Tascam 244 not engaging heads if left to sit for a bit?

[WhinyLittleRunt]

Curious what you might think this is - if I let the deck sit for a while, or overnight, I'll go back to play the tape but the headstack just doesn't want to engage. I pulled the little cover off over the heads and forced it manually, and it then starts working, so I'm 'assuming' something needs to be greased or whatever, because the belts all look fine, but that's just a visual inspection.

Any ideas? It's more a nuisance than anything else, I can deal with it.

 

[Jonk]

Hmmm One of the gears that the (head lift?) belt is associated with might need to be greased? Make sure and research the correct grease prior. Something for plastic if memory serves right. Could be that or might just be that belt. Did you touch it? Look for stickiness. Push it and make sure it's reasonably strong and doesn't come apart in your fingers. If the rubber belts/tires/roller haven't been replaced then it's time to do that anyway.

 

[sweetbeats]

Yeah my first thought was the control belt slipping. Did you ever replace that in your 244?