The tape counter is driven from the reversing idler, that roller at the bottom of the tape loop, under the headstack. There are actually two belts, connected through an intermediate pulley. It's the bushing of that intermediate pulley that wears out and starts to squeal. We haven't had any luck lubricating that bushing. Our normal solution is to remove the belt that goes between the reversing idler and the intermediate pulley. Of course that renders the counter inoperative; we just don't find the counter useful anyway so we don't mind. It is possible to reach in there with a long tweezer and pull the belt off, then very slowly and carefully snake the belt around all the intervening machinery until you have extracted it. That leaves you proudly staring at a belt you will never need again as long as you live. Alternatively you can snip the belt and then pull it out by one end. Your choice.
