I have dozens of LD players from my Dad's estate (all came from his closed electronics repair shop) and have been putting them into running order. The most common problem I've found with these players that sat a while is the load belt has stretched out and slips. The tray won't open and/or the laser assembly won't rise.

In searching for the correct replacement belt, which you just can't pick up at Walmart or even Radshack, I discovered that the load belt located on the front left side of many models of Pioneer players is an exact match for the function motor belt of the RCA CED players of the SJT/SKT series, also use for loading the disc! What great serendipity. The models I've already used this belt on are d406 and d604, several of the d500 series and it's clones, and the DVL series. Haven't yet gotten to the d700's.

And even better is the fact that these belts can be gotten from Tom Howe at CEDmagic for only $2 each. They are the J/K Function Motor Drive Belt, number SCB3.6, here:

http://www.cedmagic.com/home/purchase.html

As a temporary alternative, you can use an o-ring that you can get from an auto parts or hardware store that's a width of 1/16 inch and with an ID (inside diameter) of 1 1/4 inch. It's a nearly perfect match but I am not certain of it's longevity. I have one player I am using regularly just to see if it is durable. I suspect it will be because o-rings are typically made of durable materials.

You better recheck. These belts are commonly the SCQ4.0 to get the exact replacement

That's what I'd gotten before and they fit, but slightly loose with a fair amount of play. Didn't always do the job. Then I just recently got the VEB1184 from Pioneer and it was just a tad smaller, so I measured it, and it was a match to the ones I had for CED. But in a pinch I always have a supply of misc sized o-rings around. It's called the 'stuck in the boondocks' method of temporary repair. Well, that's what my Dad called it since his shop was in the middle of rural Indiana and parts took a while to arrive in those days.

When you replace the belts you have to clean the small pulley on the motor as it also gets a slick film on it like the belt. If you go too tight it will wear the bearings faster.

That's good advice and makes sense, thanks. I'll make sure to do that and stick with the belts from Pioneer.

Using this advice on the last two players I just did, I took the belt off, cleaned it well with special rubber cleaner and cleaned the gear pully and motor pully well too. Then replaced the original belt, and that did the trick. Along with a good lubrication on gears and tray where needed, these two players work just fine now.

Do I understand correctly that SCB3.6 is 100% identical to VEB1184?

I can't say exactly without use of a micro measuring device, but the one I got from Pioneer seemed to be the same as that CED load belt, using a side by side comparison.

However, I also learned using Kurtis' suggestion, that typically the initial problem is slipping of the belt that can be solved by good cleaning of the belt and pulleys. Since he mentioned that and I've been doing that, all the ones I've cleaned (& relubed) now have worked perfectly using the existing belts. I'd say do that first.

But I still have a player I use regularly with the CED load belt on it that is running great. It slipped on without undue stretching or pressure. I think if there is a difference, it is really very, very small and won't exhibit problems.

Cleaning the original belt worked for me too (CLD-S303 player). But I think I'll order a couple of those SCB3.6 belts just in case.

What do you recommend for cleaning the belt and/or pulley? Isopropyl alcohol?

Just get it as pure as possible so as to leave it clean when it dries. Most of the time I use dry chamois swabs and it works good, then I add cleaner when cleaning the pulley