Fixing a Pioneer LaserDisc Player

My friend Dan lent me a LaserDisc player which I am returning him this weekend. When discs are ejected, the machine sometimes makes a noisy grinding sound which is made by two gears failing to mesh properly. In this video I show the problem and the method of fixing it which involves simply pushing down on a portion of the player to make the gears mesh.

The resolution that I suggest in the video is to perhaps have a piece of metal bar that can be inserted into the player and used as a lever to press the failing parts together, but what may actually work better is to simply replace a spring which holds the gear down with a slightly shorter spring.

I am not very mechanically inclined, however, and will not attempt to try this fix before returning it. Especially as the player works fine once the noise has stopped and the gears finally mesh.

Also, there does not appear to be any wear that is caused by the missing of the gears, just the annoying sound itself.



This issue is also discussed here.