Xbox and Xbox 360 - faulty trays

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sabrage
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Xbox and Xbox 360 - faulty trays

Post by sabrage »

Both of my Xboxes have similar problems - the disk tray just won't open right. I'll discuss each issue individually.

I have a launch-model Xbox 360, so the warranty is long since expired. For a while now, I haven't been able to open the disk tray without already having a disk inside, or using a paperclip to manually open it. This isn't a massive issue, but I move it around a fair deal and leaving a disk in the drive makes me extremely uncomfortable. So, having already done so to fix my red ring, I opened my Xbox up to try to solve the issue. I also disassembled the drive, to the point where it looks like this:
Image
Now, with my drive outside of the metal enclosure, the disk tray works just fine. However, when I put the top half of the enclosure back on, the tray no longer works. I have no idea what could be causing this to happen, so I was hoping you guys could help me out to fix this problem once and for all. Replacement drives are quite expensive (~$30, about as much as the Xbox itself is worth now) and I don't really want to go through all the effort of flashing the firmware so I'd like to resolve this if possible. I've got my 360 naked and splayed all over the table, so quick responses are appreciated here. It's the Toshiba-Samsung drive, by the way.

Now, my 0Xbox. I just got this today off Craigslist, and it works fine except that the tray sometimes "sticks" when I try to open it. It'll eject about halfway, then I can hear a mechanical whirring noise and the tray sticks. Even when it opens fully, it clearly struggles to get past that middle point. Would opening this baby up and cleaning it out likely fix this problem, or should I be looking into replacement parts?

I did a quick google search and wasn't able to find any real solutions to either of these problems, but if there's a better forum to post this on I'd appreciate a point in the right direction.
Jontendo
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Re: Xbox and Xbox 360 - faulty trays

Post by Jontendo »

If you're the guy from (or have visited) llama.com, I'm guessing you've already tried tray realignments to no avail on these, correct?

If it's sticking with the top back on, I would wonder if it's compressing something just enough to make the tray stick. Just a thought though.
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Re: Xbox and Xbox 360 - faulty trays

Post by Hobie-wan »

Does the drive use a belt in it as part of the opening and closing mechanism? If so, I bet the belt is worn and stretched. That white disc in the top shell has a magnet in it. When the spindle moves up and grabs the disc, the magnet and that upper disc are attracted to metal in the lower spindle, so it clamps the disc to hold it for spinning. If the belt is stretched a bit, it could be slipping when trying to pull the spindle away from the magnet. A similar think can happen if a tray just keeps spitting a disc back out. If it doesn't have the traction to crank the spindle motor up into place, it eventually gives up thinking there's a jam and ejects.
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sabrage
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Re: Xbox and Xbox 360 - faulty trays

Post by sabrage »

Hobie-wan wrote:Does the drive use a belt in it as part of the opening and closing mechanism? If so, I bet the belt is worn and stretched. That white disc in the top shell has a magnet in it. When the spindle moves up and grabs the disc, the magnet and that upper disc are attracted to metal in the lower spindle, so it clamps the disc to hold it for spinning. If the belt is stretched a bit, it could be slipping when trying to pull the spindle away from the magnet. A similar think can happen if a tray just keeps spitting a disc back out. If it doesn't have the traction to crank the spindle motor up into place, it eventually gives up thinking there's a jam and ejects.
That makes a lot of sense. I'd seen the belt replacement repair, but I wasn't convinced that was the problem as the drive does work without the magnet in place. I'll order the replacement part and throw some white lithium grease on for good measure and report back in a few days.

Christ, how did I miss that gigantic "Technical Help" subforum?
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CD AGES
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Re: Xbox and Xbox 360 - faulty trays

Post by CD AGES »

This is so interesting! I'm actually having an opposite effect with the disk tray on one of my Oxbox consoles, the stupid tray doesn't want to stay in. It keeps opening! Anyone have any advice on how to remedy this!?
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Re: Xbox and Xbox 360 - faulty trays

Post by s1mplehumar »

9/10 if the tray isn't opening it's due to a dirty belt. Now that you have the unit dissected, remove the belt from the wheel and wash it in mild soap, and let it air dry to remain lint free. Slap it back in and you should be good to go.
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Re: Xbox and Xbox 360 - faulty trays

Post by s1mplehumar »

All patched up?
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sabrage
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Re: Xbox and Xbox 360 - faulty trays

Post by sabrage »

s1mplehumar wrote:All patched up?
Sadly no, I got distracted by cleaning/repairing several of my controllers and my PC's video card broke so I had to deal with that first. It's still laying open so I'll go try cleaning that belt right now; turns out I don't have the right Torx for my OXbox so that's gonna have to wait a few days.
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Re: Xbox and Xbox 360 - faulty trays

Post by s1mplehumar »

sabrage wrote:
s1mplehumar wrote:All patched up?
Sadly no, I got distracted by cleaning/repairing several of my controllers and my PC's video card broke so I had to deal with that first. It's still laying open so I'll go try cleaning that belt right now; turns out I don't have the right Torx for my OXbox so that's gonna have to wait a few days.
No sweat. If you're in a pinch for a replacement GPU I can probably help you out. Feel free to PM me.
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sabrage
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Re: Xbox and Xbox 360 - faulty trays

Post by sabrage »

s1mplehumar wrote:
sabrage wrote:
s1mplehumar wrote:All patched up?
Sadly no, I got distracted by cleaning/repairing several of my controllers and my PC's video card broke so I had to deal with that first. It's still laying open so I'll go try cleaning that belt right now; turns out I don't have the right Torx for my OXbox so that's gonna have to wait a few days.
No sweat. If you're in a pinch for a replacement GPU I can probably help you out. Feel free to PM me.
I borrowed a GT220 from a friend for the long weeks ahead, so I'm all set. I only had my 6850 for about 2 months before it broke down (fan stopped spinning) but XFX has an excellent warranty service. Haven't been playing anything intensive on my PC anyways, though Stealth Bastard has been getting quite a bit of play recently.

Belt is drying as we speak, should it be pretty obvious when it's done or should I give it a couple hours to be safe?
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