Ar-168 fuser drive recurring problem

[axyun]

On May 28 I replaced the 2 coupler gears that drive fuser after grinding noise complaint. Was okay but came in early August about (2 months). On Aug 11 I changed fuser unit and 2 coupler gears(0018,0019). Got call yesterday, 4 months later that grinding started again. Machine appears to be level though I didn't check with level tool. Any help is very much appreciated. Frank/ActionPhotocopy

[gwaddle]

How many copies between problems. I was told by the sharp rep. a few years ago not to expect more than 25-30,000 out of them.

[axyun]

Customer did about 10K going from 35.2K to 45.5K. So first problem was at 35K. Frank

[divad2k1]

Had this a few times, was the fuser unit who was really hard to turn because of the grease who tend to harden or dirt. Even new fuser unit are a pain to rotate, they had the great idea to put the heatroll on bushing instead of bearing.

If your fuser is still in good condition, clean the grease on the HR bushing and reapply new one. You should see a big difference if your turn it by hand before and after.

If you replace the fuser unit, try to rotate the hr by hand before putting it in. What i do is i try it first then i put sillicone oil in the bushing and try it again, if it move more freely with the oil in, i take it appart and reapply new grease.

Unfortunately, you will have to change the coupler gears again

Hope this help.

[pjdbm]

sharp always have issues with grease, too much grease, too little grease

AR507 clutch packs ring a bell? lol

I would agree with above, maybe the location of the machine is a factor but I would add a few drops of fuser oil to the bushings on this unit.

[axyun]

It would seem to me that something particular is going on in this machine as the new fuser unit only had 10k on it before the grinding started. Mind you, I haven't been there yet but the customer has had this issue more than twice and I am assuming that she is correct as she has heard the grinding noise before. I am going to check the level of machine once I am able to get there as snow storm has creating travel problems. Frank

[divad2k1]

Tech Tip # 1264a

Model name:

AL1641CS, AL1651CS, AR150, AR150N, AR151, AR155, AR155N, AR152EN,
AR157EN, AR168D, AR168S

Symptom:

Fuser noise and/or paper jams as upper roller is hard to turn

Cause:

Possible dried or contaminated grease in the upper fuser bearing. Toner and
paper dust contaminate the grease and harden with time and heat. It is also
possible for the bearings(bushings) to be worn.

Action:

Replace upper bearings if worn, clean or replace upper roller, apply grease as per
instructions below. Ensure the ends of the upper roller are clean! You may also
want to replace the fuser upper frame with the newer style as per REP1414. Part
number LFRM-004QSZ5. The differences are shown at the end of this tip.

[CBMWilson]

AR507 clutch packs ring a bell? lol

I'm going to go to my corner and cry now, thanks for pulling that memory out.

In addition to replacing bushings and using a good high temp grease we occasionally remove the pressure release levers. That sometimes will help free it up a bit. These fusers have been too tight from release. Once you get it right, don't tough it until you absolutely have to.

[oldrn]

I believe the problem with these heaters is the lower fuser roller bushings, not the upper bushings. After posting a similar question on these forums and getting the suggestion of running the bushings with no grease at all, I tried that along with new bushings (lower). Either that worked or the customer trashed the machine. Another solution that worked was to install used AL1000 series fuser units in a couple of the newer machines. Except for the AR208's newer style lower paper separation pawls, it seems as though the AR168/208 machines used the same fuser as the AL1000 - AR150 series, yet the problem didn't seem to show up until the AR168s.