Unresolved Can't get hotend back in properly

Okay, I'm feeling super stupid here. I r gently removed the hot end on
My R1+ and to fix a clog. Now I go to out it back and...I can't seem to get it back in so the plastic lever secures it properly. I feel loved is I'm missing something super obvious. I've done this before and occasionally had to make a couple of attempts, but now I just can seem to it in and I do t know why. Any suggestions?

I've loosened and tightened the screw and tried multiple ways and pushing the hotend up in the assembly. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks.

 

did u replace it with a new one? If not then this is the same problem ive had many many times. The overall fix believe it or not is to add a little elbow grease to the metal lever that wont go in. 9 times out of 10 that has been the fix for me. other than that, pull the hot end out and push it back in, and make sure you have it gone all the way as high as it will go in there. sometimes its missing a hole or something then apply a stern push on the lever.

 

I've needed to do a little jiggle or joggle as I firmly moved the lever back into place. Keeping in mind the lever must go in the notch on the hotend.

Keep clear of your wires and you should be able to break anything with a little more force. (No Hammers!)

 

Thanks, guys. I'll give it another shot this evening and let you know.

 

Sadly, no such luck. I tried moving it about for fifteen minutes last night, but it's going back in cleanly. I can get it so that it's MOSTLY slid back into position, but it's more like that last photo. I'm not sure what I've done to make it so it doesn't go back in. On previous occasions, I might have to play with it for a minute or two, but I got it back in. There's not really a lot of play, so I don't know what I've done.

The reason I originally removed it was a clog. I got it cleared and then printed a test square and was fine. Then I printed a Benchy and it went crazy halfway through. I assumed it was the filament sample I was trying, but I've been having some clogging problems for the last week. Then last night I noticed the one fan near the hotend is spinning inconsistently: could that be the issue for the clogging? I assumed it's supposed to be running 100%, not stop-start-stop. Worse, when I removed the print head after THIS clog, the heat break was HOT. How did that happen?

 

I'm hoping it is, honestly. I'm at work right now, so I can't look at the printer and none of my photos on my phone (or videos actually) capture the left side of the printhead where that fan is, so I can't tell which fan it is. Guess I'll look when I get home.

 

Okay, after clearing and getting another clog, this seems like it's clearly a fan problem. The fan runs pretty slowly and then periodically speeds up when it's cool and not printing. Is this something I should open a ticket in of just see if I can buy a replacement fan.

Is the default hotend all-metal?

 

It definitely isn't running full time like it used to. It runs in fits and starts, so that would explain the issue. I'll see about getting a replacement fan. Printed Solid might even have one.

Thanks, Mark!