Yes Peter when I originally made my series of videos in 2015 all I could afford was a potato phone, something that would have made my Irish ancestors proud. Are you aware that the roller you used in this video is one of the counterfeit rollers I talked about in one of my counterfeit roller videos. I'm betting your printer now says it's overheating (cooling down for a while) every time you send it a three or four page print job.
Thanks Terry, good to know. I'm not that surprised about the roller, it was just whatever I found on ebay or Amazon or wherever. I'll replace it if I ever have that symptom but so far it is at least better than the damaged original. I most often print only a page or two now.
Hi Terry! Following this video by Peter Long, I was successful dismantling, replacing both rollers and reassembling. My problem now is I'm getting Print Unable 05, along with "Self-Diagnostic will automatically restart within 15 minutes". Any thoughts what I may have done wrong?
Thank you soooooooo much! The entire fuser unit is nearly the price of a new printer @ 160UKP. Just fixed my 3150CDW using your video as a guide. Video was very clear. Thanks again!
Thank you for taking the time to post such an excellent video. Following your steps, I was able to successfully replace the upper fuser roller in my HL-3170CDW. Unfortunately, after reassembling mine, experienced the over heating problem indicated by the "Cooling Down" message. Was able to work around that. Wanted to share that and another tip with others. First off, when finishing the reassemble, you had overlooked replacing the holding bracket on the right side. You caught that but referred users to watch the disassembly. There is a subtle step here that simplifies getting it all to fit back easily. Prior to re-installing the pivoting paper guide (the one with the lime green tabs), place the right holding bracket in place but leave it loose, do not fasten with a screw yet. Insert the left side mounting nub of the pivoting paper guide into the left round mounting hole. While swinging the paper guide into place on the right side, slightly pull the left edge of the loose right holding bracket outward to allow the right side mounting nub to slide into the mounting channel of the chassis. Then replace the screw while holding the right holding bracket in place. The other tip is regarding the over heating issue. I recall reading a posting somewhere that some of the 3rd party fuser rollers were slightly oversized by perhaps 0.5mm. I believe that extra pressure may be part of the problem. I found that if I loosened the pressure roller tension adjustment tabs (dark green) to the middle intermediate position, normally used for printing envelops or thick stock, that the printer no longer paused for over heating. After printing quite a few pages, sometimes 4-5 pages continuously, I pushed the green tabs back up to the upper position (maximum tension/pressure) and it continued to print without pausing. Can't say with certainty that it is "fixed" but seems to be working now. Also, this was done while printing primarily text. It may print hotter if it is full page graphics with solid color. Hope that helps others. Thanks again for such a useful video!
Sorry for the oversight at the end there - I thought I recorded all of the reassembly but found one bit missing when I was editing it together. I'm glad the video was at least helpful in general! Thanks for adding your tips too :)
@@LongPeter Didn't mean to sound critical. Your video is one of the most well thought out and executed DIY repair videos on RUclips. Although this is not a particularly difficult repair, it is somewhat tedious. Your video makes it very approachable. No doubt, you have helped many users save lots of $$, extend the printers useful life and reduced landfill waste. Bravo! One more tip: the removal and replacement of the tension springs on the fuser roller is one of the more difficult steps. Rather than using needle nose pliers, I used a small pick tool with a curved end (typically used for removing auto oil seals/gaskets). Much easier for me.
Fantastic video! I almost always skip over videos without much talking, but I'm glad I didn't skip yours! I've got a roller ordered for an 8610, so I'll be coming back for a second viewing before I start ripping into it. Good camera angles and your actions documented what steps you were taking. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your video! We could not find a replacement printer locally so we were forced to replace the fuser roller. Thanks to your video, we installed it properly and were able to print a document of 10 pages with no overheating issue. We ordered the part from Amazon for $20. Thank you again!
Thank you so much for sharing this! I couldn't find a solution through official support channels and documentation. I had already tried replacing the drums which was recommended and was still getting a vertical line smeared down the page where the toner wasn't fixed. Found this video and immediately realized I was facing the same problem. The damage in this video is mentioned NOWHERE in official support channels and I'd never have thought to check for this kind of damage had I not found this video. Replaced the fuser roller and now it is working great! Thanks again! NOTE TO ANYONE ATTEMPTING THIS REPAIR My unit was the HL-3180 CDW version but steps nearly identical. Your repair likely not going to be as easy and smooth as in this video. Mine sure wasn't. It was a very tricky repair for me. I had to take a few breaks and come back to it multiple times. I could never get the wire @2:44 disconnected on my model. Slighty different connector, and after trying many times to disconnect it, I just punted out of fear I was going to break the wiring. Having to replace the fuser components with the wire still attached was possible, but would have been easier if I could have completed disconnected the fuser unit like in this video. Take your time and be VERY CAREFUL when removing the old fuser roller like @10:35 and when you install the new fuser roller like at @12:09. At one point I was really worried I had broken the fuser element while reassembling the unit. Heard a crack sound and though that was that. Definitely have more patience than I did. As I about killed our printer. Thank goodness once I got everything reassembled it would still print! If I had broken the fuser element it would have been a much more expensive repair and probably a new printer so take your time! The detailed technical information was exactly what I needed to fix my HL-3180 and couldn't have been successful without this great information. We've loved our HL-3180 for years and my wife relies on it multiple times a week for printing and copying stuff for her students and her classroom. She would not have been happy with me if I killed the printer. Thank you again @Long Peter (catchy name BTW! :-P )
Thanks for comment, glad the video helped! Yes, that connector was a total pain to remove. I only kept the recording of the method that actually worked, having tried several others first. I have had to explain that name a few times. 🙃
@@LongPeter My wife printed like a 100 pages today for Monday's class and she was super happy the printed pages looked like the day we first bought the printer. Thank you again!
IMPORTANT NOTE: At 7:40, when the video cuts to the shot of the roller teeth on a roller that has been removed from the unit, DO NOT PAUSE HERE AND PROCEED TO REMOVE THE ROLLER UNTIL YOU WATCH FURTHER INTO THE VIDEO. The technician is showing you how the teeth work on the replacement roller, and has not yet removed the damaged roller from the unit. If you've never done this repair before and you attempt to remove the roller at this point in the video without guidance, you will almost certainly destroy the fuser lamp in the process.
@@dementedoracle thank you. At least I'm happy I tried fixing it myself! It's my favourite printer and it's been out of action for months now. Note to self: watch the whole video before attempting DIY fixes 😂 I'm finding it difficult to find the lamp. I can find the whole fuser unit for a decent price from China. I might do that if I can't find the lamp.
@@dementedoracle it's OK. I got your reply through my email notification. Thank you. I did see this listing on eBay, but it's for a 120 volt. I need the 230v. Plus shipping from the US is extraordinary! I'm going to get the whole unit anyway from China. More than likely there are other issues so replacing the whole thing will be better. Thanks for your help😁 much appreciated
Great video. Thank you. I was quoted around $350 to fix the printer. Could have bought a new one for less. With the help of this video, I fixed it for $50. Got the new roller set from Amazon.
Thank you Peter. My fuser roller had lost the top coating just like in your video. Replaced successfully. The only tricky parts were getting one of the tension springs back in place and getting the last right hand cover installed properly (the only bit that you didn't video).
@@LongPeter That''s okay Peter - I got there in the end without forcing, scratching or breaking anything. I figure that the covers are best refitted before the plastic part with the two green clips that deflects the paper path onto the top deck. So covers on. Then looking at the rear of the machine left hand spigot into mating hole, then rotate up while aligning and guiding the right hand (flattened) spigot into the mating slot on the right hand cover.
Thanks, Brother service desk quickly diagnosed my problem but told me the fuser unit had to be replaced by a service center. That would certainly have cost more than what you pay for a new laser printer these days. But thanks to your video my printer is working fine again. Thanks !
Cheers Long Peter. That's just saved me a fortune buying a new printer and it saves resources! I did laugh at the end when I was thinking "why didn't he fit those two electrical covers before putting the last bit on? I still followed your process... and then took that bit out again when I realised 🙂 Great job! and thanks again.
Thank you so much for sharing this kind of video. I like the quality, and the way you show us every steps in detail. Even for the beginners, they can do it their self by watching this video. Good job!
Excellent instructional video! I opted for the replacing the entire fuser unit because I had reason to believe that there were other issues with the unit as well, but this was still very helpful! Thanks!
wow. Nice find for a thrift store! The Brother 3170-3180 are great printers. I haven't hit our thrift stores in some time and your message makes me want to start going back. I used to pickup dead LCD monitors and TVs for dirt from the thrift stores and about 90% of them just had a blown capacitor or two that could be replaced for $5 or less. I'd love to pickup some printers for cheap now that I know how to do this tricky repair. Congrats on the thrift score!
Thank you for doing this. It took me a little over an hour and my printer is working perfectly. I bought one of the knockoff fusers from Amazon so no telling if it will have overheating issues. Since we are a home user and only print a few pages at a time it may never be an issue. I did look for a Brother factory fuser was unable to find one online here in the US.
Just a few hours ago a simple paper jam broke this roller... Well, removing roller from a fuser seems not that hard as i thought. I guess the repair isn't hard. But it's a shame that roller can be broken so easily. ~11000 pages printed...
Wow! Silence is truly golden! Great job, especially with those zoom-ins. I took apart as instructed and saw the damaged roller. I will look online and try to find a genuine part from Brother as after-market replacements could cause the machine to run hot after only a few prints. Or, please let me know if the printer you had fixed is running fine with the replacement you made. Awesome video: clear, nice and great views!
Thanks! It runs fine but I only rarely use it and only for one or two pages at a time. A genuine roller is probably worth the extra money. I didn't even think about it and just bought the first one that came up - probably a low quality after-market part. It didn't cost much.
Thanks very much. I had forgotten how to put it back together. That was after waiting for my new roller from China plus a couple months for it to reach room temperature on the dining room table.
Is your comment literal, about needing to wait a couple months to allow for room temp changes? I’m guessing not, but wanted to check since I’m amateur when it comes to printer repairs. Thanks!
@@brainimplants i figured… but without context or experience, have discovered that not assuming saves me a lot of trouble. Thanks for taking the time to reply. Can you share the source info on parts that have worked best for you over time? My main color laser at any given time get used for about 1-1.5 reams of paper a month, so it would be great to hear what hasn’t crapped out quickly. Brother hasn’t made any printers with the 220 parts using 221/225 cartridges for some time (that I can find), so I’m doubtful that I can reliably find genuine parts (but I have alerts set up on eBay & Craigslist for listings of machines for parts). Can you share
@@brainimplants I believe that this is the same exact part used in not just the HL-3170CDW, but also HL-3180CDW, MFC-9340CDW MFC-9330CDW MFC-9130CW HL-3170CDW, and HL-3140CW. I suspect that it’s the same exact part used in my monochrome laser printer that used the TN-221 and DR-220 and other exact parts. Do you think is there any difference in fusers between color & monochrome? I’m not seeing anything in the videos that suggests that the fuser units are different. What do you think?
That was awesome! I was able to take things out and put back together. The only thing is that I might have slightly broken the fuse that goes inside the roller. :( But I appreciate your visual instructions!!! THANKS!!
Great! Although the glass tube that goes inside the roller is the fuser lamp, responsible for fusing toner onto the paper. I do hope you haven't broken it. That would be a pain.
Dude you are so generous!!! years ago I bought a monochrome brother printer, then upgraded twice to color brothers that used the same cartridges… and found that the majority of the replaceable parts were identical between the AIO hl-3180cdw I upgraded to and the hl-3170cdw I downgraded to when I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the 3180. I’ve got a bit more confident with taking apart machines that are otherwise bricked and I got out the 3180 to find that there’s most of a piece of paper tightly wrapped around the fuser roller. This video gives me exactly the teardown I need and the sku for the part I will quite likely need in the future I’m so going to set parts search alerts on Craigslist now, this gets me closer to making these things basically continue working quite a bit longer. If the ifixit community doesn’t already have printer forums, they need them. Are you over at iFixit too? Make sure to create a Kofi account and connect it to your YT so fans can send you some tangible gratitude… I have an idea of just how much effort a video like this takes to light, shoot, and edit. Thank you SO MUCH!
Thanks for the lovely comment! I'm no expert but the owner of the pinned comment is. Terry Jones had previously posted quite good instructions but spread across several videos of mixed quality. It was hard to see what was happening in his footage so I recorded my own fix as an additional resource. Note: I likely have a low quality replacement roller. It works for the occasional page but a well used printer deserves genuine parts. Please direct all praise and financial support to Terry :)
@@rhlappraisals1 glad it helped! I don’t have that specific model but there must be resources out there, even if they are for different models in the same family.
What a great video. So clear and easy to follow. When I turned the printer on it smelt hot and after the successful test print said "Wait a while, Cooling down". Should I be concerned or have I done something wrong?
@@grantstreetman Thanks! Sorry, not sure I can help much further. Perhaps go through Terry’s videos for additional clues (links in the description. He’s also the pinned comment). He does this for a living and points out many little details, like the placement of the roller heat sensor. One comment of his was that the replacement roller I used in my video is a non-genuine one and that those are more prone to thermal issues. I made my video because his series, although packed with useful info, wasn’t well filmed and I couldn’t make anything out.
@@LongPeter Thanks for your quick response and again for the video. My replacement was a non genuine one too so maybe that is part of the problem. I'll check Terry's videos.
Thanks for the great video. I am having issues with poor toner fixing, and I can still manage a decent printed page if I tell the printer I've loaded envelopes to get the heat up, and I don't have ghost images or any smudging so I think the roller itself is okay. Can I tweak or replace the thermistor or the bulb by itself? I don't see bulbs offered - I'd prefer not to get a whole fuser; I'd be better served jumping to a new printer.
Hmm… Terry Jones is the expert (pinned comment). I just re-recorded the process because I could hardly see anything in his videos. His narration goes into lots of detail though, so worth a listen. I seem to recall him saying that cheap, generic fuser rollers can result in poor toner adhesion if you are running more than one or two pages off. I rarely print at all, let alone more than one page, though I suspect I have that symptom too (I did use a cheap fuser roller). You're quite right, by the time you buy a whole new fuser or imaging belt, it's nearly worth just getting a new printer.
What is the roller length and diameter? I have HL-L3270CDW printer. The original roller is 270mm long by 25mm in diameter. I was wondering if the roller is the same size as HL-3170 CDW? Thanks
That sounds about right but I don't have the old roller to measure any more. Perhaps ask Terry Jones Printer Repairs? He seems very knowledgeable. You can find him in the pinned tweet.
This is very informative, thank you. I’ve removed the Fuser assembly and similar to this, the black roller is torn(looks like by the metal teeth that make contact with it cut it by rolling the wrong direction). I’m considering buying a replacement roller and using your vid as instruction as it’s about $20 and this seems doable. I’m also considering buying a replacement Fuser(NON Brother) from Amazon for about $120 just to ensure the unit works and I don’t foul something up replacing the roller myself. I’m also considering just selling the whole printer(in great shape aside from the Fuser roller) for parts or repair and buying a black and white brother since I mainly just print text and shipping labels and they’re only $125-150. Any thoughts?
If you buy just the roller, do try to get a genuine one. I'm pretty sure mine is a non-OEM copy. It works but apparently you can have issues with them if you print a lot. It's cheap enough that I'd still try. If it doesn't work out you can still sell it for parts and haven't put the cost of a whole fuser into it. We got a Brother black and white printer for my father in law to replace a colour inkjet. Works well for him as there is no ink to dry out. Bought it a few years ago and I think he's still using the sample-sized toner cartridge it came with. Once you need to replace 4x colour cartridges and the imaging belt, it gets up around the price of the whole printer. If you only need black and white, it probably isn't a bad investment.
Peter, I love your video for changing the fuser rollers on a Brother L3170. Totally in my wheelhouse and just needed the walk through you created. My only concern is the handling of the exposed aluminum tube on the gear side of the hot fuser roller. After installing the new black roller you bend the tabs on the gear side of the old roller. Is this to suggest the tabs of the new roller should have its tabs bent after installation in the gear? Are these tabs deformed or bent in the gear and do they need to be pushed back into concentric alignment before the bad roller can be remove? Love your walk through, just don't understand the bending of the tabs on the old part and what that indicates for the rebuild process. Thanks again, Eric Wayne, PA, USA
Thanks! The tabs seen from 7:26? Yes, the tabs are not bent when you receive the new part. You need to straighten out the bent ones in order to slide the old roller out of the cog and flare the new tabs out after it is installed into the cog to lock it in place ( 11:45 ). I just filmed the inserted clip showing only the roller because I didn’t think it was visible enough without. Greetings from Adelaide, South Australia!
@@LongPeter Thanks for the clarification. The end view of the tabs inside the gear is spot on, and not easy to light and capture in video. I think I would have figured it out, but others might have been pulling on the fuser tube not realizing that tabs had to be moved to the new parts position. I've spent a few months in Australia over 8 business trips in the 90s, but only got to Melbourne, Sydney, Cairns, & Brisbane. Thanks again, Eric
@@erichalpern2987 no problem :) Yes, several improvements could be made. One of the reassembly clips is entirely missing. I must have not been recording for a few minutes. Geographically, South Australia is 99% Arizona/Nevada and 1% Sonoma County, wrapped in 10,000 miles of amazing beaches. What little fresh water we have tends to get turned into beer, craft spirits and an unbelievable quantity of rather decent wine.
I have a 3270. Had to remove fuser assembly due to paper wrapped around. Removed all paper, put together carefully and still get self diagnostic when i turn on. Black fuser roller was in good shape. Any ideas?
Thanks! If you're in Australia, perhaps Terry Jones Printer Repairs? I haven't personally bought from him but was mainly following his instructions to make this. His videos are a bit older and it was difficult to see what was going on, so I recorded this as an addendum. Apparently the one I have in the video is and all-too-common counterfeit eBay roller.
They are appear to be up/in at the start and end of the video and are still that way on the actual printer. I'd say that's how they are supposed to be for operation.
Great video! i was successful dismantling, replacing both rollers and reassembling. My problem now is I'm getting Print Unable 05, along with "Self-Diagnostic will automatically restart within 15 minutes". Any thoughts what I may have done wrong?
@@LongPeter I watched one of Terry's videos. The only thing I think you missed in your video is how delicately you must be removing the 2 electric contacts (red and yellow). Terry says it is easy to break the solder. Those contacts sense the temperature of the fuser and I think my error may be related to that.
If you look at the black roller you'll see there's an orange section on it with wrinkled black coating either side. The black coating melts sometimes for some reason. It seems to be a fairly common issue.
Our 3180 was printing with a vertical, smudged line down every page in the same spot where the toner wouldn't stick/fix to the paper. You could rub the toner off with your finger as it wasn't fixing to the paper. My wife is a teacher and prints a ton of stuff on various types of paper media. Plain, colored paper, card stock etc. and it appears she had a bad jam at some point that scuffed the fuser roller. Doing the repair in this video got rid of the line down the page which will make my wife happy as she has been having to manually color/fill in the line on the part of her pages by hand.
Mine came from ebay and is likely a cheap fake. It works but prints feel a little powdery, like the toner isn't sticking properly. Perhaps refer to Terry Jones Printer Repairs channel for recommendations on where to buy genuine parts in your area. It looks like he ships worldwide: www.fixitfastelectronics.com/printerparts.htm
i have a HL-L3270 and my black roller in pieces torn so is that why my paper wont go through cause of that torn black roller cause that alot of money going down the drain to get someone to fix that if i have to buy the roller on my own that fine i have my husband to do that i wanted to ask that question i believe my husband can do the same thing you can if that what happen to your printer thumb up on your video lol thank you be blessed
Yes, the black fuser roller was coming to pieces and ruining each print. I wasn't experiencing jamming but do have a different model printer. Terry Jones is the expert if you need any more info.
From 7:30 onwards? There is a brief edit showing bending the tabs on the end of the roller to be level with the tube, then it cuts back to removal in real-ish time. I just recorded that extra clip and inserted it later because you couldn't see it properly when I filmed it in situ. Basically, I detached one end of the black roller, carefully slid it off of the fuser bulb, leaving the brown cog in place, then slid the new roller over the bulb being mindful not to touch the bulb or damage the thermocouple.
@@LongPeter No worries. I picked the instructions from here: ruclips.net/video/clWe8LGtidw/видео.html Removing the heating element is the most tricky part and you also must be careful because it's very delicate. I just finished my job a few hours back and glad this box is again pumping out papers
I just bought mine from some random ebay or Amazon seller. It's probably not the best quality so I'd prefer to endorse it by linking to it directly. Terry Jones cautions against using fake parts.
Oh, maybe the model numbers are different in your part of the world? The access panel shown is actually on the back of the unit. The front just has a paper drawer at the bottom and a handle for opening the top cover.
It's easy to break so don't feel bad. Thought I broke mine too. Hope your were able to find a replacement. As I am writing this in 2024 I couldn't find many replacement options. Fortunately, when I finished reassembling everything it still would print. whew!
![SahBabii - Viking [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/D37cL92JX0I/mqdefault.jpg)
Yes Peter when I originally made my series of videos in 2015 all I could afford was a potato phone, something that would have made my Irish ancestors proud. Are you aware that the roller you used in this video is one of the counterfeit rollers I talked about in one of my counterfeit roller videos. I'm betting your printer now says it's overheating (cooling down for a while) every time you send it a three or four page print job.
Thanks Terry, good to know. I'm not that surprised about the roller, it was just whatever I found on ebay or Amazon or wherever. I'll replace it if I ever have that symptom but so far it is at least better than the damaged original. I most often print only a page or two now.
Hi Terry! Following this video by Peter Long, I was successful dismantling, replacing both rollers and reassembling. My problem now is I'm getting Print Unable 05, along with "Self-Diagnostic will automatically restart within 15 minutes". Any thoughts what I may have done wrong?
Thank you soooooooo much! The entire fuser unit is nearly the price of a new printer @ 160UKP. Just fixed my 3150CDW using your video as a guide. Video was very clear. Thanks again!
Thank you for taking the time to post such an excellent video. Following your steps, I was able to successfully replace the upper fuser roller in my HL-3170CDW. Unfortunately, after reassembling mine, experienced the over heating problem indicated by the "Cooling Down" message. Was able to work around that. Wanted to share that and another tip with others.
First off, when finishing the reassemble, you had overlooked replacing the holding bracket on the right side. You caught that but referred users to watch the disassembly. There is a subtle step here that simplifies getting it all to fit back easily. Prior to re-installing the pivoting paper guide (the one with the lime green tabs), place the right holding bracket in place but leave it loose, do not fasten with a screw yet. Insert the left side mounting nub of the pivoting paper guide into the left round mounting hole. While swinging the paper guide into place on the right side, slightly pull the left edge of the loose right holding bracket outward to allow the right side mounting nub to slide into the mounting channel of the chassis. Then replace the screw while holding the right holding bracket in place.
The other tip is regarding the over heating issue. I recall reading a posting somewhere that some of the 3rd party fuser rollers were slightly oversized by perhaps 0.5mm. I believe that extra pressure may be part of the problem. I found that if I loosened the pressure roller tension adjustment tabs (dark green) to the middle intermediate position, normally used for printing envelops or thick stock, that the printer no longer paused for over heating. After printing quite a few pages, sometimes 4-5 pages continuously, I pushed the green tabs back up to the upper position (maximum tension/pressure) and it continued to print without pausing. Can't say with certainty that it is "fixed" but seems to be working now. Also, this was done while printing primarily text. It may print hotter if it is full page graphics with solid color. Hope that helps others.
Thanks again for such a useful video!
Sorry for the oversight at the end there - I thought I recorded all of the reassembly but found one bit missing when I was editing it together. I'm glad the video was at least helpful in general!
Thanks for adding your tips too :)
@@LongPeter Didn't mean to sound critical. Your video is one of the most well thought out and executed DIY repair videos on RUclips. Although this is not a particularly difficult repair, it is somewhat tedious. Your video makes it very approachable. No doubt, you have helped many users save lots of $$, extend the printers useful life and reduced landfill waste. Bravo!
One more tip: the removal and replacement of the tension springs on the fuser roller is one of the more difficult steps. Rather than using needle nose pliers, I used a small pick tool with a curved end (typically used for removing auto oil seals/gaskets). Much easier for me.
Fantastic video! I almost always skip over videos without much talking, but I'm glad I didn't skip yours! I've got a roller ordered for an 8610, so I'll be coming back for a second viewing before I start ripping into it. Good camera angles and your actions documented what steps you were taking.
Thank you!
Why aren't all repair videos like this? Thank you for taking your time to show us the details
Thank you so much for your video! We could not find a replacement printer locally so we were forced to replace the fuser roller. Thanks to your video, we installed it properly and were able to print a document of 10 pages with no overheating issue. We ordered the part from Amazon for $20. Thank you again!
Thank you so much for sharing this! I couldn't find a solution through official support channels and documentation. I had already tried replacing the drums which was recommended and was still getting a vertical line smeared down the page where the toner wasn't fixed. Found this video and immediately realized I was facing the same problem. The damage in this video is mentioned NOWHERE in official support channels and I'd never have thought to check for this kind of damage had I not found this video. Replaced the fuser roller and now it is working great! Thanks again!
NOTE TO ANYONE ATTEMPTING THIS REPAIR
My unit was the HL-3180 CDW version but steps nearly identical. Your repair likely not going to be as easy and smooth as in this video. Mine sure wasn't. It was a very tricky repair for me. I had to take a few breaks and come back to it multiple times.
I could never get the wire @2:44 disconnected on my model. Slighty different connector, and after trying many times to disconnect it, I just punted out of fear I was going to break the wiring. Having to replace the fuser components with the wire still attached was possible, but would have been easier if I could have completed disconnected the fuser unit like in this video.
Take your time and be VERY CAREFUL when removing the old fuser roller like @10:35 and when you install the new fuser roller like at @12:09. At one point I was really worried I had broken the fuser element while reassembling the unit. Heard a crack sound and though that was that. Definitely have more patience than I did. As I about killed our printer.
Thank goodness once I got everything reassembled it would still print! If I had broken the fuser element it would have been a much more expensive repair and probably a new printer so take your time!
The detailed technical information was exactly what I needed to fix my HL-3180 and couldn't have been successful without this great information.
We've loved our HL-3180 for years and my wife relies on it multiple times a week for printing and copying stuff for her students and her classroom. She would not have been happy with me if I killed the printer.
Thank you again @Long Peter (catchy name BTW! :-P )
Thanks for comment, glad the video helped! Yes, that connector was a total pain to remove. I only kept the recording of the method that actually worked, having tried several others first.
I have had to explain that name a few times. 🙃
@@LongPeter My wife printed like a 100 pages today for Monday's class and she was super happy the printed pages looked like the day we first bought the printer. Thank you again!
IMPORTANT NOTE: At 7:40, when the video cuts to the shot of the roller teeth on a roller that has been removed from the unit, DO NOT PAUSE HERE AND PROCEED TO REMOVE THE ROLLER UNTIL YOU WATCH FURTHER INTO THE VIDEO. The technician is showing you how the teeth work on the replacement roller, and has not yet removed the damaged roller from the unit. If you've never done this repair before and you attempt to remove the roller at this point in the video without guidance, you will almost certainly destroy the fuser lamp in the process.
Yep, just did that.
@@lisapl1460 Bah >_
@@dementedoracle thank you. At least I'm happy I tried fixing it myself! It's my favourite printer and it's been out of action for months now. Note to self: watch the whole video before attempting DIY fixes 😂
I'm finding it difficult to find the lamp. I can find the whole fuser unit for a decent price from China. I might do that if I can't find the lamp.
@@lisapl1460 Trying to send you a listing, but it keeps deleting my comment :(.
@@dementedoracle it's OK. I got your reply through my email notification. Thank you. I did see this listing on eBay, but it's for a 120 volt. I need the 230v. Plus shipping from the US is extraordinary! I'm going to get the whole unit anyway from China. More than likely there are other issues so replacing the whole thing will be better. Thanks for your help😁 much appreciated
Great video. Thank you. I was quoted around $350 to fix the printer. Could have bought a new one for less. With the help of this video, I fixed it for $50. Got the new roller set from Amazon.
That's good to hear, well done! No point generating e-waste for such a simple fix.
Thank you Peter. My fuser roller had lost the top coating just like in your video. Replaced successfully. The only tricky parts were getting one of the tension springs back in place and getting the last right hand cover installed properly (the only bit that you didn't video).
Yes, sorry about that. I thought I had filmed it but the clip was missing when I went to edit it together.
@@LongPeter That''s okay Peter - I got there in the end without forcing, scratching or breaking anything. I figure that the covers are best refitted before the plastic part with the two green clips that deflects the paper path onto the top deck. So covers on. Then looking at the rear of the machine left hand spigot into mating hole, then rotate up while aligning and guiding the right hand (flattened) spigot into the mating slot on the right hand cover.
Thanks, Brother service desk quickly diagnosed my problem but told me the fuser unit had to be replaced by a service center. That would certainly have cost more than what you pay for a new laser printer these days.
But thanks to your video my printer is working fine again. Thanks !
Great! Glad it helped :)
Thank you. I replaced the whole fuser unit this afternoon. Your vid made it possible. I appreciate you.
No problem! Glad it helped :)
Due to my clumsy hand broke a piece of plastic about half finger nail size, still manage to complete the mission. Thanks for your uplaod 😂
Oh no! Glad it worked out though :)
An absolute genius!! Super careful and precise to the dot. Well done and thanks for the video.
Thanks for the nice comment :)
Cheers Long Peter. That's just saved me a fortune buying a new printer and it saves resources! I did laugh at the end when I was thinking "why didn't he fit those two electrical covers before putting the last bit on? I still followed your process... and then took that bit out again when I realised 🙂 Great job! and thanks again.
Yes, apparently I didn't hit record one time out of about fifty :p
Thank you so much for sharing this kind of video. I like the quality, and the way you show us every steps in detail. Even for the beginners, they can do it their self by watching this video. Good job!
Thanks for this video - it was incredibly helpful and allowed us to replace our damaged fuser roller with confidence.
Excellent instructional video! I opted for the replacing the entire fuser unit because I had reason to believe that there were other issues with the unit as well, but this was still very helpful! Thanks!
Thanks for the video. It helped a lot. And I must say that the Brother printers seem to be very good for fix it yourself.
Thanks! This helped me successfully change the fuser pressure roller (orange) on a HL-4570CDW :) Quite similar
Thanks for the video, made my thrift store printer like new again.
Great! A bit less ewaste :)
wow. Nice find for a thrift store! The Brother 3170-3180 are great printers. I haven't hit our thrift stores in some time and your message makes me want to start going back. I used to pickup dead LCD monitors and TVs for dirt from the thrift stores and about 90% of them just had a blown capacitor or two that could be replaced for $5 or less. I'd love to pickup some printers for cheap now that I know how to do this tricky repair. Congrats on the thrift score!
... and we're back in business!!! Great repair vid!!!
Great! :)
Great video! Replaced the fuser roller in my MFC 9340 for $20, Amazon. Thanks for helping me save some $$ !
Thank you, this video helped me a lot fixing my wifes printer and you know: Happy wife, happy life ;-)
Thank you for doing this. It took me a little over an hour and my printer is working perfectly. I bought one of the knockoff fusers from Amazon so no telling if it will have overheating issues. Since we are a home user and only print a few pages at a time it may never be an issue. I did look for a Brother factory fuser was unable to find one online here in the US.
Glad it helped!
Thank you! so well done and we just replaced the rolls successfully! Very helpful.
Many thanks for this great tuto, I managed to repair mine, exactly the same issue !!
Just a few hours ago a simple paper jam broke this roller... Well, removing roller from a fuser seems not that hard as i thought. I guess the repair isn't hard. But it's a shame that roller can be broken so easily. ~11000 pages printed...
Thank you very much for this video, thanks to it I fixed the printer without any problems :)
Wow! Silence is truly golden! Great job, especially with those zoom-ins. I took apart as instructed and saw the damaged roller. I will look online and try to find a genuine part from Brother as after-market replacements could cause the machine to run hot after only a few prints. Or, please let me know if the printer you had fixed is running fine with the replacement you made. Awesome video: clear, nice and great views!
Thanks!
It runs fine but I only rarely use it and only for one or two pages at a time. A genuine roller is probably worth the extra money. I didn't even think about it and just bought the first one that came up - probably a low quality after-market part. It didn't cost much.
Thanks very much. I had forgotten how to put it back together. That was after waiting for my new roller from China plus a couple months for it to reach room temperature on the dining room table.
Glad it was a help! Yes, I didn't even take it to bits until I had the parts in hand. I was partially filming it for my own reference.
Is your comment literal, about needing to wait a couple months to allow for room temp changes? I’m guessing not, but wanted to check since I’m amateur when it comes to printer repairs. Thanks!
@@grayautumnday Nope its a joke about being super lazy getting around to it. She is printing fine now but is barely used.
@@brainimplants i figured… but without context or experience, have discovered that not assuming saves me a lot of trouble.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. Can you share the source info on parts that have worked best for you over time?
My main color laser at any given time get used for about 1-1.5 reams of paper a month, so it would be great to hear what hasn’t crapped out quickly.
Brother hasn’t made any printers with the 220 parts using 221/225 cartridges for some time (that I can find), so I’m doubtful that I can reliably find genuine parts (but I have alerts set up on eBay & Craigslist for listings of machines for parts).
Can you share
@@brainimplants I believe that this is the same exact part used in not just the HL-3170CDW, but also HL-3180CDW, MFC-9340CDW MFC-9330CDW MFC-9130CW HL-3170CDW, and HL-3140CW.
I suspect that it’s the same exact part used in my monochrome laser printer that used the TN-221 and DR-220 and other exact parts. Do you think is there any difference in fusers between color & monochrome? I’m not seeing anything in the videos that suggests that the fuser units are different. What do you think?
That was awesome! I was able to take things out and put back together. The only thing is that I might have slightly broken the fuse that goes inside the roller. :( But I appreciate your visual instructions!!! THANKS!!
Great! Although the glass tube that goes inside the roller is the fuser lamp, responsible for fusing toner onto the paper. I do hope you haven't broken it. That would be a pain.
Dude you are so generous!!! years ago I bought a monochrome brother printer, then upgraded twice to color brothers that used the same cartridges… and found that the majority of the replaceable parts were identical between the AIO hl-3180cdw I upgraded to and the hl-3170cdw I downgraded to when I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the 3180.
I’ve got a bit more confident with taking apart machines that are otherwise bricked and I got out the 3180 to find that there’s most of a piece of paper tightly wrapped around the fuser roller. This video gives me exactly the teardown I need and the sku for the part I will quite likely need in the future
I’m so going to set parts search alerts on Craigslist now, this gets me closer to making these things basically continue working quite a bit longer. If the ifixit community doesn’t already have printer forums, they need them.
Are you over at iFixit too?
Make sure to create a Kofi account and connect it to your YT so fans can send you some tangible gratitude… I have an idea of just how much effort a video like this takes to light, shoot, and edit. Thank you SO MUCH!
Thanks for the lovely comment!
I'm no expert but the owner of the pinned comment is. Terry Jones had previously posted quite good instructions but spread across several videos of mixed quality. It was hard to see what was happening in his footage so I recorded my own fix as an additional resource.
Note: I likely have a low quality replacement roller. It works for the occasional page but a well used printer deserves genuine parts.
Please direct all praise and financial support to Terry :)
Thanks you legend! You helped me save my printer 😀
Thank you so much for this video. So reassuring to know that I can do this myself and save $$$.
You saved me a lot of money. I appreciate it. 💵💵💵💵💵💵💵
Thank you, your video was extremely helpful. Now need a tutorial video to replace the fuser for a brother HL4040CN. Hint hint. Thank you again.
@@rhlappraisals1 glad it helped! I don’t have that specific model but there must be resources out there, even if they are for different models in the same family.
Excellent detail.
Great video, thank you very much.
Thanks! About to do this next week. Appreciate it!
Thank you! Saved me a bunch of $ !!
What a great video. So clear and easy to follow. When I turned the printer on it smelt hot and after the successful test print said "Wait a while, Cooling down". Should I be concerned or have I done something wrong?
@@grantstreetman Thanks!
Sorry, not sure I can help much further. Perhaps go through Terry’s videos for additional clues (links in the description. He’s also the pinned comment). He does this for a living and points out many little details, like the placement of the roller heat sensor.
One comment of his was that the replacement roller I used in my video is a non-genuine one and that those are more prone to thermal issues.
I made my video because his series, although packed with useful info, wasn’t well filmed and I couldn’t make anything out.
@@LongPeter Thanks for your quick response and again for the video. My replacement was a non genuine one too so maybe that is part of the problem. I'll check Terry's videos.
Thank you Peter. Really useful!
Nice video, good work!! Thanks!!
Thanks for the great video. I am having issues with poor toner fixing, and I can still manage a decent printed page if I tell the printer I've loaded envelopes to get the heat up, and I don't have ghost images or any smudging so I think the roller itself is okay. Can I tweak or replace the thermistor or the bulb by itself? I don't see bulbs offered - I'd prefer not to get a whole fuser; I'd be better served jumping to a new printer.
Hmm… Terry Jones is the expert (pinned comment). I just re-recorded the process because I could hardly see anything in his videos. His narration goes into lots of detail though, so worth a listen.
I seem to recall him saying that cheap, generic fuser rollers can result in poor toner adhesion if you are running more than one or two pages off. I rarely print at all, let alone more than one page, though I suspect I have that symptom too (I did use a cheap fuser roller).
You're quite right, by the time you buy a whole new fuser or imaging belt, it's nearly worth just getting a new printer.
Great video!
Unfortunately, when I put it all back together, I got a "fusor error".
Same. What did you do to fix this issue?
Muchas gracias me sirvió mucho 🤝🤝🤝👍✋️
¡De nada! Saludos desde el sur de Australia :)
What is the roller length and diameter? I have HL-L3270CDW printer. The original roller is 270mm long by 25mm in diameter. I was wondering if the roller is the same size as HL-3170 CDW? Thanks
That sounds about right but I don't have the old roller to measure any more. Perhaps ask Terry Jones Printer Repairs? He seems very knowledgeable. You can find him in the pinned tweet.
If you are referring to the black fuser roller, the original out of my 3170 is 20.6 mm dia, 17 mm at the bare ends, about 270 mm long
This is very informative, thank you.
I’ve removed the Fuser assembly and similar to this, the black roller is torn(looks like by the metal teeth that make contact with it cut it by rolling the wrong direction).
I’m considering buying a replacement roller and using your vid as instruction as it’s about $20 and this seems doable. I’m also considering buying a replacement Fuser(NON Brother) from Amazon for about $120 just to ensure the unit works and I don’t foul something up replacing the roller myself.
I’m also considering just selling the whole printer(in great shape aside from the Fuser roller) for parts or repair and buying a black and white brother since I mainly just print text and shipping labels and they’re only $125-150. Any thoughts?
If you buy just the roller, do try to get a genuine one. I'm pretty sure mine is a non-OEM copy. It works but apparently you can have issues with them if you print a lot. It's cheap enough that I'd still try. If it doesn't work out you can still sell it for parts and haven't put the cost of a whole fuser into it.
We got a Brother black and white printer for my father in law to replace a colour inkjet. Works well for him as there is no ink to dry out. Bought it a few years ago and I think he's still using the sample-sized toner cartridge it came with.
Once you need to replace 4x colour cartridges and the imaging belt, it gets up around the price of the whole printer. If you only need black and white, it probably isn't a bad investment.
Peter, I love your video for changing the fuser rollers on a Brother L3170. Totally in my wheelhouse and just needed the walk through you created.
My only concern is the handling of the exposed aluminum tube on the gear side of the hot fuser roller. After installing the new black roller you bend the tabs on the gear side of the old roller. Is this to suggest the tabs of the new roller should have its tabs bent after installation in the gear? Are these tabs deformed or bent in the gear and do they need to be pushed back into concentric alignment before the bad roller can be remove?
Love your walk through, just don't understand the bending of the tabs on the old part and what that indicates for the rebuild process.
Thanks again,
Eric
Wayne, PA, USA
Thanks!
The tabs seen from 7:26? Yes, the tabs are not bent when you receive the new part. You need to straighten out the bent ones in order to slide the old roller out of the cog and flare the new tabs out after it is installed into the cog to lock it in place ( 11:45 ).
I just filmed the inserted clip showing only the roller because I didn’t think it was visible enough without.
Greetings from Adelaide, South Australia!
@@LongPeter Thanks for the clarification. The end view of the tabs inside the gear is spot on, and not easy to light and capture in video. I think I would have figured it out, but others might have been pulling on the fuser tube not realizing that tabs had to be moved to the new parts position.
I've spent a few months in Australia over 8 business trips in the 90s, but only got to Melbourne, Sydney, Cairns, & Brisbane.
Thanks again,
Eric
@@erichalpern2987 no problem :)
Yes, several improvements could be made. One of the reassembly clips is entirely missing. I must have not been recording for a few minutes.
Geographically, South Australia is 99% Arizona/Nevada and 1% Sonoma County, wrapped in 10,000 miles of amazing beaches. What little fresh water we have tends to get turned into beer, craft spirits and an unbelievable quantity of rather decent wine.
I have a 3270. Had to remove fuser assembly due to paper wrapped around. Removed all paper, put together carefully and still get self diagnostic when i turn on. Black fuser roller was in good shape. Any ideas?
Sorry, I'm not the right person to ask. Terry Jones (pinned comment) is the professional.
Do you have a preferred supplier for the fuser roller? BTW great video, very well done.
Thanks! If you're in Australia, perhaps Terry Jones Printer Repairs? I haven't personally bought from him but was mainly following his instructions to make this. His videos are a bit older and it was difficult to see what was going on, so I recorded this as an addendum.
Apparently the one I have in the video is and all-too-common counterfeit eBay roller.
thank you my bro
What position should the dark green levers be in. It appears in multiple positions throughout the video
They are appear to be up/in at the start and end of the video and are still that way on the actual printer. I'd say that's how they are supposed to be for operation.
Great video! i was successful dismantling, replacing both rollers and reassembling. My problem now is I'm getting Print Unable 05, along with "Self-Diagnostic will automatically restart within 15 minutes". Any thoughts what I may have done wrong?
Thanks! I'd ask Terry Jones - he's the expert. You can find him via the pinned comment. My video was just following his instructions.
@@LongPeter Thanks!
@@LongPeter I watched one of Terry's videos. The only thing I think you missed in your video is how delicately you must be removing the 2 electric contacts (red and yellow). Terry says it is easy to break the solder. Those contacts sense the temperature of the fuser and I think my error may be related to that.
@@stevecalloway5957 That's a bugger. I hope you can get it sorted out. Sorry, I thought I had pointed out all of the most fragile bits.
Please explain why you had to do this. What was the problem?
The black outer layer was delaminating off of the fuser roller, causing big ugly marks to appear on every print.
If you look at the black roller you'll see there's an orange section on it with wrinkled black coating either side. The black coating melts sometimes for some reason. It seems to be a fairly common issue.
Our 3180 was printing with a vertical, smudged line down every page in the same spot where the toner wouldn't stick/fix to the paper. You could rub the toner off with your finger as it wasn't fixing to the paper. My wife is a teacher and prints a ton of stuff on various types of paper media. Plain, colored paper, card stock etc. and it appears she had a bad jam at some point that scuffed the fuser roller. Doing the repair in this video got rid of the line down the page which will make my wife happy as she has been having to manually color/fill in the line on the part of her pages by hand.
Good job thank you
Thanks for your video and where to buy the roller? I have one mfc 3770 to repair but can't find the roller for sale online.
Mine came from ebay and is likely a cheap fake. It works but prints feel a little powdery, like the toner isn't sticking properly. Perhaps refer to Terry Jones Printer Repairs channel for recommendations on where to buy genuine parts in your area. It looks like he ships worldwide: www.fixitfastelectronics.com/printerparts.htm
@@LongPeter ok,thank you.
i have a HL-L3270 and my black roller in pieces torn so is that why my paper wont go through cause of that torn black roller cause that alot of money going down the drain to get someone to fix that if i have to buy the roller on my own that fine i have my husband to do that i wanted to ask that question i believe my husband can do the same thing you can if that what happen to your printer thumb up on your video lol thank you be blessed
Yes, the black fuser roller was coming to pieces and ruining each print. I wasn't experiencing jamming but do have a different model printer. Terry Jones is the expert if you need any more info.
how did you take the fuser black roller off? you've skipped that part entirely. there is a heating element inside that needs to be removed
From 7:30 onwards?
There is a brief edit showing bending the tabs on the end of the roller to be level with the tube, then it cuts back to removal in real-ish time. I just recorded that extra clip and inserted it later because you couldn't see it properly when I filmed it in situ.
Basically, I detached one end of the black roller, carefully slid it off of the fuser bulb, leaving the brown cog in place, then slid the new roller over the bulb being mindful not to touch the bulb or damage the thermocouple.
@@LongPeter No worries. I picked the instructions from here: ruclips.net/video/clWe8LGtidw/видео.html
Removing the heating element is the most tricky part and you also must be careful because it's very delicate. I just finished my job a few hours back and glad this box is again pumping out papers
@@lodashnotebook5390 Yup I think I broke mine. :( I wonder if I can find another one?
@@ginphil6473 ebay.. 20 dollars just the black one. For both upper and lower it's about 40 I think, and the entire assembly is about 150
@@ginphil6473 oh the heating element? I'm not sure.. check eBay.. or you might have to get the whole set I guess
thanks now i have to look for the part number for the roller and order it on amazon. Include the link and you would get credit for the sale...
I just bought mine from some random ebay or Amazon seller. It's probably not the best quality so I'd prefer to endorse it by linking to it directly.
Terry Jones cautions against using fake parts.
My Brother printer is the same model number but does not look anything like the video and has no access at the front like in the video 🤔
Oh, maybe the model numbers are different in your part of the world? The access panel shown is actually on the back of the unit. The front just has a paper drawer at the bottom and a handle for opening the top cover.
Thank you very much 😂
Hope it helped :)
Very helpful, thank you!
🙏🏼🥰
Darn, I busted the fuse😭
It's easy to break so don't feel bad. Thought I broke mine too. Hope your were able to find a replacement. As I am writing this in 2024 I couldn't find many replacement options. Fortunately, when I finished reassembling everything it still would print. whew!
Thank you for this video!