Repair a Brother mfc-5440cn paper problem

Put on latex gloves (ink stains). Open the printer by raising the scanner assembly (like for changing the cartridges). Then remove the blue clutch hinge by pinching the lower part quite firmly and pulling.

Prop up the printer against a wall or piece of furniture to hold it open at 90° without damaging the cables or the scanner.

Remove the 8 large screws and the 2 small screws.

Remove the 2 covers using a small flathead screwdriver (the first one gives access to the white ribbon cable, the other one to the motherboard).

Gently remove the white ribbon cable by simply pulling on it (using the thumb and index finger of both hands). Do not use pliers: this cable is fragile.

Remove the motherboard connectors with your fingernails and a small flathead screwdriver. It is not necessary to remove the small red one at the very bottom.

Remove the 4 cartridges.

Finally, remove the large plastic cover to access the interior, as in the photo opposite. I had reconnected the ribbon cable and the motherboard connectors to perform tests. You can leave everything unplugged.

Rotate the leftmost gears (outlined in blue).

By rotating the gears, the print head will be unlocked; you can then shift it to the left (outlined in red).

With one hand, rotate the leftmost gears (outlined in blue) and, with the other, hold the flap to the right (outlined in brown). You should see the gears directly underneath (outlined in purple) rotating.

Now, maintain the movement and position from the previous step and slowly shift the flap (outlined in brown) to the left while watching the gears near the edge of the print area, slightly toward the back (outlined in yellow).

In my case, 2 mm before being all the way to the left, the gears rotate and, when the flap is all the way to the back left, the gears stop rotating.

If this is not your case, there is no need to go further: this guide will not help you!

If this is your case, proceed to the repair step.

I tried with a soldering iron but it didn't hold on the metal bracket, lack of precision and risk of melting pieces of plastic.

Solution: chewing gum and glossy paper.

Cut a piece of glossy paper 1.5 cm long and the width of the metal opening for the flap, i.e., about 5 mm. Insert a very small piece of chewing gum into the middle of the glossy paper and fold the paper in half.

Insert the glossy paper against the left metal edge, leaving 2 mm.

Remove the chewing gum sticking out on the lower part with a flathead screwdriver so as not to interfere with the print carriage.

Check that the glossy paper does not stick out too much by moving the print head back and forth. Nothing should snag when the print head passes. Move it back and forth several times.

You can now finish the reassembly, insert paper into the printer tray, and test a copy or print a report.

Be careful when reinstalling the white scanner ribbon cable not to bend the small metal pins in the connector. If this happens, you will know very quickly: your scanner will make a very loud noise and the scanner drive belt will vibrate like a guitar string.

If the case described above occurs, you can straighten the pins in the connector and try inserting the ribbon cable again carefully.