same thing here. cut a 1.5" hole in the bottom for access. doesn't seem like that would cause a problem except maybe on pickup of last sheet of paper. i figured printer was toast either way so why not? my wife had done the superglue once before but it failed. now the plastic gear is split. idk if thats fixable. searched everywhere and i find no replacement gear, even on Aliexpress. i can see that it has 8 teeth, but i'm also not sure what material it is made from. maybe a 3-D maker out there somewhere can eyeball it.