Hi everyone I am a firts time poster and first would like to say i have the B&O 9000 and just love it. I was wanting to upgrade from my RX turntable to a beogram 5500 table I found on the local Kansas City Craig's list and the po would not seperate the turn table from the system so i just went ahead and bought the whole 5500 system from him minus the controller & stylus, which he did not have,for $200. Everything seems to work fine except the CD50 will not open it has a cd in it and plays fine,but just will not open. Any advice before i pull the cover and clean it would be greatly appreciated. I would rather ask first then break something while i am in the mucking about. Thanks, Dave

I have the back two screws removed, on the bottom it says move them up and retighten??? also looks like i have to remove the din cord from the rear to lift the top up. It does pull straight out or is it permantly bonded to the unit? Dave

The DIN cord should have a plug - just pull it off...

After you've done as the bottom says, you should get the cover off. The loading mechanism has a rubber belt. It may have snapped if the unit really doesn't even try to unload. The tray mechanism will probably need a clean & lube job as well and it may be just stuck. Behind the mech on the bottom, you should be able to see a large gearwheel which you can rotate by hand to operate the loading mechanism.

On a 1-to-5 scale of bitchiness, I'd give replacing the tray belt a firm 3½. Study the mechanics before blindly starting to disassemble things; you will have to disengage the door flap, get the upper part of the CD mechanism off, swing it away, then disconnect the rest from the bottom plate, and there will be just enough room to do the job. One gearwheel will have to come off so you get the belt in&out, be careful not to mess up the synchronization of the wheels. I'd give you a pointer to a photo thread but I'm afraid we've never had one on this subject, and I didn't take any pictures either when I did mine

One addition about the cover: as in any unit of this form factor, it isn't actually held in place by those screws, it is the lugs they screw into. That's why the instruction says to slide them up and retighten. If you have the screws completely out already, you may have to turn the deck upside down to get the lugs to drop out of the way. Make sure they aren't still flying about in the insides when you connect power.

Oh yes, and one more thing: welcome to Beoworld

Tournedos, thanks for the quick reply. That's what it looked like on the cord but i wanted to check first. Good pointer on the gears i will magic mark and index point and that gives me an idea to on the pictures ,i will take some and post if i can.I did do a long search on the site but turned up nothing but optic problems.

Ah, i should have waited for a reply, ok i understand it now. Thanks for the heads up on that.

Thanks! Glad to be here.

I have the cover off and the inside is spotless I cannot belive how clean it is compared to other responses of how dirty theirs where. Maybe it has been serviced in the recent past but it just looks like it has been in a very clean envirement all of its life. The po said it had been i storage for many years.

Is there an easy way to disengage the door? i just don't see how to do it without loosening the long acuator arm. The front of the door is not closing all the way and i see an adjustment screw at the rear of the acuator arm,could it just be out of adjusment causing the problem?

Also i can see the large gearwheel at the bottom but seems very stiff but that may be because i don't have the front door released yet, so i did not force it. I cannot see the belt on the bottom at all is there way to view it to make sure it is the problem before i start taking everything apart?

I took pictures but uploading them is not working ,site not very user friendly

The door flap is connected to the arm with a tiny screw from the side, just disconnect it. However, the arm itself will eventually have to come off as well as it obstructs one screw you'll need to get at later. The screw at the rear is just an end stop, the actual adjustment is done where the arm guide screws to the bottom plate (an oblong hole). At some point, you'll need to remove the loading tray itself. I think it was rather obvious once the top part of the mech is out of the way - this means the whole top module (four screws through rubber bumpers), don't go messing about with the laser unit or the spindle motor separately.

I don't think you can see the belt from anywhere until the loading mech is exposed. If the large wheel is very stiff, the belt may still be OK but just can't deliver enough torque to move the seized mechanism. You'll have the same dismantling job ahead anyway as you need to clean and relube the gears - they are probably frozen on their axles. If you need a new belt, Martin (member Dillen on site) can supply you with one that surely fits the purpose.

Yes, the picture attachment feature could be easier... you can attach a singe image per post: while composing, click on the "options" tab and you find the uploading link. If you have images hosted elsewhere, you can use the "insert/edit image" icon too to add just an inline link for it.

I had to losen the arm and  the actuator plate on the front side to lower the door enough to access and remove the screw. After i had the door open the large gear wheel turned freely and I opened the tray by hand ,the belt was broken, took a picture but again i could not coach the goofy upload software to work. Thanks again i will contact and order a belt from Martin.

KCkid. To add pictures...

When you reply there are four tabs at the top. Compose, Options, Related & Preview.

Click on Options then under File Attachment (at the top) click on add/update to choose your file.

Don't worry, you're not alone - it is a bit obscure

After a long delay i have a snow day on the first day of spring so decided to finish with the belt install. I have the tray up and out of the way and have decided the large wheel has to be removed along with one smaller wheel to gain acess to the belt wheel. The large wheel is trapped by a brass splined capture cap as seen in the attached photo, a set screw secures it to the splined shaft,which i have already loosened. It seems some sort of epoxy or lock tite has been applied to the top. i have tried pulling it off with vice grips but it is not moving. Question is,do i need a special small puller to remove it without damage?

There are two set screws and then it screws off.
Make sure to mark EVERYTHING, some of the gears are put together in a special way (coded)
but bears no markings of this, and they need to be put back together in the exact same way.

Martin

EDIT: I noticed the black marks on some of the gears, this is what I mean.
You need to make a similar mark on the edge of the CD tray as this also forms part of the gearing.

Dillen:

There are two set screws and then it screws off.
Make sure to mark EVERYTHING, some of the gears are put together in a special way (coded)
but bears no markings of this, and they need to be put back together in the exact same way.

Martin

EDIT: I noticed the black marks on some of the gears, this is what I mean.
You need to make a similar mark on the edge of the CD tray as this also forms part of the gearing.

There was only one set screw on the inside hole and as stated i already have it loose. Yes i made the index markings, as for the cd tray i have it pulled out to its stop and considered that a good index for the tray gearing.

So it screws off counter clockwise ? Thanks,I will try it.

Indeed it does screw off counter clock wise. I am now trying to remove the large gear wheel by wiggling it and pulling strait up at the same time but it does not want to release.

It lifts straight up and off.
But you MUST mark the tray and gear together.

Martin

Dillen:

It lifts straight up and off.
But you MUST mark the tray and gear together.

Martin

Thanks Martin, it did finally come off. I used an allen wrench as a pry bar gently pushing equally on three side, it was a very thight fit. What was left of the belt was a gummy mess on the gruved wheel, i cleaned it off and have the belt in what i think is the correct position. I never saw where it went so i am just guessing it has to go around the drive wheel bottom. Do i have it right? Also what type of lubrication should i use on the gear wheel faces and studs the wheels go on? Thanks for the quick replys and help,very much appreciated!

David

This comes out from fading memory, but that's not where the belt is supposed to go. In your photo, straight above the grooved pulley, you can faintly see a brass pulley - that is the tray motor and the other side of the belt belongs there The plastic gears take care of the rest.

tournedos:

This comes out from fading memory, but that's not where the belt is supposed to go. In your photo, straight above the grooved pulley, you can faintly see a brass pulley - that is the tray motor and the other side of the belt belongs there The plastic gears take care of the rest.

Ok i see it now thanks, now i just need the lubrication question answered and i will put her back together. Thanks Mike

David

Oh yes, sorry, I noticed your question but forgot to answer. The optimal lubricant would be silicone grease (NOT silicon paste, which is a totally different substance!). I have personally used lithium grease which you can find in auto parts stores (the white kind in "toothpaste" tubes). It's a good all-around lubricant for these bigger caliber sliding and rotating parts you will find in many B&O kit. Sewing machine oil for the little parts.

In a pinch, anything that isn't too thick but won't evaporate either, and especially is not corrosive, can be used. This gearing is worth the "right stuff" though as it is hard work to redo it.

I agree with Mika.

Regarding lubricants, the most important thing is to clean off all the old
dried lubricants since this is what brakes the whole mech.
A combination of IPA, cloth, pipe-cleaners, cotton buds and patience will usually do.
The brass rods can sometimes hold on to the dried stuff very stubbornly
and you may have to use a little steelwool (gently) to get to the
bottom of it. The brass rods should be all shiny.
When cleaned, it's quite common to see it able to run fine dry but
because of the stress that exists on some of the gears, I would also
recommend a little (thin) silicone grease.

Martin

I have a tube of white lithium greese and agree and will use it on the plastic gears i have cleaned all of the brass with gun solvent and dried and then cleaned with rubbing alk. I then used a high quality gun oil on the brass. Thanks again to all of you of you for the gentle direction, It was a hard job and the worst being cleaning the old sticky black ooze the old belt had turned into on the HARD  TO REACH motor drive pully . I have taken one last picture of the correct position of the belt placment for future brave soles who want to attempt to change their own belts. I will post again when and if it plays the first CD.

David

I haven't ever opened a CD50, and it is different (being a Japanese transport) to all the other B&O CD's on which I've worked (with Philips transports), so I can't comment on "HOW TO" here.

But I'd like to offer a "WHAT" - being the lubrication.

I am not happy with lithium grease on plastics, being that it dries out, and at some point, one has to disassemble everything again for a cleaning.

For me, Silicon Spray is absolutely the only lubricant to use for plastic-to-plastic contact. It is super-slippery, super-thin, does not harden or dry out, and one of its inherent properties is that it is very kind to plastics, in fact inhibiting chemical breakdown.

Menahem