HP IIIP Paper pickup problem

Hi (again), my trusty HP laserjet IIIP is having 'issues' with the paper
pickup from the auxilary A4 tray.

When used from the self loading tray (in-built) it seems to be 100% okay
with fresh paper - sometimes grabs two sheets if second side or curled
paper.

With using the main tray underneath (I have the A4 tray) it is now picking
up one or sometimes many extra sheets per page printed. The printer feeds
this normally through with jamming but is taking it's time, and if I print
10 copies of a page I might get a number of blanks in between.

I've checked out the tray mechanism the best I can, all seems okay.
Shouldn't be worn out (I've had it a long while but gets little use really).
It (now) seems clean, dust free, any objects removed but still it is not
right. Occasionally the printer does make a rather loud clunk when picking
up the paper.

Old but (otherwise) good. Does anyone have further pointers I can try out.

Will wrote:
Hi (again), my trusty HP laserjet IIIP is having 'issues' with the paper
pickup from the auxilary A4 tray.

When used from the self loading tray (in-built) it seems to be 100% okay
with fresh paper - sometimes grabs two sheets if second side or curled
paper.

With using the main tray underneath (I have the A4 tray) it is now picking
up one or sometimes many extra sheets per page printed. The printer feeds
this normally through with jamming but is taking it's time, and if I print
10 copies of a page I might get a number of blanks in between.

Multiple pages grabbed usually means the separation pad is worn out.
Separation pads put some friction on the stack of paper so only the top
page slides into the printer.

When the pad wears out, it's too slick to provide enough friction.

Sometimes it's just a layer of dust built up, or a hardened outer layer
on the pad. Just wiping that off with your finger might help, like
cleaning off an eraser. In a printer that old, the pad might be cork
instead of rubber.

Printerworks has a diagram for the pad on that printer:

http://www.printerworks.com/Catalogs...XMainBody.html

There might be another one in the other tray.

Replacement parts for that printer might be difficult to find. Newer
printers are so cheap second-hand now that it's not worth a lot of
effort to keep that one going.

--
Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota * USA

Multiple pages grabbed usually means the separation pad is worn out.
Separation pads put some friction on the stack of paper so only the top
page slides into the printer.

When the pad wears out, it's too slick to provide enough friction.

Sometimes it's just a layer of dust built up, or a hardened outer layer
on the pad. Just wiping that off with your finger might help, like
cleaning off an eraser. In a printer that old, the pad might be cork
instead of rubber.

Printerworks has a diagram for the pad on that printer:

http://www.printerworks.com/Catalogs...XMainBody.html

There might be another one in the other tray.

Thanks, not in the tray but I'll have a look from under the printer at the
weekend for a rubber/cork separater to clean (hopefully).
- dust I can clear; worn out/hardened well yes it is getting on.