Replace MakerBot Replicator 2 Heater Block

Sorry, this is yet another non-Python, non-Network Engineering related post. I guess at some point if I put enough of these 3D printing posts they need to be on a blog by themselves.

My MakerBot Replicator 2 nozzle got clogged up a few weeks ago. This was how it got jammed up: since the filament gets tangled up all the time, I was cutting out a certain length of filament ahead of time. One time I wasnt paying attention and the filament ran to the very end, pass the motor, and got stuck.

Knowing what I know now, I could have probably just take the motor on the back off and use a plier to pull out that string of filament. But at the time I decided to replace the whole heater block by Fargo. I am really glad I did, it was a fraction of the cost and was a great learning experience. Here is the instruction video:

Here are some pictures from my own printer that I took:

Here is the jam itself:

I label the parts I took off and during which step because I was paranoid: 

The insulation tape was in pretty bad shape: 

New and old heater block:

Happy Prints after replacement.....

Happy Making!