Ricoh aficio MP4000b dirty copies and backside very dirty

[slimslob]

We don't rebuild anything as labor time ends up costing more than slapping in a Kit A and B. I can rock up to a client site with a vac and a Kit A and B, a couple sets of tray rollers and document feeder parts and walking out 30 minutes later having completed a full PM service for this device.

In all situations we analysis cost of parts for a start, then total labor time.

You will find your labor time which includes travel parking etc will blow out dramatically when you do the sums compared to just slapping kits in

Plus the less time your at a machine servicing and inconveniencing a client the better you look

I can see doing that with a production machine in order to keep customer downtime to a minimum. Someone still has to rebuild those FRU and TCRU kits.

[sturmtrooper]

We don't rebuild anything as labor time ends up costing more than slapping in a Kit A and B. I can rock up to a client site with a vac and a Kit A and B, a couple sets of tray rollers and document feeder parts and walking out 30 minutes later having completed a full PM service for this device.

In all situations we analysis cost of parts for a start, then total labor time.

You will find your labor time which includes travel parking etc will blow out dramatically when you do the sums compared to just slapping kits in

Plus the less time your at a machine servicing and inconveniencing a client the better you look

I don't know what you or your coworkers are being paid, but like I said, it's a $400 difference between the rebuild kit and buying an A kit and a B kit. Per service.

Drum rebuilt takes about an hour. Maybe two for the fuser because they are tedious.

I don't know how your math works out to make that more profitable than a rebuild.

[slimslob]

I don't know what you or your coworkers are being paid, but like I said, it's a $400 difference between the rebuild kit and buying an A kit and a B kit. Per service.

Drum rebuilt takes about an hour. Maybe two for the fuser because they are tedious.

I don't know how your math works out to make that more profitable than a rebuild.

The only other I have seen the terms A Kit ans B Kit are the TCRU kits for certain Production models and the field replacement units.

[Mark Bbb]

Yes to the above...

o Make sure the customer is using the correct toner. From memory I believe there may have been a toner modification for this machine.
o Update to the lastest firmware to help with the ID patch attenuation....
o Take the machine off SP mode auto toner feed and place it on SP mode manual toner feed percentage. (I can't recall the SP numbers).
Drop the percent of toner feed right down low. Should run fine from then on PM to PM.

Hi Neo: That is interesting. Wich value do you use?

[blazebusiness]

Looks like everything was answered in great detail with one exception..........didn't see any mention of drum shaft ground issues which also cause problems on this model.




There must be hundreds of posts on this site for the problem you are having. Very very common issue with this series. Reposting the following advice:





MP4000/5000/4001/5001 Fix

This is what I do for the MP4000 and MP4001 series copiers. This seems to work well but it doesn’t prevent the problem completely. The problem is with the toner which Ricoh has stated but this seems to be very effective at preventing the overtoning.

The first step usually is to vacuum the pig out. Separate the development units, pull the drum and clean it out as best as you can. Try and get out as much toner as possible. On top of the unit there is a toner recycling auger that needs to be cleaned as well.


Take the screws out on top and carefully (the tabs break easily) remove the top of the drum unit and clean inside.

Verify that the development unit is the new unit (old one has one big vent hole and new ones have three vent holes and extra grounding tabs) and then try and clean the mag rollers. If they cannot easily be cleaned then the whole unit must be replaced because scotch bright cannot be used on these. It will clean it but the coating will be removed and they will cover with toner very quickly. Also you are not able to order just the mag rollers for this model due to factory gapping that cannot be done in the field. There is a part number but if you place an order for it, Ricoh will cancel the order and send you a message stating the same thing I just did. I know because I tried it.

Ricoh passed out a bulletin stating that it’s better to take out the second cleaning blade due to drum life, they also don’t include them in the kits or with new machines now. You don’t have to do this but I always add the second cleaning blade back into these machines, because in my tests the machine ran cleaner with the blade in.

Now that you have a new or clean unit pour in the new developer, place a piece of paper over the entrance hole to the development unit and reattach the development unit to the drum unit.

Take the screws out on top and carefully (the tabs break easily) remove the top of the drum unit and clean inside.

Verify that the development unit is the new unit (old one has one big vent hole and new ones have three vent holes and extra grounding tabs) and then try and clean the mag rollers. If they cannot easily be cleaned then the whole unit must be replaced because scotch bright cannot be used on these. It will clean it but the coating will be removed and they will cover with toner very quickly. Also you are not able to order just the mag rollers for this model due to factory gapping that cannot be done in the field. There is a part number but if you place an order for it, Ricoh will cancel the order and send you a message stating the same thing I just did. I know because I tried it.

Ricoh passed out a bulletin stating that it’s better to take out the second cleaning blade due to drum life, they also don’t include them in the kits or with new machines now. You don’t have to do this but I always add the second cleaning blade back into these machines, because in my tests the machine ran cleaner with the blade in.

Now that you have a new or clean unit pour in the new developer, place a piece of paper over the entrance hole to the development unit and reattach the development unit to the drum unit.





In SP modes there are two voltages Ricoh states needs to be changed. They are 2201-001 and 2201-002. Increase both of these by 100.

There is a method for testing drum ground on these machines but the ones that I did test failed badly so I have been adding this extra grounding strap to all of the machines. On the back you can easily see the drum shaft and can easily attach the grounding strap from the motor shown to the drum shaft.The drum grounding strap shown in the picture was discontinued and deleted by Ricoh but you can easily find a substitute. This was actually a strap from an older machine that had a drum grounding problem as well. Just a slight modification and it helped solve overtoning on this machine.

Apply a conductive grease to the shaft before adding the strap to help better ground the shaft.

After this has been completed then reinstall the PCDU unit and make 13 skyshots with a one inch lead edge to prevent jams in the fuser. This will help drop the density down in the new developer.



I usually have the machine in SP modes throughout the whole process to prevent any problems with print jobs or faxes trying to come through. After you run your skyshots initialize the developer then the run you ID sensor pattern. If the machine codes don’t panic, just open the front door, reboot and finish where you left off. It has only happened to me one time out of all the machines I have done.

The work is now done, remove the paper you installed between the drum unit and development unit (careful because there is usually toner on it) and run an SMC report for a test print.


Another thing to remember on this machine is every PM you have to change the Developer.

[slimslob]

Another thing to remember on this machine is every PM you have to change the Developer.

According to the maintenance table, the drum and the development filters need to be replaced at 160K. Ricoh developer used with Ricoh drums and toner will go 350K. Just don't try to push it much farther or drums much past 175K.

[FrohnB]

We get a lot better yield from the B079 developer and 9887 (prod. code) toner in these machines. Just swap the toner motor over to accommodate that bottle (easy peasy), and load fresh developer in cleaned/or new dev. unit.

[slimslob]

We get a lot better yield from the B079 developer and 9887 (prod. code) toner in these machines. Just swap the toner motor over to accommodate that bottle (easy peasy), and load fresh developer in cleaned/or new dev. unit.

If you convert all your newer machines I can see where it would eliminate customers getting the wrong toner.

[blazebusiness]

If you convert all your newer machines I can see where it would eliminate customers getting the wrong toner.

Or you can just purchase NA Trading toner which was formulated for that issue. I would also get their drum ground mod for the machine. Slimslob is correct.....if you do it with the other toner, you run the risk somebody may order and try to install the MP4000 toner instead.

[Mark Bbb]

i clean the development roller carrefully with very fine steel wool;
never had any problems.
Development unit: dissasemble and clean it (also metal grid).