how are Kirby bearings grease packed

[jheissjr]

Here are the contents of a Kirby transmission. I'm surprised at how many bearings are in transmission and in the vacuum. No bushings anywhere, all real bearings.

There are a couple roller bearings in the transmission. They have to be greased but they don't come apart. How are the roller bearings grease packed?

 

[lesinutah]

Guess

I believe people usually buy new bearinss rather than grease.
If I were to guess the rollers pop out wedge top press with ice pic or small exacto blade. They should pop out. I could be wrong but they have to come out rest of the bearing is solid.
Les

 

[madman]

That little roller bearing in the case is pressed in. You could press it out and back in... but there's literally no point in doing that unless you're going to replace it. Plus you risk damaging it, unless you actually have a press and proper tools.

Even so, you won't be able to pack it any more effectively whether it's out of the case or in. To pack them, just get a bunch of grease, fill the bearing with it, seal one side of it with a finger, and with another finger, mush the grease into the bearing. After that, use a pen or something else that's clean, and use it to rub the grease into the rollers. It's not a perfect method, but it will do the job.

For the other open cage ball bearings, just use your fingers to mush as much grease into the balls as possible, occasionally rotating the inner race of the bearing so that the balls roll into the grease.

I'm imagining that the rest of the inside of the gearbox should be liberally greased, but I don't know what it looked like when you first opened it.

 

[texaskirbyguy]

Nice!

I had been wondering what is in those trannies but did not want to take mine apart yet. Now I know - lots of parts!
How are the tranny bearings greased right now? Any sign of grease on them? The handle slide rollers on my G6 were dry - no sign of grease at all on them.

If there is evidence that they were greased, I would just work a little bit of lithium grease into them before reassembly. As mentioned above, I would not try to remove any bearings that are pressed into the tranny. These bearings are low speed and low pressure, so trying to service them like automotive wheel bearings is just not needed. Also, make sure you do not accidentally lube anything that shouldn't be, like the clutch parts.

As for motor bearings, I would never repack them unless you accurately know how many hours are on the machine. Given these spin over 10000 RPM and see high loads from the belt, they do wear out and get sloppy. Given genuine Kirby bearings run about $6 each, it is a no-brainer to replace them to last another few decades.

 

[vacuumdevil]

Just change the transmission out as a whole like Kirby intended.

 

[madman]

I mean... they literally disassembled the transmission, cleaned it, and neatly organized all of its component parts. This doesn't look like a person who's gonna take 'just replace the whole unit' for an answer. Just saying.

Also, just to add to texaskirbyguy's input, the *motor* bearings are what's called a 'sealed' ball bearing. As in, the sides of the bearing are closed with plastic or metal to stop the grease from getting out, and dirt from getting in. They are considered a 'lifetime part,' or 'lifetime lubricated.' Or in other words, by the time they need to be re-lubricted, they're probably worn out to the point of needing to be entirely replaced. So yeah, don't bother attempting to grease those. Just replace, if needed.

The ball bearings in the transmission (that I can tell from the pic, anyway) appear to be 'open cage' bearings, as in, the sides are open and you can see the bearing balls (and the 'cage' that holds them). If they seem to be in good condition, grease 'em.

 

[lesinutah]

Hey

I know there lifetime. He has it apart. He took apart the transmission. That is crazy. I am not that advaced to take on the tech drive. I know there lifetime but I'd not grease the I'd buy new bearings all around. I do commend your fortitude.
You have to show us how it comes out.
Les

 

[madman]

Well it doesn't really look that complicated to me... but that's coming from an automotive transmission mechanic

 

[lesinutah]

Madman

Hey
Im not familiar with transmissions. Id screw a few up before I became good. Kirby's tech drive are a little pricey for me to tinker with. I'm no transmission mechanic either. I know the person to ask about tech drives in the future.
Les

 

[madman]

Les, I wasn't taking a crack at you or anything. I was just sayin' it looked simple to ME, but I've never held one in my hands, so I don't really know.

 

[huskyvacs]

Just FYI, Kirby only tells you to replace the entire transmission for liability reasons because they don't want to train employees on how to fix those and have someone screw it up and then Kirby would be held responsible for it. Also so they can make lots of $$$$$$ on those transmission units. It doesn't mean they can't be taken apart and have parts replaced individually.

If he has the skill to take it apart and reassemble it, then he's clearly a pro and knows a fair bit about mechanics and how they work! Sears told me I had to spend $300 on a new computer unit for my washing machine just because it was acting up. I took it out myself and sprayed the whole thing down with circuit board cleaner and polished all the individual contacts. I put it back in, and it's worked for the past 7 months now trouble-free. I guess it was just soap scum buildup. Companies absolutely hate DIY repairmen as it makes them lose money on service calls and labor, so if they can do anything to tell you "you have to replace the entire thing - its not serviceable" they will.

I don't know if this will help, but this is a video that I found awhile ago that I had saved to study and watch for when I have to do this task.

 

[abcvacplacentia]

How did that transmission rebuild turn out?

I'm interested to learn how you greased and re-assembled this Kirby transmission. Did you notice a difference in noise and smoothness after completing it? How difficult was it? Were there any weird parts that you managed to replace, or did you just clean and grease everything?

 

[rivstg1]

ABC,

CALL Jay, he is an expert at it....I've watched him do it...even with sealed bearings. Don't let those who don't have the skills limit you to what can be done. I"m trying to acquire those skills...but it takes time....

 

[texaskirbyguy]

I would like to know how this rebuild went, also.
The tranny (clutches most likely) in my goodwill G6 is providing very little assist in D or R and nothing else is wrong with the machine. When I get time I will tear it down like over here.

 

[broomvac]

I know I sound like a broken record, but I use Mobil 1 Polyrex EM grease in all vacuum cleaner rolling element bearings. For those who aren't familiar, this includes not only ball bearings, but also "needle" bearings like the one you are asking about or the one on the belt-side of a Hoover Concept motor.

Mobil 1 Polyrex EM is specially designed for high speed applications. "EM" even stands for electric motor! If you've ever seen blue grease in in a brand new vacuum bearing, chances are it's Polyrex EM.

A note about those clutches: It's clear to me that Kirby clutches are of the "dry" variety. The transmission casing has all kinds of holes in it so there is no way that anyone could convince a lubricant to stick around for very long inside there. It seems only the bearings get grease.