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5.23 My NeXT laser printer fails to fully eject the sheet - how to fix?

If you continually get messages like, "sorry, the printer is jammed" and you have to pull each page out the last inch, you probably need to replace the 14 tooth gear in the output stage(fuse ass'y).

You can see this gear before you disassemble the printer, so that is a good first step. Then read these instructions all the way through and see if you want to attempt it. Next recommends replacing the entire fuse ass'y ( big bucks) if the gear is damaged, but Chenesko, Inc., of Ronkonkoma, NY sells the gears for $2.31. The part number is RS1-0132. They recommended I also replace the 20 tooth gear, number RS1-0116, but I don't know if it is really necessary. Their phone number is 800-221-3516.

PartsNow is also selling laserprint replacement parts. Their part number for the a replacement roller part is RA1-84489-000 000. You might contact them for further details.

To examine your gear, open the rear (delivery ) door and undo the screw attaching the strap that keeps the door from opening down all the way. The gear is on the side nearest the power input to the printer.

There are two gears on the part of the delivery ass'y that swings down. The suspect gear engages the top one, but is mounted on the fixed portion of the fuse. Ours had several teeth missing and/or damaged. To get the gear off you have to remove the fuse ass'y. To remove the fuse you must open the printer lid fully, so it is straight up. To open the lid fully you must remove the case. To remove the case you must remove the plastic cover on the lid.

Are you getting the idea now? This will be a lot of fun, and take most of the afternoon. I hope you have a spacious, well-lit area, because there are a lot of screws, and a lot of them are painted black, so they are hard to see when you drop them, unless you drop them inside of the printer, where you might NEVER see them again.

Fortunately, as with all computer equipment, they seem to put lots of extras in, so just make sure there aren't any where they might do damage, like short out the mega KILOVOLT corona power supply, or grind into the REGISTRATION rollers. You do want your printouts to be straight, don't you?

So, if you're ready, here we go.

• PREPARATION Most mere mortals will want to power down everything and disconnect the cables, etc. Remove the cartridge and paper trays, etc.

• REMOVE THE LID COVER open the lid and remove 3 screws. They DO NOT have any red paint on them.

• REMOVE THE BACK DOOR there is one screw that holds the strap. When you can swing it clear down, you can squeeze the hinges together and remove the door.

• REMOVE THE CASE There are maybe seven screws that hold the case on. Four are right on top. Two are just inside the rear door area. Two are down inside where you store that green cleaning tool. 4 + 2 + 2 = 7, right? Say, who was the last guy that worked on this printer anyway?

  The case has to be convinced that you really need to remove it, even when it is loose and all the screws are out.

• REMOVE THE FUSE ASS'Y You will need a PHILLIPS screwdriver for this, as with the previous steps. But you will need a LONG one this time. Three of the screws are pretty easy to find. Just study the lower part of the fuse, as it is screwed onto the bottom case. Two of the screws are inside. One is under the lid next to the gears, the other near the green cleaning tool. On the outside, in back, there is one on each side. One is under the white wires that connect the fuse to the 10 AMP circuit breaker, which is pretty near that gear, and close to the power input. Unplug that cable. Then remove the small black crew that holds the black plastic gear cover so you will have better access to the last screw. Then you will have to wrestle the fuse out the back of the printer. Be careful with it.

• DISASSEMBLE THE FUSE There are several screws and a spring. It's not too hard to take apart. You can see the gear, so you just have to take off the covers on that end of the ass'y to get to it. I should caution you that I had trouble putting them back on, because they have funny shapes and don't make a lot of sense. Plus I was tired, so I went home, ate dinner, played with the dog, went to bed, got up and ate breakfast before I put it back together. You might want to label some parts, make some drawings, etc. to reassure yourself that you can put the parts back just like they were.

• REMOVE THE GEAR You can remove the gear pretty easily with a small screwdriver by unspringing the "E"-ring that holds it on the shaft. Try not to bend the e-ring.

• PUT EVERYTHING BACK TOGETHER Sorry, I can't help you with this part (HA HA!) I told you you should read the instructions first. Maybe you should buy a new printer, or try to attach some third party printer via the serial port!

Well, if you got this far I hope you dropped little crumbs of bread so you can find your way back. I try to save all the little screws by putting them back in the holes they came from, or putting them in some small container. You might clean some of the gears or the paper path while you have it open. You can also install a new OZONE filter. Remember OZONE is hazardous to your health, so you don't want to inhale it.

DISCLAIMER: BE CAREFUL IF YOU TRY THIS PROCEDURE. THERE ARE DANGEROUS VOLTAGES PRESENT, AND EVEN IF YOU ARE TOO CHICKEN TO WORK ON IT POWERED UP, YOU COULD CUT YOURSELF, OR DROP THE WHOLE THING ON YOUR FOOT, THUS VOIDING THE WARRANTY. ALSO, THE PRINTER WONÂT WORK WITHOUT THE COVERS, BECAUSE THERE ARE TWO SECRET SWITCHES THAT INFORM THE NEXT CPU THAT SOMEONE "IS FOOLING AROUND WITH THE PRINTER AGAIN."

Yet another update to reflect that Jacob Gore received gears for an Apple Laserwriter from Chenesko, which are similar enough to work, but with some modification.Also, if the original gear is in fair condition, it can be reversed on the shaft until a replacement is ordered.

• (continue with 5.24 What are the NeXT mouse connections?)