bulkchart32 Posted June 7, 2020 Report Share Posted June 7, 2020 i found the new xbox360 dvd belts are a perfect match for the samsung drives on these og xbox's but i haven't found a good one for the thompson. anyone know of one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDShadow Posted June 7, 2020 Report Share Posted June 7, 2020 Never had a problem with the one Thomson drive I have's eject/close operation so never needed to replace the belt. The Hitachi likewise. I'd always assumed they used the same size but from your post I guess that is not the case. The ones that work well with the Samsungs and are indeed interchangeable with the XB360 are 22mm (inside diameter) square profile. I know this for sure because I tested an original drive belt (reconditioned) and it fitted just very slightly stretched over an old circular UK £1 coin. Those were exactly 22.5mm diameter. However there is a materials' issue involved as well - not all the 22mm drive belts I've bought have had the same flexibility, some have been made of a slightly harder, less stretchy 'rubber'. There are also non-electrical device drive belt alternatives bought from places like DIY and plumbing supplies shops as water pipe sealing rings that are made of softer materials and so stretch more. If you have the original Thomson belt you could try measuring that. Even if it broken you can use some simple maths to determine the diameter. One thing I've found you should not do is get a belt that is too small. You think the tighter the better but no. Beyond a certain point the tightness the belt actually seems to slip on the drive wheels causing the eject/close mechanism to malfunction just as it does when too loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corona2222 Posted June 7, 2020 Report Share Posted June 7, 2020 I saw a youtube restoration vid throw the rubber belt in hot water to restore the shape/elasticity, not sure if this is a long term fix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmonaut Cartilag Posted June 15, 2020 Report Share Posted June 15, 2020 All I did was ebay replacements for my original xbox dvd belts, got a pack of 3 pretty cheap. Mine was a hitachi, but from what i've seen all seem relatively similar? Though if you don't want to buy a replacement, Take Corona's advice and boil it, it'll shrink it after a while! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulkchart32 Posted July 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2020 just fyi to everyone and anyone that might stumble onto this post, i've found that a regular rubber band works great. just gotta get it slightly tighter than the oem belt. make certain to lube the spindles of all the pulley's with synthetic grease 1st as this will put extra stress and friction on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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