Wadia 8 transport CD drawer will not open or close on its own


I have had my Wadia 8 transport for almost 2 decades and it has functioned without fault for that time without any malfunctions, we have just sold, bought and moved into a new home in which I hand carried this piece myself, after install the transport will not open or close on its own but you can hit open, manually pull the drawer out, hit close and push it shut. You can here the mechanism trying to work to open and close  but needs physical help to accomplish the task. WTS, it looks to sport a Teac VRDS transport does anyone know of a source for this piece so I can replace it my self? By the way the unit still sounds excellent but I do not believe it would be worth sending it off for a costly repair and will probably just replace it. Would appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction. Enjoy the music

tooblue

Since it plays fine, I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with the transport.  There is likely a pulley/belt system utilized to open/close the tray.  I suspect a worn, slipping drive belt.  Sometimes you can get by simply removing the belt and turning it inside out providing a new unworn contact surface.  Also clean the guide rails of old hardened lube with cotton swab and alcohol.  Sparingly apply silicone grease after cleaning.  

@rhljazz , thanks for that and I believe you are right, I will pull it down and try your suggestion. There is also Origin Live turntable company in the UK that will make belts to order. The transport has been out of play for around 2 years and the belt probably just gave up the ghost. Enjoy the music

I, too, have a Wadia 8, which I purchased soon after that transport became available as the companion piece to my Wadia 2000 DDC. Recently, my Wadia 8 became "temperamental", albeit in a different way. While the tray did open and close, the CD would often not be read until I opened and closed the tray three or more times. Once that first CD was read, however, this problem would disappear the entire time I would be playing CDs. Unfortunately, a second problem arose -- skipping within a track. This problem has made the Wadia 8 unusable. My solution --- currently in process -- is to send the unit to George Meyer AV in Los Angeles. They bought Wadia's inventory when that company shut down a couple of years ago, so they can repair most Wadia models still.

 

Personally, I am looking to purchase a Wadia 30 or Wadia 40. Stupidly, I discarded mine years ago and am considering purchase of a new CD/SACD transport. However, I cannot use any of the models I am looking at because none of them has an ST optical output, and Wadia 2000 only has one input -- which also is an ST optical. Might you happen to have one that you are not using? I'd be happy to purchase it from you.

tooblue

 

Keep me posted on the repair Process. Hopefully it is a simple fix as above.

 

Happy Listening!

@jafant , I will update as I have received the new belts, but it will be in a short while, the CD set up will have to stay as is till I get my TT set up from the move and do not want to touch the transport till then. Enjoy the music