Mr. Mike wrote in
:

But when you push "play" or "reverse play," the rubber wheels in front
of the playback heads don't move the tape forward so it will play.
There is a "clicking" noise, and some slight motion in the rubber
wheels and the mechanism underneath, but that's it. Rather than
playing, the tape starts to fast forward or rewind, though not as fast
as the actual fast forward or rewind speeds.

Ugh, I have done so many of these in my day it is not funny. I just got
tired of doing them and now do TV sets, more fun. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

Okay, I saw your video. You want to really know what is wrong and how to
fix it, for real? Okay, listen up.

The "rubber wheels" are called pinch rollers and they must engage the
"rotating pole" which is called the capstan. This pinching of the tape
between the pinch roller and the constant motion of the capstan is what
gives the tape a forward (Or reverse) motion that is constant and steady,
just what you need for playback.

What happens when you push play is that part of the mechanics is to move
those pinch rollers against the capstans. This is done either by a
solenoid or just a mechanical lever moving another lever which pushes the
pinch roller against the capstan. This lever is actually an L shaped
lever or could be straightish, but the fulcrum of this lever is actually
a sleeve bearing and when it was in good condition, was lubricated with a
good quality machine oil. Now the oil is all dried up and has turned into
goo. You must remove all the crap on top of the machine and take the top
plate off to expose this lever.

Carefully remove stuff, a little at a time, and lay it out so that you
can remember how to put it back. A digital camera will help here, take
pictures as you go along to make yourself a diagram of how to reassemble
the unit when you are done. Remove this lever and clean it out with Q-
Tips and alcohol, acetone, nail polish remover, or whatever good solvent
you have laying around. Lubricate the shaft and the inside of the sleeve
bearing with good quality machine oil, 3 in One works good, and
reassemble everything. Adjust as necessary and you are done. The machine
will work again. Now you probably will need all new belts and maybe the
rubber idler tires (Rubber traction wheels) inside might also be dried
out. If they are not too bad, they make a rubber reconditioner to make
the wheels soft again. The belts will have to be replaced.

Is it worth all this trouble? Probably not, but you did ask and you got
your answer. Cheers.

--
~Ohmster