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PSA: Maybe don't buy these shitty extruders
(m.media-amazon.com)
I spent entirely way too much time trying to get one of these style extruders on my Ender 3. Maybe I picked a knock off without realizing it, maybe mine was just defective, I'm not entirely sure.
But it was ultimately the cause for my printer underextruding on certain layers. If you need a new extruder, go for something better than these cheap $20 ones and get an actually decent one.
But on the bright side, my printer is finally fixed! It feels nice to be able to get back into the hobby again.
I had some trouble with these cheapo extruders a while back. The key was swapping their gear wheel for my old one, which wasn't worn out. And yes, I calibrated esteps - it just didn't grip well. I washed it and adjusted the tension, and nada.
a lot of the amazon cheapos don't have proper bearings on the gear, so you slowly wear out the the drive bolt. if you see gray powder forming... you have a problem. Some 3-in-1 (though I recommend the PTFE 3-in-1) will slow it down, but it's still going to wear.