Can this problem with my HP LaserJet 4L be fixed or should I throw it away?

[Amanda]

My faithful printer of 11 years (HP LaserJet 4L ) is not able to grab
paper from the paper tray.

Note that aside form changing the catridge, I had not done any other
maintenance work. I am aware that most maintenance work gets done via
replacement parts when cartridge change.

Is the problem I have now, fixable? Is it costly to fix? What kind of
fixinf? Parts replacement? Where can I take it to fix?

 

[William R. Walsh]

Hi!

Is the problem I have now, fixable? Is it costly to fix? What kind of
fixinf? Parts replacement? Where can I take it to fix?

What you have in your printer now is a dried up "pick roller". This rubber
roller grabs the sheets of paper, and over time it dries out.

I don't think you should throw your printer away. The roller is cheap and
easily found. (Try Googling for it. I think you'll find a few out there.)
Labor to install it shouldn't be too bad (you might even be able to do it
yourself).

The roller in my LaserJet III was once replaced. The total cost was around
$20, including installation. It kept right on running after that (the page
counter flipped over to all zeroes!!) until a basement flood got it.

William

 

[Tony]

My faithful printer of 11 years (HP LaserJet 4L ) is not able to grab
paper from the paper tray.

Note that aside form changing the catridge, I had not done any other
maintenance work. I am aware that most maintenance work gets done via
replacement parts when cartridge change.

Is the problem I have now, fixable? Is it costly to fix? What kind of
fixinf? Parts replacement? Where can I take it to fix?

Amanda,
Does the paper fail to get picked up at all, or does it feed partially and stop
just before the toner cartridge?
There are different solutions for each of these two issues.
Tony

 

[Amanda]

Amanda,
Does the paper fail to get picked up at all, or does it feed partially and stop
just before the toner cartridge?

It barely got pulled. When i open the tray, I can see the corner edge
of the paer crinkled.

 

[Amanda]

I'll back soo. I'll go eat.

 

[Tony]

It barely got pulled. When i open the tray, I can see the corner edge
of the paer crinkled.

Amanda
If there is some damage to the corner of the paper it may be that there is an
obstruction in the paper path at that corner. Did you have a paper jam
immediately before this problem occurred, if so a small scrap of paper may have
been left in the paper path causing this problem? This can be very hard to see
without dissasembly of the printer.
Secondly there is a possibility that the paper feed roller shaft has broken
(this happens on this model sometimes), if you remove the paper tray and sit
the printer on the rear end you will see a D shaped roller at the left front of
the printer, if this roller turns easily by hand then the shaft is broken. This
requires replacement of the feed assembly and is probably not worth the cost.
Thirdly, if there is no obstruction and the roller does not turn easily the
problem is likely to be a worn pick up roller (the same D shaped roller above).
You can buy them easily and they are cheap but there is a lot of labour
involved, a skilled tech will do it in about 20 minutes or someone with good
general mechanical skills could do it in about 45 minutes.
The service manual for this printer is available from
http://www.eserviceinfo.com/equipment_mfg/HP_22.html you need to download 6
parts Hewl-Packard LaserJet 4L.part1.rar through Hewl-Packard LaserJet
4L.part6.rar and open the first file. The manual will give you a good idea of
what is involved in stripping down the printer and replacing the roller if
necessary.
Tony

 

[George E. Cawthon]

My faithful printer of 11 years (HP LaserJet 4L ) is not able to grab
paper from the paper tray.

Note that aside form changing the catridge, I had not done any other
maintenance work. I am aware that most maintenance work gets done via
replacement parts when cartridge change.

Is the problem I have now, fixable? Is it costly to fix? What kind of
fixinf? Parts replacement? Where can I take it to fix?

I have a 4L that still works perfectly and have
never had a problem. But, if something goes
wrong, it will go away. The 4L is very slow and is
only 300 dpi. Many new printers are fairly cheap,
so no matter what the repair cost, if it is more
then $80-100 you will be far better off getting a
new printer. If you have to take it some place,
it will most likely cost 80-90 percent of a new
much faster, higher dpi printer.

 

[Amanda]

Amanda
If there is some damage to the corner of the paper it may be that there is an
obstruction in the paper path at that corner. Did you have a paper jam
immediately before this problem occurred, if so a small scrap of paper may have
been left in the paper path causing this problem?

No. There was no jam. I am sure no piece of paper is stuck.

This can be very hard to see
without dissasembly of the printer.

Secondly there is a possibility that the paper feed roller shaft has broken
(this happens on this model sometimes), if you remove the paper tray and sit
the printer on the rear end you will see a D shaped roller at the left front of
the printer, if this roller turns easily by hand then the shaft is broken. This
requires replacement of the feed assembly and is probably not worth the cost.

Yes, that D shaped thing turns torwad me easily when I pulled. So it's
gone, huh?


And I also see the thin black rubber-like material from where the
words are printed ooot paper is tored up a little. May be it was
always like that.

 

[Tony]

Sorry Amanda
Not worth repairing, you have to replace the entire paper feed assembly. The
only way that would be economical is if you could find a dumped printer for
free and get someone to do the work for free.
Prabably better to look for a good second hand Laserjet 4050 or similar, much
faster and better quality and very reliable. Also easier to work on if you ever
get any problems. One with less than about 70,000 pages printed should be in
good condition.
Tony

 

[Amanda]

Sorry Amanda
Not worth repairing, you have to replace the entire paper feed assembly. The
only way that would be economical is if you could find a dumped printer for
free and get someone to do the work for free.

Well, it was time to part. Otherwise, if this thing continue to work,
it would be like, breaking the natural law-

Prabably better to look for a good second hand Laserjet 4050 or similar, much
faster and better quality and very reliable.

Thanks for the info. I assume HP brand. I have a good friend at Intel
and I am asking whether the company is getting rid of things (selling
to employees)

Also easier to work on if you ever
get any problems. One with less than about 70,000 pages printed should be in
good condition.

Okay, thanks a lot. One question. Can I use the cartridge from 4L in
4050? It still has life left.

 

[Lou]

Well, it was time to part. Otherwise, if this thing continue to work,
it would be like, breaking the natural law-


Thanks for the info. I assume HP brand. I have a good friend at Intel
and I am asking whether the company is getting rid of things (selling
to employees)


Okay, thanks a lot. One question. Can I use the cartridge from 4L in
4050? It still has life left.

snipped.

I recently bought a new Lexmark Laser (E238) for $100 at Staples (150-50 rebate).
Inexpensive and works fine. Watch for "specials".

Lou

 

[Tony]

Yes, good things do sometimes come to and end, and no the cartridge will only
work in Hewlett Packard Laserjet 4L / 4ML / 4P / 4MP / Apple LaserWriter 4 /
600PS / Personal LaserWriter 300 / 320 / Canon LBP 430 / 430W / 4U / PX / PXII
laser printers. All of these are obsolete printers but if you could get one
cheap enough then it might be worthwhile, make sure you get to test the printer
you buy or get a page count first. The Laserjet 4050 is an HP printer and in my
opinion one of the sturdiest they ever made, try to avoid the Laserjet 4000
because it has an unpleasant habit of jamming in a way that requires the
printer to be dismantled to remove the jam. The Laserjet 4 or 4+ are also worth
looking at, also sturdy but a little older than the 4050, once again get a page
count and look for less than about 60,000 pages ideally.
If you need any more information just post here or e-mail me at the address in
the header of this message.
Good luck
Tony

Sorry Amanda
Not worth repairing, you have to replace the entire paper feed assembly. The
only way that would be economical is if you could find a dumped printer for
free and get someone to do the work for free.

Well, it was time to part. Otherwise, if this thing continue to work,
it would be like, breaking the natural law-

Prabably better to look for a good second hand Laserjet 4050 or similar, much
faster and better quality and very reliable.

Thanks for the info. I assume HP brand. I have a good friend at Intel
and I am asking whether the company is getting rid of things (selling
to employees)

Also easier to work on if you ever
get any problems. One with less than about 70,000 pages printed should be in
good condition.

Okay, thanks a lot. One question. Can I use the cartridge from 4L in
4050? It still has life left.

Tony

Tony wrote:
[..]


Amanda,
Does the paper fail to get picked up at all, or does it feed partially
and
stop
just before the toner cartridge?

It barely got pulled. When i open the tray, I can see the corner edge
of the paer crinkled.

There are different solutions for each of these two issues.
Tony

Amanda
If there is some damage to the corner of the paper it may be that there
is an
obstruction in the paper path at that corner. Did you have a paper jam
immediately before this problem occurred, if so a small scrap of paper may
have
been left in the paper path causing this problem?

No. There was no jam. I am sure no piece of paper is stuck.

This can be very hard to see
without dissasembly of the printer.


Secondly there is a possibility that the paper feed roller shaft has
broken
(this happens on this model sometimes), if you remove the paper tray and
sit
the printer on the rear end you will see a D shaped roller at the left
front
of
the printer, if this roller turns easily by hand then the shaft is broken.
This
requires replacement of the feed assembly and is probably not worth the
cost.

Yes, that D shaped thing turns torwad me easily when I pulled. So it's
gone, huh?


And I also see the thin black rubber-like material from where the
words are printed ooot paper is tored up a little. May be it was
always like that.


Thirdly, if there is no obstruction and the roller does not turn easily
the
problem is likely to be a worn pick up roller (the same D shaped roller
above).
You can buy them easily and they are cheap but there is a lot of labour
involved, a skilled tech will do it in about 20 minutes or someone with
good
general mechanical skills could do it in about 45 minutes.

The service manual for this printer is available from
http://www.eserviceinfo.com/equipment_mfg/HP_22.html you need to download
6
parts Hewl-Packard LaserJet 4L.part1.rar through Hewl-Packard LaserJet
4L.part6.rar and open the first file. The manual will give you a good
idea of
what is involved in stripping down the printer and replacing the roller if
necessary.


Tony

 

[me]

I have a 4L that still works perfectly and have never had a problem.
But, if something goes wrong, it will go away. The 4L is very slow and
is only 300 dpi.

Is the 300dpi really an issue on a black and white laser? If I print a
mono page on my HPIIIP I have to try quite hard to tell the difference
between that an a 600dpi page.

 

[George E. Cawthon]

Is the 300dpi really an issue on a black and white laser? If I print a
mono page on my HPIIIP I have to try quite hard to tell the difference
between that an a 600dpi page.

You are right as far as text goes, but printing
graphics will result in be very dissimilar
appearance when printing on a B&W laser printer.
600 dpi will provide a lot of different gray tones
while 300 dpi will require patterns (obvious cross
hatching, etc) for many of the gray tones. A
photograph printed on a 300 dpi machine is quite
gross, while the same print on a 600 dpi machine
will be acceptable. The same is true with copy
machines, most of the older copy machines will
render a photograph as a mess. As machines
improved the dpi, photographs improved. Don't
know what the dpi of copy machines are now, but
when they rose above 600, I think to 1200,
photographs became readable.

 

[Amanda]

Yes, good things do sometimes come to and end, and no the cartridge will only
work in Hewlett Packard Laserjet 4L / 4ML / 4P / 4MP / Apple LaserWriter 4 /
600PS / Personal LaserWriter 300 / 320 / Canon LBP 430 / 430W / 4U / PX / PXII
laser printers. All of these are obsolete printers but if you could get one
cheap enough then it might be worthwhile, make sure you get to test the printer
you buy or get a page count first. The Laserjet 4050 is an HP printer and in my
opinion one of the sturdiest they ever made, try to avoid the Laserjet 4000
because it has an unpleasant habit of jamming in a way that requires the
printer to be dismantled to remove the jam. The Laserjet 4 or 4+ are also worth
looking at, also sturdy but a little older than the 4050, once again get a page
count and look for less than about 60,000 pages ideally.
If you need any more information just post here or e-mail me at the address in
the header of this message.
Good luck
Tony

Thanks. I want to stick with laser printer and HP brand at that.

I got HP Office jet 2 years ago about which I posted here a few months
ago - barely got to use it, etc.

I will need to get something soon but I don't wan to rush and make a
mistake. I can't live w/o a printer-

 

[Amanda]

I recently bought a new Lexmark Laser (E238) for $100 at Staples (150-50 rebate).
Inexpensive and works fine. Watch for "specials".

There is a staple nearby. Will check into that.

 

[Amanda]

A question. How easy is it to buy the feed assembly? How costly?

I am posting for service wanted on craigslist. If I get any contact, I
will make sure the person knows what he's doing before I buy the part.
I said it in the ad clearly about that and also about the cost.

 

[Amanda]

A question. How easy is it to buy the feed assembly? How costly?

I am posting for service wanted on craigslist. If I get any contact, I
will make sure the person knows what he's doing before I buy the part.
I said it in the ad clearly about that and also about the cost.

A friend of mine knows a place that repairs printers. I'll see whether
I can get it fixed for $90 or less.

 

[Tony]

A question. How easy is it to buy the feed assembly? How costly?

I am posting for service wanted on craigslist. If I get any contact, I
will make sure the person knows what he's doing before I buy the part.
I said it in the ad clearly about that and also about the cost.

Amanda
I just looked for the part and found several suppliers and am surprised how
cheap the assembly is. Last time I sourced one it was a bit more expensive.
The correct name for it is Paper Pickup Assembly, HP part number is RG5-0668,
you can google for the part number. One example of a source is
http://www.ptolemy.biz/RG5-0668.asp but there are others. Make sure the
assembly includes the "D" pick up roller, it would be silly to replace the
assembly and not replace the roller which is probabty worn. If you can get an
exchange unit it will be cheaper but you have to return the old one for that to
work.
Having said all that, the labour is going to be higher than the cost of the
part, you will probably be quoted 30-45 minutes to do the job any more and it
is a rip off. I can do it in 30 minutes and have done so many times on this and
similar printers from this range.
Tony

 

[Amanda]

Amanda
I just looked for the part and found several suppliers and am surprised how
cheap the assembly is. Last time I sourced one it was a bit more expensive.
The correct name for it is Paper Pickup Assembly, HP part number is RG5-0668,
you can google for the part number. One example of a source is
http://www.ptolemy.biz/RG5-0668.asp but there are others. Make sure the
assembly includes the "D" pick up roller, it would be silly to replace the
assembly and not replace the roller which is probabty worn.
Okay.


If you can get an exchange unit it will be cheaper but you have to return the old one for
that to work.

I don't understand by "exchange unit". How is it different from Paper
Pickup Assembly? Do oyu mean, assembly + "D" pick up roller?

Having said all that, the labour is going to be higher than the cost of the
part,

I figured.

you will probably be quoted 30-45 minutes to do the job any more and it
is a rip off. I can do it in 30 minutes and have done so many times on this and
similar printers from this range.

Okay, I'll tell them it should be 40 mins max.

Thanks for all the info Tony. Now I am well-equipped to go to that
repair place. I will be in the area soon for my hair cut - next
Saturady I think - and I will stop by then and save some gas-