SL-HF100 chassis sub assembly
Description
This is the reel chassis sub assembly from an SL-HF100. A similar chassis is used in the SL-C9 / SL-C20 / SL-C24 / SL-C30 / SL-C40 / SL-F25 / SL-F30 / SL-HF150 / SL-HF950.
Symptoms
No tape transport. The nylon bearing wears with use causing the take-up reel to stop rotating and hence the VCR to stop functioning. You may also find that when ejecting the cassette, not all of the tape is wound back into the shell leaving a loop of tape exposed.
Fixing
To repair, the rotor needs to be raised to increase the gap between it and the reel motor magnets. This is best done by replacing the nylon bearing onto which the rotor sits. The bearing is an integral part of the chassis and so to replace it, the whole chassis must be replaced. This is a long and difficult job, requiring the whole reel assembly to be completely stripped down.

As an alternative to chassis replacement it is possible to raise the rotor by inserting a bearing (either plastic or small ball bearing) on top of the nylon bearing.