Esoteric K-03 drawer problem

[tjarmstrong]

Originally Posted by accudude

An update on my K-03 drawer issue.
Repairman from distributor came for a house visit.
Ultimately replaced two belt/o-rings, one being the one near the front of the transport that moves the disc up and down. The other is unexpectedly quite hidden. It is accessed by removing the very heavy bottom cover, the control board that sits in the middle (and removing a good number of wires attached to it), then another metal cover under it. Then, the motor and the little belt that in turn drives the long ridged belt visible from the top side can be seen and accessed. After replacing these two little belts, it works again!
Costed me a reasonable approx. US$90, about 65 for the visit and the remainder for parts.
I'm happy again.

I know this is an old thread but wanted to say thanks to accudude for the details posted above. I don't have Esoteric field service support available in my area so I finally decided to bust open my K-03 and this info was very helpful in allowing me to quickly locate the bad belt.

Unfortunately I'm unable to get oem replacement belts. According to the service center, TAP Electronics in CA, Esoteric does not allow the sale of parts to customers. They suggested I send it in for repair. I mentioned I already had the belt removed and I really don't want to ship an 80lb unit to get a $3 belt installed. lol. I pleaded with them a bit to just send me a belt but they said to take it up with Esoteric. Overall they've been good to deal with, I guess their hands are tied.
The belts are a wear item on these transports so it seems a bit ridiculous to me that customers can't get access to parts when the unit is out of warranty. I suppose they have their reasons but I will keep this in mind the next time I'm in the market for an Esoteric product.
Anyway, no big deal for now. The belts look to be pretty standard so I just ordered a few online. Hope this info helps somebody else that runs into this issue.