Kirby Heritage II noise

[tr4nshum4n]

Hi, everyone! I got a Kirby Heritage II vacuum about six months ago, and recently it's been acting up. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

Background:
Last night, my wife was vacuuming and we started to notice a foul smell. The machine also made a high pitched noise intermittently. I removed the beater brush and belt, cleaned out a lot of hair from the fan inlet and beater brush, and reassembled the machine. It worked for another few minutes, then the smell came back. I think the smell was coming from the belt overheating. I removed the beater brush again, and the belt broke. I probably needed a new belt, anyway.

Corrective action:
Today I went to buy a belt and new beater brush. After seeing how the new one rotates, I know how badly I needed it. The old one would barely turn.

Results/ideas for further action:
I replaced those two parts, and it works much better now. I still hear some intermittent noise, though. It reminds me of the sound of a miter saw. I am wondering if there are any other parts that I should replace.

The visible portion of the fan doesn't show any signs of damage.

Below is the link to a video of the vacuum during operation. The first 30 seconds is the vacuum running without the beater brush touching carpet. I then adjust so you can hear the difference in sound.

Thanks a lot for any ideas!

http://https//youtu.be/OI-0AKCz6Sw

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

tr4nshum4n

I think the "grinding" sound may not be coming from the brush roll, but rather from the motor unit.

If it is the motor making this grinding sound, here are two possible causes:
1. Dirt or debris in fan case.
REMEDY: Inspect and remove.

2. Bent vent fan striking field screw.
REMEDY: Straighten fan: tighten or replace field screw if loose.

If you still think it's the nozzle - and you said you already replaced the belt and brush roll, then you may need to inspect the rug plate gasket for wear; if worn, order a new rug plate gasket (154881S).

I hope this information will help you!

~Ben

 

[sptyks]

Nick, it seems to me that the noise is coming from the  floor nozzle since it is only present once you lower the floor nozzle and the brushroll contacts the carpet. 


 


Are you aware that your Heritage II has a Heritage I floor head/nozzle on it. Not sure but that may be the cause of the noise.

 

[craig_1982]

Some early Heritage 2 models were produced with the Extended-larger Heritage 1 nozzle So I don't think that would be the cause of the noise, Like Ben said try replacing the rug plate gasket, also look to see if the two locking lugs for the rug plate are tight and that there is no movement in the rug plate, some times the locks can bend slightly resulting in the rug plate not being tight against the nozzle.
Away from the nozzle have a look to see if the backing on the handle is screwed up tight, sometimes you can get a horrible vibration from this when the Kirby is running if its not done up tight enough.
Those are your likely quick fixes, If your impeller is fine then you could be looking at something harder to repair like possibly the front and rear motor bearings.

Craig

 

[tr4nshum4n]

New fan

I replaced the fan impeller, and it has definitely helped.

I think I bought the impeller assembly kit for newer Kirby models. It included more hardware than came out of my vacuum. The part number that I purchased was 119096s. It looks like part 119078 would come with the proper hardware for the Heritage II. I just used the new impeller and reused the rest of the old components.

The old impeller wasn't cracked or anything, but it appeared to have some blistering. The plastic was bubbling.

I cleaned the nozzle gasket, and it does look like it could use replacing. The clasps appear to be in good order, though.

Thanks a lot for the input, everyone!

http://https//youtu.be/A_qSH4ij3pU

 

[sptyks]

New fan...

If the new fan came with different hardware, ie. different or missing washers and gaskets, then you most likely installed the wrong fan kit. The proper fan kit would have come with the exact same hardware that was already in the machine,


 


Re using the old parts is not a good idea because they will wear out prematurely and may also have been contributing to the noise in the first place.