Persistent ink smudges on Phaser 850 1

[uscpsycho]

Yesterday I started having a problem with ink smudges from my Phaser 850. The problem occurs on a narrow band near the right side of the page. When I print, ink is sticking to an internal part and is transfered to my pages as they go through the printer. In fact, the paper is sticking to this internal part and as the pages go through the paper path I can hear the paper being pulled away as the adhesion breaks. It sounds like a rapid rat-tat-tat.

I have tried the automated "clear ink smudges" routine several times, and this seems to work (the pages are clean by the time it's done), but as soon as I try another print the ink streaks return.

I've also cleaned the plastic strip on the maintenance drawer and cleaned the plastic strip attached to the blue guide underneath the top lid (above the LCD display).

When I open the top lid and remove the guide I can see ink remnants stuck to the metal cylinder below the paper shield.

Any suggestions on why this is happening or how I might resolve this?

 

[marty5261]

Sounds like the maintenance drawer needs to be replaced. Check the lift pins on each side, if there is a notch worn into the end of each one then that is the problem. Those pins should be even across the bottom, if not the the roller is not being raise high enough to oil the drum properly then the ink sticks to the drum and you get what you are describing. The p/n is 436035901 Xerox list price is about $100, you probably can can find it for less through a reseller.

 

[uscpsycho]

I pulled the drawer out and if you are talking about the pins that stick out of the sides, there are definitely notches on the bottom. Looks like they are made that way though, it doesn't like like it is due to wear (although one of the notches is longer than the other which leads to me believe they were not made that way).

However, when I go to the printer information screen on the printer it says that the maintenance kit has 46% left. Could the printer be that far off?

When I pulled the drawer out I could see that the side of the wiper (or whatever you call that plastic strip) was dry on the side where I was getting the ink streaks. I distributed the oil with my finger and that seems to have taken care of the problem.

I did all the troubleshooting from the Xerox website for ink streaks. Strangely, the solution you gave was not mentioned there, but it seems to be on target.

So the question now is, am I in the clear since I supposedly have 46% left? Should I keep using the kit I have and manually spreading the oil if the problem returns? Will my "fix" last or is this problem going to be a persistent one? Am I going to do any damage to the printer if I don't replace the maintenance kit?

 

[jal256]

He means that you probably need to replace the drawer by itself without changing the roller and page counter chip. The service manual recommends changing the drawer when the lift pins are worn a millimeter deep. However it also says in another section that the real criteria is whether or not the paper is sticking to the drum (as you are experiencing).

It also recommends changing the cam followers (these are the things which contact the lift pins) since the old ones were made with fiberglass content that increased the wear rate of the pins. Sorry, but I don't have the P/N on hand.

 

[marty5261]

As Jal mentioned you only need to replace the drawer, not the roller and counter. The life count of the roller has nothing to do with the problem, its mechanical because of the notches the roller is not lifted high enough to oil the drum. The cam followers he mentioned should be changed also p/n 367051501 2each. Also I reccommend that the dmc clutch be replaced as well. What has often happened is that the clutch becomes weakened because it hasnt had to work as hard when lifting the roller to oil the drum, and when a new drawer is installed you may get an error such as 07,004.45 or 07,005.47. the clutch p/n is 650428800.

 

[uscpsycho]

OK, now this is starting to sound complicated. How much disassembly is required to replace the cam followers and the clutch? Do these parts come with installation documentation or do they assume you are a printer tech and know how to replace these parts?

Marty said the maintenence drawer runs about $100. How much will I be investing to replace the cam followers and the clutch?

Are any of these parts replacable from the Phaser 860? I have a dead one that was given to me to use for parts.

 

[jal256]

Replacing the cam followers and maintenance clutch is very easy, but there's a little caveat with regard to the clutch.

When you remove the maintenance drawer you will see the cam followers mounted to the inside of the frame (one on each side) just underneath where the lift pins were located. They are shaped like the top part of an exclamation point but much bigger and are held on by a single retaining clip.

The old Phaser 860 you have likely has the old cam followers with the fiberglass and there wouldn't be any point in using them. However, I believe the new ones have the letter "A" stamped on them (I may be wrong), so if yours have this, you can use them.

The clutch, I believe, comes with some disk-like parts that are tied together. It's important when installing them to keep their orientation the same as they were received. In other words, don't flip any disk around. I don't know if you get instructions with it - if not, it wouldn't hurt to make a diagram when the parts are received in case they are accidently shuffled or turned around.

The clutch itself is located on the lower left side on the outside of the frame. It's on the shaft that has plastic cams mounted on it on the inside of the frame, which actuate the above mentioned cam followers. It's held
on with a single retaining clip if I remember correctly.

But all you really need for sure at this point is the maintenance drawer - the new cam followers will simply slow down the wear of the pins. You can even put some sort of sleeves over the pins to restore their thickness and use the old drawer (I read a post here where someone had done that). As Marty has cautioned many times, it's a good idea to replace the clutch too, but you may not need to do this either at this time.