Ricoh MP 301 crooked copies & prints

[ShonRipz]

I've had this issue twice this past year and still haven't found the cause. Ricoh mp 301 with crooked prints internal and increasing with copies. I've checked all areas that I've suspected.
Paper tray fences,static plate beneath transfer roller, residue buildup on fuser entrance, feed rollers and pads, new pcu, holding side door tight to machine
The problem comes from both trays 1 and a pb1040 when installed. Ive checked ricoh techbulletins and found nothing for this issue.This one really stumps me. If anyone has any insight please pm me or comment. Thanks for reading!

[copier tech]

Re: Ricoh MP 301 crooked copies & prints

Does it skew from the bypass? if It does then look at the registration roller & bushing & check the pressure.

[Lunatech]

Re: Ricoh MP 301 crooked copies & prints

Perhaps you could scan us an example.

[driving lots of miles]

Re: Ricoh MP 301 crooked copies & prints

First thing I check when I have a skew problem is the paper. I remove all the paper out of the drawers and reinstall it 30 or 40 sheets at a time checking for pages that have been folded slightly on the edge. sometimes when they refill the paper they get in a hurry and a few pages get crimped.

[copyaction]

Re: Ricoh MP 301 crooked copies & prints

I have also seen some folded sheets in the middle of the stack in the drawer cause skewing as well.

[HitMan]

It's possible the door isn't engaging with the catch. It may look closed but the plastic bar that goes along the top of the door may not be getting held correctly. Try pushing the door closed whilst running the machine

[Oze]

Re: Ricoh MP 301 crooked copies & prints

Do you have a door from a donor machine you can swap in for testing?
That would help rule out registration.
Plus swapping a door out only takes a minute or two.

[Zeldaman]

Re: Ricoh MP 301 crooked copies & prints

Hi there!
We had this issue on several machines (ca.15) when the model was introduced. After close looking on the components of the machines, we allways had to order a complete new fuser-unit, cause the original units were equiped with plastic-parts very much bend. After talking to RICOH about this issue they said it maybe a fault from production. The same we had on the first new machines of the KIR-range (MP 2001/2501), only solution: changing the bended paper-exit-units.
Greetings...

[ShonRipz]

Re: Ricoh MP 301 crooked copies & prints

Thanks for the comments everyone!
I've ruled out the door not closing correctly but I believe now it could be 1 or 2 issues; Paper dust buildup on the top of the registration roller could be causing uneven tension, possible fuser unit is warped. I do remember checking the paper stack for any imperfections, and also with the tray.
I will post again when I check this machine again, hopefully this solves it.