Laser Printer Drum Replacement Question

The last time I changed the toner cartridge on my b/w Brother laser printer, I immediately started getting a message that the drum needed to be replaced. I thought that something had gone wrong with the replacement, and I've rechecked the installation, etc. Everything appears to be in order.

This printer has been a great workhorse, and if I need to replace the drum, so be it; just having a little sticker shock b/c the drum is about 50% the price of an entirely new printer. I've looked for information about how long a drum is supposed to last, and I get a lot of information about how long a drum should last based on number of pages printed, but I have no idea what that number is. I know how many times I've had to changed the toner, and how long I've had the printer. Can anybody give me some guidance on when a drum should be replaced based on age of printer, and how much toner I've gone through? Like, if you've had the printer x years and changed the toner y times, you're in the range of drum life. I just don't want to shell out the money for the new drum if it appears way too early for the drum to be biting the dust.

Hope that makes sense, and thanks for any advice.

I have an older Brother multifunction printer 'MFC-7820N' Had it for about 7 years now and I had to replace the drum 2 years ago. A toner cartridge usually lasts me for a bit over a year.

For me, it was well worth replacing the drum.

@earlster - Thanks, that's very helpful. Based on your experience, it looks like I need a new drum - have had the machine for almost 5 years and just put in my 6th toner cartridge. Appreciate you responding.

I chucked my Brother and bought a new one rather than replace the drum on a ~5 year old unit. Sales at Staples or Amazon virtually all the time. Agree they're fantastic printers

Check the owner's manual. It may have a way of telling you how many pages you've printed. You do something funny, and it pops out a printout with lots of information including page count.