Any tape experts?

[dmannnnn]

I recently got my first RTR deck.  It is a Teac 4010SL probably from around 1969.  I bought it from the original owner who got it while serving in southeast asia.  He also threw in his tape collection, 85 reels of LP's from 69 through about 76.

I cleaned up the tape path and lubricated as shown in the manual, also demagnetized the heads.  The heads really don't seem to show much wear for how old the machine is.  I have two concerns.

1.  The reel motors get very hot after running for over 10 minutes.  The bell shaped housings on the reel motors get almost to hot to hold my finger on.  Does this mean the bearings are shot?

2. This may be related to no. 1.  Playback sounds good except for the very top end.  Everything sounds normal except for cymbals.  The cymbals just seem to break-up or drop in and out.  I'm wondering if this would be a problem with the electronics or a speed issue.  I was thinking that maybe the speed is off just enough to cause this problem while not noticeably affecting the rest of the freuqency range.

Any thoughts?

[Grainger49]

I too had a 4010SL back in the mid 70s.  That was my last RTR deck.  I never had problems with heat in the reel motors so whatever it is, it isn't normal.  I would suspect that the reel motors have bearings that need lubrication.  There were "Permanently Lubricated" bearings, but I can't say if that is what Teac had.  If so, those might need disassembly and relubricating.

High frequency response is the first thing to go as heads wear.  There could be some adjustments in the playback electronics that would restore the HF response, or not.  Do the cymbals splash rather than sizzle?  No shimmer after the cymbal is struck?

Speed inconsistency will present itself with sustained notes.