Cleaning and lubricating Kirby G series motors

[sopranojam85]

Out of curiosity, can anyone tell me what this guy is doing at about 2:28 of this video? He appears to be running the bare motor, and applying a sort of eraser on the armature to clean its surface as it spins.

Also at 2:44, is he using a metal wire to "pick" out dirt from around the motor? At any point, does he lubricate the bearings?

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoAbmvn8YO0

 

[KirbyLux]

Kirby Motor

It looks to me like he is using an armature stone to clean the deposits of the armature. Or he is breaking in new carbon brushes. I have never used these special stones so I'm not sure which is which. That and the video was really fast! But I am also curious as to what he is doing with that bit of wire. It does appear that he is using it to dig dirt out of the field. Perhaps he should have put commentary on his video.

 

[sopranojam85]

Just got a new beast...

A G6 2001 edition. Got it for next to nothing, just the upright cleaner and hose. I'll buy a full attachment set later.

The bag is in the wash right now. The whole thing is a filthy mess but it runs well! I'll post some progress of the cleaning process as I go.

 

[KirbyLux]

G Series

I got a G4 about 4 years ago from a roadside market that was a complete basket case. The aluminum is so completely tarnished it has to be sanded. It came with no tools at all. But it ran well and was a machine from my childhood I always wanted. So I rebuilt the motor and replaced the bag fill tube and let my mom use it for a while until she got her Fantom Thunder. Now I have it back and need to get the thing shined up and find some tools! Congrats on the new G6! I look forward to updates on the progress!

 

[sopranojam85]

Motor was fine... just a general clean-up

This being my first time to ever take apart and reassemble a G series, it took me several hours to do this. I disassembled it all the way down to the motor, but I did not lubricate or clean the bearings or armature. The photo was "before" I blew out the filth from around the motor... The carbon brushes looked fine and have a lot of use left yet, and the armature was smooth and clean. Could be cleaner, but honestly it appears fine to me. Most of the filth was localized to the fan case, very little of it actually living on or around the motor. What was on the field coil and such was easily blown out.

I'm very happy with the way this turned out, and the cleaning power of the G6. The Tech Drive takes getting used to... the double-action of the hinge is kind of throwing me off, but it all works.

The hardest part of reassembling the vac was the belt linking the motor with the transmission. This belt is NOT flexible in the least, and won't stretch to save your life. I had to loosen the transmission mounting screws, to wiggle the belt where I needed it, then tighten these screws.

 

[sopranojam85]

And the end result...

Just need to polish it, but inside it's squeaky clean. Works great!