Why does the carriage belt on my MP970 have slack even though it is seated correctly on the pulleys

[lnayak]

To give  little bit more background,

My MP970 was throwing a 5100 error. When I opened the cover, I noticed that the carriage belt had jumped off the left pulley. I succeeded in putting the belt over the pulley but there was considerable slack in the belt. As a result, I continued to get the 5100 error.To verify that it really is the slack in the belt causing the issue,

1) I physically pushed the left side pulley, which has play in it's slot, further  to the left with my fingers to eliminate the slack,

2) held it there and

3) turned on the printer.

Voila!! The printer was able to go through the starting sequence and I did not get 5100 error. So the question is "why is there a slack in the belt ?" and "how do i fix it ?". I would like to resolve it myself rather than take it to a repair shop where it is likely to cost me more than the cost of the printer to fix it.

[Ramona]

Hi Inayak,

We do not have instructions for reparing the carriage belt in the printer; we recommend having the unit serviced to ensure that all items that need to be repaired are addressed.  We ask that you please call or email us at one of the methods on the Contact Us page for further assistance.

[lnayak]

Thank you for your response. . I understand why you would want to direct me to your repair centers but my concern is that it just will not be cost effective way of  fixing this issue on a old printer. I was hoping that the fabled Canon consumer support would be able to help me out.

Regards

Lakshmi