Kirby G3 Wheel tread

[vintagekitchen]

Ok guys, not sure if this would be better here or in the vintage forum, but.... I was gifted a much used and abused G3 from a cousin. not sure how they managed it, but there is absolutely NO tread leaft on the back wheels. None, nata, zip.. so it really doesnt have powerdrive, since there is no traction. can i replace the tread alone, or must i replace the wheels themselves?

 

[twocvbloke]

It's easier just to replace the wheels as a whole, I was lucky with my G3's rear wheels, but the front ones have flat tyres, and not just on one side of the wheel!!! :S

The rear wheels you need are here (they're light grey, cos Kirby only seem to sell the Dark grey (Sentria) and Light grey (Ult.G/DE) for all the models), just add your hubcaps:



http://www.ebay.com/itm/180635752078

 

[vintagekitchen]

Awesome! thanx for the qick reply. poor old gal has seen alot of use. i didnt even know it was possible to wear the tread completely off.

http://.

 

[twocvbloke]

No problem, it's like anything that's over-used and under-maintained, parts will wear out to the point where they're pretty much gone!! Especially as the G3 model is about 20 years old now, so if it's been used pretty much constantly without a rebuild, then yeah, it'd wear down to nothing... :S

As it is a high-mileage machine, it might be a good idea to send it in to Kirby for a rebuild, get worn parts & consumables replaced, and get a nice high-shine polish put into it, though you'd need to get a quote from them on that for the cost...

 

[vintagekitchen]

Actually it runs like brand new other than the tread, (and of course the handle spring, but from what I've read thats a failing in G3's) Polishing is no problem, as I've polished kirby's before, but a total rebuild is sadly not in my budget at the current cost of 350.00 though i would love it just to be on the safe side, sigh... Fortunately, I know people with far older kirbys that still run great without ever being serviced at all, so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

 

[twocvbloke]

You might want to give it a basic service, motor brushes are a must, especially after a possible 20 years, possibly bearings too, and of course the usual Three B's, Belt, Bag & Brushroll...

As for the handle, are you referring to the pivot spring or the lack of a TechDrive return spring?

The former is a straight swap with a new one (see link below), if it's limp and not holding the handle upright...

The latter though is more of a "feature" of the G3, they omitted the return spring which on later models obviously did as the name suggests and returned the handle back to the neutral position, rather than having the vac take off on it's own, though having it do that is handy cos you can just set it off and let it do all the work!!!

The same seller (Kent Oyler) has the later handle slide with the return spring, somewhere in his ebay store too, if you want to replace that of course...


http://www.ebay.com/itm/180641778149

 

[kirbylover]

If you have the owners manual, it covers the topic of replacement rear wheels. The rubber wearing out is actually a feature.

I would just replace the wheels and be done with it. While the G3 is a great machine it seems that not many people want to collect them (I'm having trouble trying to sell mine) so for the money you would spend on the rebuild you could find yourself another G5 or something if it were to break. (Or if it does break, fix it then- they are easy to work on.)

 

[tolivac]

for "G" Kirbys the owners book just tells the user to take his Kirby to a Kirby dealer for "quick and curtious wheel replacement"so the book says.Most vacuum service shops replace Kirby wheels.

 

[vintagekitchen]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Im going to the local vac shop later this week to drop off a Hoover Constellation for Melinda's retro front display case, I'll see if she has any wheels in stock, if not, I'll order a set. ^__^

 

[vintagekitchen]

Woo-hoo!!! Went to the local vac shop, and spent a few hours with Melinda, a grand old lady, and one of the last of her kind. A vac shop owner who runs their shop to truly restore and maintain machines rather than to simply sell new stuff. And she has been known to actually sell some items at a loss if she feels charging the true price would be overcharging. @__@ Got a new set of rear wheels, (took about 2 minutes to install), a true and proper hard floor brush, (kirby has never had a good option for these), a hoover spinscrub handtool, (no idea what happened to mine), and a few other bits and bobs, for a grand total of------- wait for it------ 20 bucks! I shall greive deeply if she ever goes out of business..... Also thrilled her to death with my gift of a vintage constellation with original floor tool wands and hose to be restored and addded to her historic display.