I don't think the slim has quite the same reputation as the old white tanks do. Speaking of which, my 360 is an old white tank that hasn't tanked yet.
Same here. And it's an early model. I got lucky.
However, it's not exactly 100%. The disc tray sticks and won't open if you close it without a game inside. Strangely enough, as long as a game is in it, though, no problems.
Ugh, I started having the same issue a few months ago. What's up with that?
I don't know. The strange part is that if the gears were wearing, then it would do it even with a game in the tray. I just don't understand how having a game in the tray helps anything.
All I know is that I have to use a paper clip and press some sort of tiny release button. Maybe has something to do with the that tiny bit of weight the disc adds?
That is probably it exactly.
I bought an original xbox for $5 expecting to use it for parts because the "DVD drive was broken."
Well the only thing wrong with it was it wouldn't open unless a LOT of downward force was applied to the tray during the eject sequence. Enough force that I was afraid I would burn out the motor if I did it regularly.
I took it apart and discovered the gears were fine. But one of the plastic spindles that held one of the gears in place had snapped.
Because of that when the gears turned one particular gear would lift up at an angle and it's teeth would catch the bottom of the tray. As the tray moved it would pull the gear away from the teeth of the tray itself and the tray would stop moving.
The reason it would work with downward force applied to the tray was because the tray would then apply pressure to the top of the problem gear. Holding it and it's teeth in place for the entire eject sequence.
In my case the fix was to repair the broken spindle by carefully driving a nail through it and superglueing the nail in place. After I did that I remounted the gear on the reinforced spindle and re-assembled everything.
The drive has worked perfectly ever since.
If just having a disc in the tray does the trick for now. I'd say leave it alone. It's probably just the plastic supports for the gears have broken.
If it gets to the point that the disc in the tray doesn't do the trick it may be worth it to open it up and try to fix it before considering it a lost cause.