To fix rewind and play?

Background: VCR, General Electric, Model 4272. Never had any problem before. Observations: There is a series of gears between the 2 reels. None appear to be chipped, worn, or broken. There is no idler wheel or tire on this model. The belt is tight and not slipping. Problem: It will forward okay with some rubbing somewhere. At the time the tape loads up after it is inserted, there is a series of short grinding noises. Rewind is very slow, then suddenly the right reel spews out tape. Now, I thought the left reel did the rewind (?). When observing play, the top of the tape rubs on the left roller that is attached to the slider. Is there a way to fix this? Since it all happened at once, I would think it is all related.