HPLP5 paper coming out discontinuously

[chrishemingway]

We have a workhorse HPLJ5 in our office which developed a paper jam today which doesnt seem to be resolvable after removing the paper. When printing, about an inch or two of paper comes out before another printer jam is reported. There is also an ominous clacking noise, and the paper seems to come out a small step at a time (pausing in between, a bit like deskjets line by line) instead of smoothly in one go.

Have not tried a maintenance kit yet (and I dont know when it was last serviced .. if ever ...) - do you think it would the kit would sort out the problem or does it sound like the printer is beyond repair?

Thanks

Chris

[chrishemingway]

Fuser has a big crack in case. Tried a fuser from a different machine and it worked fine.