Where to Lubricate Canon PIXMA MX860?

[vienna01]

From your generous feedback previously, I've bought the recommended lubricant
and downloaded the MX860 Printer Service Manual in my quest to ELIMINATE LOUD SQUEAKS FROM MY CANON PIXMA MX860 printer.
To me the squeaking sounds like rubber parts rubbing.
WOULD IT HELP IF I POSTED A .wav FILE WITH THE SOUNDS?

I still don't understand where to lubricate this Canon PIXMA MX860 to eliminate it's squeaks. Printer works fine but squeaks loudly even before actually printing. Below I try to describe where I did grease parts.

Firstly I removed power cord. Then I moved PRINT HEAD HOLDER to extreme right.
I saw 2 white vertical nylon cogged wheels on the extreme left. There is a flexible plastic shield to the left of these wheels. I believe these are the PURGE DRIVE SYSTEM UNIT which an earlier post suggested might be squeak source. I lubricated these as much as possible while they were not turning.

I looked at page 56/64 of the SERVICE MANUAL. It says where grease should be applied.
I lubricated what I believe was the CARRIAGE RAIL. That is the horizontal metal strip going across the width of the printer that is below the encoder [timing] strip and below the brown horizontal drive belt. Still I am not sure I lubricated the correct part.

QUESTION:
Should I be able to see the 4 CARRIAGE RAIL locations that I am supposed to grease from the front of the printer simply by moving the PRINT HEAD HOLDER out of the way[ power disconnected before moving that manually]?

In respect to the other 2 grease locations; #5 and #6:
I haven't found any part that looks like the APP CODE WHEEL GEAR SHIFT that was the 6th place I am supposed to grease. Likewise I don't know where the PARALLEL PIN is located[5th part to be greased]

On page 56/64 of the M860 Service Manual there is a part on which 2 grease points are labeled as "2 "& "3". Are these 2 points located on the black plastic bar that is directly underneath the PRINT HEAD HOLDER? Is it the horizontal bar with vertical tabs all the way across the bar at about 1/8" intervals? This part doesn't look like it ever had grease on it.

After lubricating the part I think is the CARRIAGE RAIL [a smooth metal part that previously had grease on it] and cleaning the encoder[timing]belt-the one with lots of lines on a clear plastic belt; printer still squeaks very loudly.

MAYBE IF I clarify when the printer squeaks, it will help someone identify what I should do to stop it. -->> When I first turn the printer on & send a photo or text to it, it goes through some starting up again actions. That is when the SQUEAKING starts. It continues until printing of the item sent to the printer begins. It also squeaks after it finishes printing before it seems to go to sleep.

I really hope someone had this problem and figured out how to fix it. I know it's complicated but I have found that this forum deals well with complicated problems.

 

[PeterBJ]

To me the squeaking sounds like rubber parts rubbing.
WOULD IT HELP IF I POSTED A .wav FILE WITH THE SOUNDS?

Yes please. I think the sound file will be accepted for upload if you zip it. A Youtube video is another possibility, see this post and next four posts.

At printer start-up the paper entry shaft rotates to drive the purge unit; it connects to the purge unit via a clutch mechanism, so this shaft and/or the purge unit might cause the noise. The paper exit shaft might also rotate on start-up and cause noise.

These pictures are from the service manual, they are not the best at showing the shafts, but I hope my text helps. This is the paper entry shaft:

And this is the paper exit shaft:

I don.'t know how much you will need to disassemble the printer to get access to lubricate first the entry shaft, and if this doesn't help also the exit shaft.

Instead of using a small paint brush for the lubricant you could also use a 5ml syringe and an 18 g blunt needle as a miniature grease gun. I think this is very handy. I recommend the use of a luer-lock syringe and needle for this purpose.

If lubricating doesn't help, then cleaning the purge unit might, as suggested by berttheghost in the other thread:

The noises you hear are probably associated with the capping unit/blade wiper/purge unit. The capping unit covers the printhead when the printer is idle. It is typically part of the purge unit. The blade wiper cleans the printhead surface after uncapping the printhead or after other cleaning operations. It typically contains a sponge soaked with a wiping fluid. The uncapping and cleaning operations are the likely sources of your noise.
Search for instructions on cleaning your printer's purge unit. Some consider this periodic maintenance.

I hope some of this info helps.

Edit: I am not sure about of image no 3, and I would delete it, but couldn't figure out how. I think it shows a motor and not the purge unit.

 

[vienna01]

THANK YOU. Your feedback helped. From the photos you provided, I think I see where the PURGE UNIT is ON THE LEFT. But attached/below is a photo that folks seem to say is part of the PURGE UNIT. I think this part[in the picture] is on the RIGHT side of printer.There is a sponge that is filled with ink on the RIGHT. Problem is: The white gears which I think are part of PURGE UNIT are on the left side of printer.

As it was suggested, I looked for information on how to CLEAN a purge unit. I only saw discussions about putting an absorbable material on top of these ink-filled sponges or to pour alcohol on them to flush away the ink. Pouring alcohol on them seems drastic. Where will it go?
Most of the links when I searched on CLEAN MX860 PURGE UNIT were about eliminating an error code 6A80. There was also mention of a 2 x2 cm WHITE "drawer" but it wasn't clear if it held a sponge or exactly where it was located. There was a link about repairing an MP730 PURGE UNIT.It required cabinet remove I think.
I guess you can now sense, I am thoroughly confused about how to CLEAN the PURGE UNIT if it is the thing in the picture.

I looked at how to remove the printer cover. The Service Manual instructions are a bit confusing without actually looking at the printer while reading them. The job[removing the printer's cover] seems beyond my current capability[born 1938].

I have a question: What kind of surface[ nylon or is there rubber too?] of the PURGE UNIT [to be cleaned] can cause the loud squeaking. I don't think a nylon plastic-like part would sound like that????
In the meantime I will get a syringe to inject lubricant onto the white nylon gears and such on the left side of the printer that seem to be part of the PURGE UNIT that maybe could be be squeaking.

Hopefully forum folks will read these comments and have a way to explain things to me that are clearer than the links I found.

 

[PeterBJ]

You are right, your images show the top of the purge unit which is positioned at the printers right side when seen from the front.

Photo #1 in my post shows the shaft that drives the purge unit. It also serves as a paper entry roller shaft. You can see a small portion of the shiny shaft at the tip of the green arrow. The "APP CODE WHEEL GEAR SHIFT" is most likely the the white nylon parts to the left of the green arrow tip in the same photo.

Pages 5/64 and 6/64 in the service manual might give more clues about the APP = Automatic Purge Pump.

The print engine in your printer might be similar to the iP3600/4600 printer. See this post, it might contain some useful info.

I have never seen an MX860, much less worked on one, so sadly I cannot tell much more about it than can be found in the service manual.

 

[vienna01]

The Drucker Forum is a great source of printer info. Unfortunately it is in German. Google Translate has trouble with translating it into UNDERSTANDABLE English. I speak no GERMAN[ My parents stopped using it during WWI].
I live in USA. The pictures you have presented & ones in the Dructer report show the PURGE UNIT parts, that are on the LEFT side, well. I still am not sure if you said the sponges are on the right or left side.
I recognize your knowledge came from searching for answers for me. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DOING THAT. In one of the Drucker posts it said there were 9 different sponges. Are they in the Waste unit or Purge Unit? Is the same waste unit used for Purge"waste"ink in Canon printers?
Clearly after reading how to remove cabinet instructions in 2 places-I don't want to attempt to remove the cabinet. I will lube the white gears and such on the left side[the ones I can get to] since I already have the correct lubricant. Else I will await someone on the forum who comes along with recommended procedures that I can try to get rid of the squeaks. If lubing the nylon parts helps, I will post that. OBW: I just bought an inexpensive B&W laser printer which has third party toner carts for around $25 vs near $100 for OEM toner. I hope to reduce the squeaking by using the MX860 less. <grin>

 

[The Hat]

@vienna01 Here is a thread on how to replace the waste pads in a MP830, it might help you if you decide to remove the top cover off your machine.

It’s so detailed that it show just about everything about a Canon printer regardless of model, enjoy..

http://www.printerknowledge.com/thr...-pad-replacement-at-37-000-pages-w-pics.7646/

 

[berttheghost]

@vienna01 Get a junker printer to practice your mistakes on. Also practice your macro photography by recording each step you take with emphasis on reassembly.

The picture you provided is part of the purge unit sometimes called the capping station. The lips surrounding the sponges are part of the actual caps. These caps seal against the printhead when the printer is idle and during purge (cleaning) operations. The somewhat rectangular object with protruding tabs approximately the width of the cap sponges appears to be the wiper blade, This also moves across the printhead before and/or after printing. There are a number of cams. levers, and sliders associated with these motions.

I suspect that the cause of your printer's squeaking is dried ink stuck in the aforementioned sliders. etc. That's why I suggested cleaning.

 

[vienna01]

Wow: If I understand things. to fix the squeaks I should CLEAN the Sponges and the area around them. YES/NO?
TO Clean the sponges requires disassembly of the printer somewhat such as removing the cabinet YES/NO?
Removal of the cabinet may be easier if there were better pictures but still is "NON TRIVIAL" YES/NO?
Since I have another MX860 in a box[used but might still work] putting that into service is the smartest approach YES!
When I can no longer tolerate the squeaks the other printer will be installed. Fixing the problem has turned out to be more than expected EVEN WITH ALL THE GREAT INFO THE FORUM FOLKS HAVE PROVIDED.
Maybe when I give up and install the spare, I can try taking the case of current unit off.
If a set of CABINET REMOVAL pictures equal to the great pictures of of Sponge REMOVAL that THE HAT found.
Without better CABINET REMOVAL pictures I don't stand a chance. The pictures in the SERVICE MANUAL just are not adequate for this VERY OLD MAN.
Also when I have put the spare into service, the implications of messing up when removing the CABINET are minimal.
IT BECOMES THE "junker printer" that BETTHEGHOST suggested.

UNLESS NEW INFO APPEARS I THINK THAT THIS THREAD HAS DONE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE HELPING ME>
TONS OF THANKS>

 

[The Hat]

@vienna01 If your printer is working and producing good prints then don’t kill it for the sake of just a few squeaks, leave the room if you have too, be merciful to the old girl you owe her that much..

 

[fotofreek]

@vienna01 If your printer is working and producing good prints then don’t kill it for the sake of just a few squeaks, leave the room if you have too, be merciful to the old girl you owe her that much..

@The Hat speaks truth. @vienna01, being four years your senior, I'll share some wisdom you undoubtedly already know that is supposed to have come with our gray hair- "don't kick sleeping dogs". Don't pursue the perfect and risk what is working." If it "ain't broke ....." - and on and on.