Hi guys I won this on eBay for £17. It was advertised as not working. Mainly because it was in pause.. It did play a tape and sound great, but Rewind didn't work, but then after 10 mins it chewed up a tape. Not sure if that was anything to do with the rewind gear crack or just a dirty pinch roller. So it needs a new DD gear which I've ordered, it also needs a counter belt which i've also ordered. The door needs a good slam to stay closed, I think I can fix this The rewind gear - which also drives the counter - has cracked, because it's cracked it expanded and won't mesh properly with it's drive gear. It was getting stuck. I removed it and super glued it really carefully (without the shaft in place so it shrunk back to its correct size) but I think the glue has still expanded it slightly and it still stuggles to mesh when trying to move the gear with the bigger gear using a light touch it gets stuck.. At this stage I think this may be a right off but ill have to let you know when its back together I've repaired a DD before but not a recording one. This once was a really PIA due to the extra record mechanism parts in the way. I guess if it does end up a right off I will still have a new DD gear for next time I find a cheap one. Here are some pictures. Wish me luck !
With help of another member, I managed to get a tiny rewind gear that meshes correctly and doesn't jam but it's still cracked I've ordered a 2.05 drill to help remove the stress of the metal shaft Not really sure what glue to use, super glue seemed pretty useless on nylon
nice pictures! thank you --- and best of luck! keep us posted. As for tiny screws, I bought a cheap magnet board on Ebay (one of those with a grid on them), works nicely and the magnet holds tiny screws in place.
Great pictures! Thank you. This'll save me a lot of time reassembling my D3. Your obviousy putting a lot of Love in this repair.
Yeah even if this doesn't work you have documented a process which may help hundreds of people down the line
Thanks so much for the encouragement, it really does help......... Today I made a bit more progress regarding the rewind gear I must thank forum members; mihokm, TooCool4 and A.N.T for help and advise.. I am not an electronics engineer or a mechanical engineer, so without their help this walkman would most definitely end up a paper weight I had to make a plastic ring with 3.4 mm hole.. to re-inforce the gear. Just by pot luck I found some almost perfect rings in old Technics cd player mechanisms. Still waiting for a 2.05mm drill bit, But with the plastic ring in place and the shaft only pushed in 2-3mm for testing, the gear no longer jams I was kindly sent a spare mechanism by TooCool4, but it then became obivous someone has been inside my D3 before... So I am still not out of the woods yet If anyone would like me to make and send them the plastic ring with the 3.4mm hole I can do this and send to you free of charge.
UPDATE: Here I have pics and video of working mechanism. I am still waiting for a 2.05 mm drill bit to finish the rewind gear repair This is with a semi-repaired REWIND gear, 95% ok, but will repair my other spare ASAP, that repair should be 100% ok So I am confident the mechanism is actually ok, despite been previously tinkered with. However the circuit board has been folded and unfolded away from the mechanism about 10 times now. So I am worried I've possibly broken a wire. Will only know onces the board is screwed back down. I think I can probably find and fix a broken wire, if its broken at all. ALSO - Anyone who can get that tiny spring (on the black lever which lifts the head and roller) by themselves should be a brain surgeon! Same with washer part number 114 (d3 record mech only!) My GF had to help me as I needed 3 hands! Even if my walkman has other electrical issues and can no longer be used I hope my post will help other people as I have received plenty of help and advise myself Regards
Wow that is some impressive work. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy beyond my capabilities... I can only hope to attain your skill level I salute you (0_0)7
Thank you but I cannot accept your kind words because I followed guides and advise mainly from Marian - the man is a genius
So the D3 is now back together and appears to be working 100%. I have played both sides of a 90 min tape without any issues at all. It even records really well. It's obviously not as good as my D6C on recording or Playback but, I have a DD33, and really wouldn't say there is any difference on playback... but I heard the DD33 is not even high end. Anyway I digress... Tips for anyone taking apart a D3... Put some sticky tape over the pause button and the VU/Battery switch !!! Because these plastic switches slide about with 0 pressure, I almost snapped my VU switch off Usual tips, take your time and do not force anything Read Marians DD gear repair and preventive maintenance on here Here is a vid of it. The rewind and FF are sometimes squeaky - but so is my DD33 is also the same (ONLY WITH A TAPE IN)
The door closing issue was solved by 1. Stretch the door latch spring a bit to tighten the catch 2. The door actually needs bending in slightly at the bottom where it folds over 90 degrees. I taped up the bottom side where the 2 screws are to protect it Then got an adjustable spanner and very carefully and slightly bent it in the bottom smallest part so it is now a smaller angle then 90 degrees My door closes and holds good with or without a cassette inside
Excellent work. I still need to update manual with WM-D3 specific instructions. It's plan for version 2. Does anyone know why this door closing issue happens so often with D3?
Note to self... if a screw previously had loctite on it from Sony.... Re-apply god damn new loctite!!! level 10 n00b error!! My take up real gear came loose!!