HP 4000 carriage motion issue

[Big Al]

We have ten HP4000 wide carriage printers. All have seen little use as they sit in the warehouse waiting to be sent out to a disaster. We test and do demo prints every two weeks to keep the heads from clogging. We keep the ink up to date too. One of these works fine but when the carriage is transiting back and forth there is a rumbling vibration instead of the smooth swish...swish sound. We have looked at the belt, which looks new since it has had little use. The brass pulley on the motor looks just like the ones on the other printers. The only thing I can think of is the bearings in the carriage motor? Any ideas?

Al

[redcow]

Can you disconnect the belt and manually move the carriage. You might be able to
feel the vibration and narrow down your search.

[Big Al]

Thanks! These are out of warranty now so I was somewhat reluctant to fix it since it seems to be working well. How do you get the belt off without damaging it?

Al