I'll dig up some old posts
Any CD motor should work just fine. Considering that CD motors spin non-stop for long periods of time, while the laser motor only spins occasionally for disc reading, CD motors will have no problem handling the laser. I've tested it on several Gamecube disc drives and played games for hours without problems.
Obviously, this motor is only slightly less tall. BUT, there are CD motors out there that are half the size of the normal Gamecube motor. Which is pretty handy
Getting the screw holes to line up on the motor took a little persuasion but wasn't too tricky.