The funny thing is that I turned both rods and found they both are bent. After turning them a couple of times, I tried sliding the head in the Y axis and found it is now smooth as silk. Am I safe to print with this before I get the guide rods replaced?

I have a new 1.0.

I moved the Y axis forward to visually check the gaps because I have the "shifted circle" test print. When I get to about 1/3 from the back, the axis binds up and it doesn't want to slide smoothly. Get past it and it's smooth sailing to the front. It binds in the same place going back.

I have looked at all the bearing housing clips and they look fine.

Any thoughts?

One or both of the y axis rods are bent slightly. You can test this by moving the print head over the right side of the platform to where it is almost touching then rotate the right y rod by hand and see if the head moves up and down. Repeat on the left side preferably in the spot it binds at. This will also allow you to see the degree of the bend. All it takes is a drop during shipping and the rods will bend.

I moved the Y axis forward to visually check the gaps because I have the "shifted circle" test print. When I get to about 1/3 from the back, the axis binds up and it doesn't want to slide smoothly. Get past it and it's smooth sailing to the front. It binds in the same place going back.

I have looked at all the bearing housing clips and they look fine.

Any thoughts?