Leaking 3D Printer Hot End Fix! 

TLDW: Hot end isn't assembled correctly. Loosen the gap between the nozzle and heatblock to about 1mm, make sure it's not cranked against the block, then tighten the heat brake, then fully snug the nozzle.

8:36 "200 and whatever degrees 'science'" lol awesome

Actually came back here, just to say thank you. Much respect.

Thank you! I've been fighting this exact problem and it's surprisingly hard to find advice on fixing it. The walkthrough of connecting the heatbreak and nozzle was exactly what I needed. Thanks for making this vid

I had a good laugh over 500 degrees Fahrenheit 200 some-odd Science. Super helpful video. Thanks!

Thanks for this. I not only learned a lot about how my printer works, but I was also able to save what I thought was a damaged hot end. It turns out my Amazon nozzles were different than what came with the printer and leaked for the reasons you show in your video. Good to go now with no more oozing.

Thank you. Got my printer 3 weeks ago. Had a clog, changed nozzle. Guess I didnt tighten enough. Had ooze issue. Wrecked a print because of it. Anyway. Took my mk8 sorta apart. Cleaned hotend, new nozzle again and tighten while hot. Then added bowden coupler but didnt tighten all the way until I inserted tube, checked flush cut first. Then tightened down. Tested extrusion. Problem fixed. Fingers crossed. Thanks for the vid! Helpful!

I understand this video was posted 4 years ago but thank you soooo much! I've had this issue ever since I got my 3d printer (2 months ago) thank you so much!

Found this while looking how to fix my problem with printing PETG and getting oozing and boogers and strings. I had recently cleaned my hot end and I put it together wrong!!! When I get my new one I will definitely use your video as the guide to setting it up.

This was very helpful. I have an extruder where there is capricorn tubing (teflon tubing) instead of that metal heatbreak with teflon inside it, and the nozzle bumps up against the tubing. I have probably been cutting the tubing too short, because I was measuring how long it needed to be when the nozzle was threaded in all the way. (no nozzle gap)

Bro, you’re amazing.

Thanks, my ender 3 did this over time and it melted the hot end fan over time, so this is very helpful as its so far cost me some money to fix

Mine came like that also. Making a mess... Thank you for all this info. I figured it out on my own but glad you made this still. Mine was also missing a screw

I was having this issue and there was no gap between my nozzle and the end of the heat block. Mine was delivered that way!! I was getting so frustrated and now I know why! Thanks again!

Dustin! You are the nicest! Thanks for taking the time to share, you answered many questions. The temps and solvents are a great summary.

9:24 "It's gonna be a short video." Lol! I had patience this time. Once you explained why it was leaking it was a good explanation. Thanks for the video. Also, you did a great job expressing things with your hands, as they were the only thing in the picture.

If you’re leaking condiments on your pants, tighten your nozzle! 😂🤣 Still, I learned from this 👍👍

damn, i feel dumb, been dealing with this issue for 2 months now and finally this video helped me. thx.

5 years later this video saved me, thank you very much

You Sir, just saved my day. In addition to your video, I went a step and heated up the block with a hotair gun and made sure everything is still snug, just to be sure.

Thanks, changed nozzle and was having leak issues, made all the difference. Test printing now and looking good

Hi, creality ender 3 are different from the one you showed, the ‘heat brake’ has no second thread and is almost impossible to take apart. But video is still really useful, thanks!

thank you for this, i'll admit i was committing this error but glad that you've made this video!

I have been looking for this video for so long!!

This definitely helped me figure out how to put together the heat block for the first time. I'm so glad I never used it before because I did it so wrong it would have been squirting everywhere. I mean, still might, but at least now I know why it might not work. Still trying to wire everything up right now. Great advice thank you so much for this video! I'll agree with FIIK on the excessive length though, it's a struggle to make concise videos, trust me I know, the struggle is real. Keep on making videos. Great camera quality too.

I’m going to have to start using that. “200-whatever-degrees-science” 😂

Thanks so much, this worked great. I also wrapped Teflon tape around the thread on the nozzle and heartbreak.

Heya just wanna say this Video helped me a lot through so much frustration. I thought the printer was broken as I did so much adjustments on my 3d printer and have been searching non-stop on how to solve it on the internet and forums. But this one has solved the leaking problem that I had. Thanks!

Thank you… finally I figured out why my hotend was leaking after I had to replace parts. I wasn't sure how it was supposed to be assembled. Unfortunately my thermistor was broken and the filament was heated up to 310°C instead of 200°C which must have damaged something inside the hot end - maybe the teflon tube.

Thanks a lot for the video - that was exactly the problem I had with my 3D printer. Now that I followed your instructions and fixed it, it's printing better than ever. Thanks and greetings form Germany

Thanks for this! Bought a new hot end kit, followed these tips, no more leak. You're the best! :)

The workflow to tighten the things .. first the nozzle, then th throat by hand and then back the nozzle by tool .. this is the gist for me.. thanks for this video demonstration.

Party begins at 5:05

Thank you immensely! I was lost as to what to do: you explained the workings very clearly- I can visualize my way through solving the problem now.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have a Tevo Tornado and I had that issue until I watched your video, followed your instructions and PROBLEM SOLVED!! Thanks for sharing !

Just assembled my Anet A8. Had this exact problem. My hotend was leaking filament everywhere the entire top was covered in filament. I heated up the hotend let the rest of the filament drip off, then I did what this video said. Haven't had a problem since. Thanks!

Nice! That fixed it. Prints are now flawless! Thanks!

I just had to learn this the hard way - my hotend ended up being a black tar-y mess. Lesson learned, excuse for an upgrade! I'll make sure I check this when I get my new one :)

Thank you for the clear and concise walkthrough. You're right when you said there isn't very much information/tutorials available on this topic. And, my E3D V6 came with zero documentation. No more leaks for me now. Thanks again.

I liked your video because of your total transparency on commisions etc, thanks

Holy crap! Finally. I was about to chuck mine in the trash. Thanks so much for explaining this.

Thank you so much! You are right, no one else has a video like this that I have seen!

Brillient vid mate this is just whats happening to my 3d printer rite now thank you for the info! much love all and take care!

Thank you so much!! Maybe I was asking the wrong questions but there's not much on this issue, from what I've found on the net.

Can I just say, THANK YOU? I've printed quite a few things recently, and have been frustrated that I had to babysit the print, basically pausing and cleaning the nozel and hot end every 30-45 minutes... I did my due diligence and RTFM, the instructions said to install the nozzle until it was tight, then loosen slightly for thermal expansion... NEVER did it say anything about the heatbreak probably being loose! unfortunuately, googling this stuff typically leads to generic answers "is your temperature too high? is it too low?" "is the nozzle loose?" im going to teardown the printhead tonight and see if I can finially fix this. Of course the first issue will be those teeny tiny m1.5 screws they use to attach the hot end....

great video ! i built my 2nd printer now iam thinking about changing my nozzle and the one i got for my mini delta look smaller so i saw your video and was like epic sub !

Thank you for this video. I got a hand me down printer and couldn't figure out why I kept getting big globs of filament in my prints. Found that when I moved the fans and looked at the hot end there was filament leaking bad. Cleaned up the hotend with out breaking anything luckly, and now I'm getting no more leaks.

Also, the pipe thing ("heatbreak") is oriented and you have to install it in such a way that the white teflon pipe thing rests against the nozzle. I have accidentally turned it the other way around and the leaking problem got much more severe. :D But after 6 hours cleaning, it got fixed (fingers crossed, no leaks so far!).

Thanks for your great video. I have the same very problem of a oozing hotend (on top more then on the nozzle). I will apply your advice. My hotend became leaky I think after I switched the nozzle. After the switch the heat block was always a little bit loose so I think the heat break is not threated in enough anymore. Thanks again Dustin! :-)

Thank you for this video! This was very helpful!

Man you saved my Printer, thank you very much dude

Thanks, this one really helped me. I had to change the heatbreaker and nozzle at the first time, and it started to leak.

"leaking hot end" is rank #1 Dustin. Great SEO. You got a new scriber. Thanks for the video. Although my hot end is different on my i3 Mk2s your video game me the will to take apart my extruder and re-seat the break into the heater block. I was having leaking, it was dripping down onto my print leaving globs that ending up hanging the printer up. Fortunately, I was right next to the printer when this happened and I was able to abort the print. I should have created a video on it. I'm kicking myself that I didn't. You going to MRRF?

Thanks you help stop a problem before it happened .I am new to 3d printing and video like this helps..

silly me i only a couple days into 3d printing I switched my nozzle and didn't know how to tighten it properly so then my prints randomly started getting a little problematic thanks for the help

thanks just had leaking hot end on my anycubic swoped last night but will be taking it off again today

dude you rock! thanks for this awesome tutorial. it helped me so much

your first 20 seconds explained it perfectly

Proud to be the One Hundredth comment . Thank you for taking the time to make this video. Answered my question exactly.

Thank you very much. It's good to know I ignore that this was a problem and now I fix it

Thanks, after a year my printer started leaking filament. I ordered a new nozzle assembly but I'll take the current one apart and make sure everything is tightened.

Fantastic and timeless video tutorial! Heck, you had me at the magpul dust cover right from the get-go ;)

I didn't have any print issues but I decided to get a different color sock for my nozzle, to my surprise it was very hard to take it off and once I did I noticed the filament bukake all over the heatblock that leaked out lol

Check the threads inside of the heat block, once I had a piece of brass thread break off and get stuck when I tightened the nozzle. I thought that the nozzle was tightened correctly, but after 5 minutes of printing, plastic came out of both joints. +1 hour of maintenance.

Thank you! This video really saved my life 😭

I would like to thank you a loooooot for this awesome video. I learned a Lot from it. Many thanks.

I only use all metal throats and have had zero problems with filament melting in the throats. PTFE lining will eventually break down.

This was so unbelievably helpful thank you

I was changing the nozzle of my 3d printer, and while i was tightening the nozzle and i felt that some part got loose, and I tight again. after that in all printing I have leaks everywhere. now i dissasamble completly the excruter, and I was doing a deep cleaning, now is better the print, i hope it fixes, ill know when it finished. Thanks a lot you helpme :) and that part before the nozzle how is called?

‘Yes’ to every rhetorical question asked. Unfortunately I learned the hard way when I could have watched this video first.

Hilarious tangent on sandwiches lol! very helpful thanks

Ah yes, the hot end, the end where the heat goes, the end that gets hot, the part that heats up and gets hot to melt the plastic, the ouchy burn you part, the hot end.

Great video. I always come back to this when I need to fix my hotend!

Buddy, I know you had the best of the intentions, and appreciate you explaining this, it did help me. But we didn't really needed to hear all those rants, that was purely for you

when tightening, screw only nozzle to the base, not this feeding tube, I managed to break it appart. Also, when you have this tube sticking to base, screw two nuts on it and use them, this way you get better grip (can use wrench) and don't break the thread (just don't apply too much force, it can break between nuts).

Thanks for posting this - hopefully I can get my printer fully functional now! Also: "Two hundred and whatever degrees science!"

Thanks for this, just took the nozzle off and put a new one in, now realising the block had loosened over time so the nozzle went flush (don't know how it loosened)

My PTFE tube was pushed into the heat break and was melting causing a clog. Been printing for 4 years and that is a first for me.

Yes, very useful my printer has been working for a year, but my last print was covered in excess fillament and this is obviously why. 🙄

Worked for me, thanks. You earned a sub.

was looking for a solution for this, thanks

Great video, super helpful! I find it amusing that you almost managed to spend more time talking about coupon codes than actual hot ends, but still, the part about hot ends was great!

Thanks a lot for the clear explanation of this issue! That helped me a lot.

I just had this exact problem. Thanks for the tip.

Your description was real fine. Don't express your guilt for having a payback on that. Keep up the good work.

This is the way! Thank you for showing me the way!!

Thank you so much man, i was so angry about that leaking A8! But you saved me :)))

Thanks to you I find troubles in missing gap between nozzle and heatblock. Of course precise nozzles and heatbrakes must be used, precise planes touch each other. In past I used paper gasket (something like paper washer) between nozzle and heatblock. That solves some leak. What do you think about use silicone (heat resistant silicone) to tight parts? I found it in some tutorials

Great advice, even better commentary 😄 nobody likes a leaky sandwich

Great tutorial. Really helped me figure out why I was getting leaks!

"This will keep your pants clean...more or less....it's fine" 😂

Starts at 2:30. This video is missing the need for thermal grease on the nozzle threads which is probably the simplest thing you can do to prevent heat creep since once it gets plastic on the threads it becomes insulative and thermal grease keeps the heat moving. It is also very important to thread the nozzle in while it's hot (if it's a used heat block) since otherwise you'll be trying to thread thru solid plastic which will probably result in stripped threads at some point. Usually these go to 2 ft-lbs and if you snug it up while it's cold it will be loose again when you heat it up, so you have to do the final torque while the hot end is hot. Obviously use safety precautions to not get burned.

Lots of great advice in this video, cheers!

great tutorial. my only recommendation is not using 12 point wrenches for final tightening

Lol. I had this problem. I Assembled my Prusa and didn’t know I needed to check this assembly.

Great video

I did as u said and it still leaks. Than i watched another video and saw why. I think u dont know WHY there is a Gap between the heatblock and the nozzle... Because: U need the gap to be able to tighten it up even more AFTER the heatblock (plus nozzle and tube) are warm to like 230 or more degrees CELSIUS, not "sience". When its heated up, tighten it even more. Cause the heatblock it self expands when its hot! Without the gap u cant tighten it up more after its heated. Thats why there is the gap! And thats crucial to have it really sealed! When doing it like u said, many wont have a tight seal!

Aha! Invaluable! But you take a lot of time point out the problem. Also it would be nice to show assembly disassembly because there are a quite a few cables in the way.

thanks for the info.. great video. and im impressed an American using metric.

Just amazing. Thank you for this video!!!