Intermittent Extruder Issues.....Possibly? PLEASE HELP  

Intermittent Extruder Issues.....Possibly? PLEASE HELP

Hi Everyone.

My first post on here because up to now my MK3S has been working perfectly for the last 3 years or so.

Here's the story;

• Filament loads and unloads without issue. SLA & PETG
• When loading filament I can see the gears moving freely and at a constant speed
• During a first layer calibration it will either put down the filament very heavily, not at all or only part of it will extrude (No settings were changed)
• During the first layer calibration I can see the gears speeding up, slowing down, almost stopping and sometimes jumping (Again, nothing was changed)
• Obviously, it is impossible to try and print anything like this

Here's what I have checked, cleaned and or adjusted since the issues;

• Dismantled, cleaned and refitted the Hot-End. Did the cold pull extrude etc (It wasn't blocked or oozing filament)
• Replaced the nozzle with a new one (The used one was clear and in good shape)
• Checked the gear position on the Extruder shaft. The grub screw was still tight and the position hadn't changed (From what I could see)
• Removed both gears anyway, cleaned and checked for damage. Non found
• Refitted and repositioned the gears as per the manual
• Checked that the filament sensor was operating correctly. It was/is
• Adjusted the spring loaded filament tension screw multiple times starting from loose to tight and back to my original setting, which served me well for years, but still didn't fix the issue

I've stripped this down and rebuilt it so many times now I reckon I could do it blindfolded. 😊 However, I am still experiencing the same symptoms and I need some advice and support please.

Thanks for reading and I really appreciate any thoughts and suggestions.

Fingers crossed it is something that I have overlooked.

 Cheers, Jason.