During a recent printing session, my Z3200 declared an “86:01 paper jam” error. Looking into the printer, I quickly realized that the carriage belt had gone slack. I replaced the OEM carriage belt a number of years ago with a very high-quality belt from LPS Computer, so I was quite sure the belt had not broken. A quick examination of the carriage belt path revealed that the belt tensioner had failed. More specifically, the shaft which holds the pulley had failed.

What to do? Obviously order a replacement part, but it would take several days to arrive, and my printer would be unavailable in the interim. So, I decided to repair the broken shaft. Past experience suggested that merely gluing the shaft back together would not work. I believe the shaft is ABS material which is amenable to cyanoacrylate glue. I therefore used a combination of Loctite 401 and mechanical reinforcement.

After gluing the shaft back together, I drilled a 0.110 inch hole straight down the center through the entire length. I used a drill press and v-groove to align the shaft with the bit. I then inserted a stainless steel #4-40 bolt (about 35mm long) surmounted with a locking nut. I chose the bolt and nut carefully as both needed to fit through the tensioner assembly in order allow the pulley to be mounted properly. The bolt and nut not only keep the fracture aligned and in compression but also provide support to the pulley shaft.

This repair has worked well and has resulted in no changes in the printer calibration. I purchased a replacement tensioner assembly from LPS Computer. The part number for the belt tensioner is: “Q5669-60672 Belt Tensioner”. I will install the replacement tensioner in due course, but the repaired assembly is working fine now.

Thanks for reading.

Electronics Repair photography Shaun Merrigan Z3200 Belt