace the worn out belt with the same thickness. Unfortunately, these belts are no longer manufactured, and the few sources that provide them charge a premium rate. On occasions, I have been able to buy belts rated at 1 mm thickness, and due to tolerance variations, found ones that were 0.7 mm and 0.8 mm in thickness that also worked.

Before you embark on a costly drive belt replacement, the first thing to do is to clean the pinch rollers in the cassette compartment. Dirty rollers that intermittently slip can also produce similar symptoms to a slipping belt, and therefore cleaning them can save you some money.

Usually when the drive belt goes slack, typical symptoms are poor fast-forward and rewind operation. These will usually struggle due to poor torque transmission of the belt. Sometimes the Play function may start, but automatically stop after a few seconds. Sometimes the auto reverse operation struggles.

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