Laserjet 4000 transfer roller broken clips

Has anyone tried to print for an extended amount of time with these clips broken to see if there were any ill effects with too much pressure with the transfer roller against the drum?

Yes, mine was manufactured in Feb of 1998, but its a 1200dpi laser that keeps on ticking.

If it is what I'm thinking about, it shouldn't be a problem, but why not just order a new transfer roller? They are readily available on eBay and I personally have not had any issues with printer supplies sourced there (LJ 4100dtn and CLJ 4700dn user, here)

The transfer roller is not the problem. Actually I just installed the new one. Its these little tiny clips that hold the roller down. The clips are part of this massive internal component so if they break the only way to "properly" fix them is by replacing the guts of the printer which is a major job. Ive read people online doing rigs like heating up a paperclip and sticking it into the surrounding plastic to hold the roller down. These clips hold the roller in place by restricting how far up the roller goes by about 1/2 an inch, but the roller doesnt fly out because of its weight and due to the roller being in these slots that keep it in the proper position. Of course, when the toner cartridge is inserted, the roller is pushed down a bit. But being that the roller doesnt have the restriction of the clips restricting how high up the roller goes, I was worried if too much pressure with the roller against the drum is a bad thing or not.

Actually, your 4100 is the same configuration. When you take out the toner cart, look at the ends of the roller. The plastic piece that holds the roller in place has a little black clip sticking out of the main piece of the printer that prevents that plastic piece the roller is in from moving up too high. These get really brittle with time. Cant blame them since they are so old, but HP could have done a better job at holding the roller down lol.