You likely will find the gantry and frame to be out. If you loosen the gantry you might find an obstruction or perhaps a lock washer that wasn’t full compressed
I actually did the xyz calibration cube as a result of the first section of that walk-through. I keep debating on just moving forward with the whole walk through to see if things resolve at the end… but that also seemed like a potential waste of time since I seem to have identified a frame issue (as mysterious as it is).
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I will admit - I had a memory come back to me after I sorted this out - some time ago I fumbled a filament roll and it dropped on the back side of the bed. It could explain why the bed is now off square to the frame. Having said that, I would rather try easier things first. I am not sure how the x axis gantry being off square to the frame would cause a forward lean (I would think it would cause a lean side to side). But I am happy to check it regardless.
I do think the problem pre-existed but looking at a box i printed that was much larger than the calib cube - it was much less pronounced.
I checked the x-axis gantry and it looked fine relative to the frame - side-to-side and front-to-back.
I can’t really see the first image what is going on. You are saying it looks fine?
If so that means it is the bed? I am guessing it is “level” to the nozzle. If you think the bed is causing the issue you might try tightening all adjustments tight down and then when it won’t move use a square to the gantry. It might point out issues with the bed.
I’m not there so only do this if you think that is where the issue is let’s brainstorm something else!
Sorry, I am on my first coffee of the day and clearly didn’t finish my thought. I did indeed mean to say they both look pretty square. In my head that is absolutely what I said 
At first I was thinking also that since the bed is adjustable, the squaring of the y axis to the frame shouldn’t really matter… but then I admit I convinced myself that while I may have made it square at one level of the z axis, as it moves up it will still shift the print forward. Now I am starting to rethink that again. 
I did measure the distance from the table surface to the lower edge of the y axis extrusion at the front of the printer then at the back and sure enough there is about 1/8th of an inch difference which is the diff that I see when I check the square of the bed against the frame.
But again… why wouldn’t levelling the bed resolve this? I don’t profess to be a pro-bed-leveler, but I think I do a reasonably good job at it. I certainly take my time while i do it.
For the record - I did take the bed off and I checked the square of the base the bed screws on to with the frame and it was also about 1/8th of an inch off with that. So that should rule out poor bed levelling on my side. That should be a similar check to what you suggested with tightening down the bed itself. Assuming nothing is off with the springs (which I have upgraded to the yellow creality bed springs so theoretically they should be decent quality).
If you imagine a tiny dot on the build plate, directly under the center of the X-Axis when the X-Axis is at it’s lowest point…
If the gantry is tilted to the left or right (for the sake of example, let’s say to the right) the center point of the X-Axis will gradually move to the right of the center point as the gantry is raised.
Similarly, if the gantry is tilted forward or backward (let’s say forward), then the center point of the X-Axis will gradually move forward of the center point as the gantry is raised.
In both cases, however, the X-Axis remains parallel to the bed.
I am severely sleep deprived today, so if I’ve misunderstood your point, tell me and I’ll re-read it after a four hour nap.
I think you just explained my original line of thought actually… so maybe I am not totally off base. Two tired brains dealing with geometry.
Basically I am starting to feel like I am looking at disassembling and reassembling the printer which makes my heart heavy. I did find a post on another forum where the person had the exact same problem and his issue also seemed to be the y axis not being square. Sadly he wasn’t specific about what he adjusted and the thread has since been archived. Maybe I could message him directly and just hope he remembers from 2 years ago. I don’t see anything to adjust without being able to flip the printer upside down.
Ok the complex geometry is hard to communicate.
Can you print a vase mode print that is something like 20x20x100
If the bed is leveled as best it can be to the X axis. If the print leans by marking the orientation we should be able to see the direction of the lean . Perhaps that will lend insight to where the issue is.
What is a small error at the bed will amplify in elevation.
A vase would definitely show issues like that in a more pronounced way. I am not sure what the vase would tell me that I don’t already know about my situation. I know that my prints have a lean toward the front of the print bed along the y axis. My problem now is figuring out what part of the printer to adjust and how.
Let me know if I am missing something.
Sorry force of habit I work in a university I tend to establish a base line on everything.
If you will indulge my process. It is hard virtually.
Ok so the gantry appears square to the body of the printer?
The bed is leveled to the x axis.
Yet the prints lean.
There is a difference from the top of y axis this is showing an error side to side if I understand your measurements ?
If the The Y is at the max height is it the same to gantry side to side?
You believe the gantry is leaning forward slightly?
If it is out by 1/8 I wonder if there is a bend or deformed section somewhere?
Is there flex in it under gentle pressure?
Is the connection of the gantry and frame tight and firm? I wonder if it isn’t quite square when it was cut?
If it is that junction I wonder if a shim might bring it closer?
If it is that junction.
@momewrath is this a new printer? If it is you should contact tech support, this likely a defect and not something that should be adjusted out. You don’t need to chase this problem down the rabbet hole have tech support chase it and if the come to the same conclusion there is a frame issue they will replace it.
my initial thought on it was a frame issue, PJ listed a video somewhere on how to assemble an ender 3, I know it seems trivial but has some good points that will apply to any printer.
Frame must be square to the base and the gantry has to be 90deg to the z-axis, everything else is adjusted.
I am sure you are all waiting with bated breath for an update on my issue (
) so here it is… Creality got back to me and said that the problem is caused by the belt tension. I looked at it and realized that the Y belt was actually really tight so I tried loosening it a bit and there definitely seemed to be some improvement. I have tried loosening it a bit more (though honestly I think it’s too loose now but we will see - owning an ender 3 certainly seems to means you have to be willing to tinker). Weirdly I have checked this before and somehow didn’t realize it might be too tight - I may have been too focused on making sure it wasn’t too loose.
Either way, progress is being made, learning is being done. Fingers are being crossed.
I am not declaring it resolved yet, but I do want to say thanks to everyone for taking the time to help me trouble shoot.
General related question to the hive mind:
I can certainly see where a loose belt will cause ringing or ghosting problems but,
I can’t fathom how a belt, loose or tight, will cause a lean?
I understand that Creality says it does, but unless I can wrap my mind around the mechanics of it, it’s going to keep me up at night.
I could reach out and ask for more detail. My assumption was that perhaps it was tight enough that the bed wasn’t moving enough… but in hindsight… if anything I would think that would cause a lean in the other direction - toward the back…
I wasn’t getting my hopes up when I tried it but sure enough it did seem to improve the lean… but now I have ghosting (not terribly surprising)… can’t seem to win.
I am going to try one more adjustment - maybe there is a sweet spot. I think I will reply to Creality to ask for more detail as well.
I guess it could be that if it’s too loose and it won’t reach the ends of the direction commands, because of backlash each movement would start late. too tight could cause the motor to lose a step or series of steps so it wont know where it is and continue printing like nothing happened.
I agree that too tight may cause a motor to lose a step, but that would apply in either direction. Indeed any effect caused by a belt (too tight, too loose, worn, trapped debris, missing a tooth) would all cause problems in both directions. Yet a lean, by definition, only applies in one direction and to me, that screams frame misalignment.
And yet tightening the belt apparently helped?
It bugs me when I can’t connect the dots.
It’s possible that something was lost in translation but I was pretty clear as to what the issue was and even sent pics. I have checked the square of the frame to the base supports a billion times now and it is definitely square. The only thing I can still find that is off (which I also mentioned to Creality and sent pics of, is the y axis extrusion not quite being level. You can see the other problems it introduced tho.
Before
After
