Zenith model MN2670

I have a magnificent Zenith model MN2670, Turntable model 169-250 Idler wheel part number 61-254 Aftermarket part number for idler wheel 1499-43. The phonograph has always had trouble with the idler wheel connecting the motor to the drum, but it would work if I pressed the wheel to the drum by hand and then it would operate correctly. Everything seemed to be OK when I disassembled it to install a new aftermarket idler wheel (I cleaned the drum, etc.) and I checked the new wheel against the old one and they are exactly the same size: 2 1/2 inches and it fits on the shaft just fine. The problem is that the new idle wheel doesn't touch the drum at any RPM. (it presses again the motor, so that operation is working fine). Is there an adjustment that I missed? Or what do you recommend?

Richard Welch

Those changers need a complete and proper overhaul by now - all of them.
Merely replacing one part isn't going to fix the other age-related issues.
I've serviced enough of them by now to know them quite well.

I found the problem. Somewhere along the way, some aftermarket company, or maybe it's the people selling idler wheels on eBay, that Zenith model MN2670 takes an idler wheel number 1499-43 which is 2.5 inches in diameter. Well, that's wrong. Zenith's service manual says that the idler wheel that fits their model MN2670 must be 2 5/8 inches in diameter. It's obvious that the 2.5 inch wheel misses the drum by 1/8 of an inch, so does anyone know where I can buy a 1499-43 idler wheel that's 2 5/8 inches in diameter?

There is a listing for "idler wheels" in the jukebox section--"Used/new parts---"
Ro Rich

Due to the complexity of that Zenith drive system, it's apparent that its "working parts" are binding, leading to improper operation.
All the 1499-43's are 2 and a half inches that are out there in resource-land.
Even the changer I've got laying around the shop uses a 2.5"er, and it works the way it should.

Here's the latest. I was on the phone yesterday with a retired dealer and serviceman for Magnavox/Zenith and other makes of phonographs and we discussed the idler wheel that's needed for my Zenith MN2670. We talked for quite some time and he said that If I put a 1499-43 idler wheel on a Zenith phonograph, it will NOT work properly. The 2 1/2" wheels were manufactured for Magnavox phonographs and Zenith phonographs required a 2 5/8" wheel. How a 2 1/2" wheel got onto my phonograph is beyond him, but it must have been installed by a previous owner who got it wrong. He's sending me an idler wheel that he got years ago from Zenith and he guarantees that it will make my turntable spin as it was meant to spin when new. He also said that the MN2670s are a joy to work on and are among the finest Zeniths ever made and it should easily last another 51 years. I hope so because we just got a mint 78 of a record from 1923 to which my wife's family still owns the rights -- and which is regularly heard on the Grand Ole Opry to this day. I need it to play well so we can claim the royalties.

romanizedcelt wrote:Here's the latest. I was on the phone yesterday with a retired dealer and serviceman for Magnavox/Zenith and other makes of phonographs and we discussed the idler wheel that's needed for my Zenith MN2670. We talked for quite some time and he said that If I put a 1499-43 idler wheel on a Zenith phonograph, it will NOT work properly. The 2 1/2" wheels were manufactured for Magnavox phonographs and Zenith phonographs required a 2 5/8" wheel. How a 2 1/2" wheel got onto my phonograph is beyond him, but it must have been installed by a previous owner who got it wrong. He's sending me an idler wheel that he got years ago from Zenith and he guarantees that it will make my turntable spin as it was meant to spin when new. He also said that the MN2670s are a joy to work on and are among the finest Zeniths ever made and it should easily last another 51 years. I hope so because we just got a mint 78 of a record from 1923 to which my wife's family still owns the rights -- and which is regularly heard on the Grand Ole Opry to this day. I need it to play well so we can claim the royalties.

I don't mean to argue with you over this, but as an experienced long-time service tech, and having serviced MANY of the Zenith changers, your facts are wrong, and so are that so-called serviceman.
What you've got there is a BINDING idler arm assembly that NEEDS overhauling due to DECADES OLD hardened lubricant.
I rebuild the WHOLE mechanism in those changers, and trust me, they'll even work properly with only a TWO INCH idler in place once serviced PROPERLY.
So this false issue with idler size is not valid, they ALL originally came shipped with the 2.5 inch 1499-43 idlers.