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Josh Peck loves former co-star Drake Bell like a brother ... but Josh won't help his buddy crawl out of debt by making a "Drake & Josh" flick.

Peck was catching some rays on a bench in Manhattan Beach when our photog raised the issue of helping Drake score some quick cash.

As we previously reported ... Bell's in the hole to the tune of $581k -- and claiming he pulls in an anemic $2,820 a month compared to his monthly outlay of $18,771.

Since their Nickelodeon show went off the air in 2007 ... Peck's been pretty successful -- voicing both Eddie in the "Ice Age" films ... and Casey Jones on the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" show.