I'm having problems with my digital camera now, but as soon as I get a new one, I will post pictures of the older Orecks. Working for an Oreck dealership, I've gotten 100C's, XL-8300's, XL-4000's, and some other early model Orecks as trade-ins. Many needed simple repairs to get them back in shape, and they now reside in my permanent collection. To answer your question, yes, the fan (as well as the entire machine) is different on a 4000 series. Only recently did Oreck discontinue the bags for the 4000 series (and needless to say, I was not a happy camper!) These were the first Orecks, made in West Germany for Oreck by a company called MacDonald Electric. Once on eBay I saw a MacDonald Electric machine that looked exactly like my Oreck XL-4300. The design originated from RCA Whirlpool, and Mr. Oreck bought the vacuum division in 1962. Oreck would never make the fan housing out of metal for two reasons - 1.) the cost (and the revenue that would be lost on broken fan housings) and 2.) it wouldn't be 8 pounds anymore!