My bargain Kirby - and my 'ultimate' rebuild

[matt8808]

So last Sunday a fellow collector messaged me the link to a Kirby on eBay.

An Ultimate G Diamond Edition, with all the bits, for a bargain £15 'buy it now'!!!

I've never bought anything so quickly in all my life LOL

The listing stated that the machine ran fine, however the Tech Drive wasn't working and the hose had a split in it from where they had been vacuuming up NAILS!!!

The downside to this machine is that collecting it was a six hour round trip.

So I paid £15 for the machine and it cost me £30 in petrol to collect it. Still an absolute bargain.

Here are a few pictures of the machine when I first got it home.
As you can see from the stickers the prev owner has had it serviced regular. It also had genuine bag and belt fitted so its been ran on genuine parts...

 

[matt8808]

Here is a closer look at the hose.... God knows what they had been doing with it but notice the score marks on the inside where things have obviously gotten jammed on the fan and span inside the hose connector. In one place it has worn right the way through!!

 

[matt8808]

So when I got the machine home and tested it, in normal mode it ran fine.

When I hooked up the hose it didn't sound too healthy and there was vibration from the fan area.

I expected a broken fan. The emptor was full of nails and bits of metal to go with the torn hose from vacuuming up nails.

I've never seen a Kirby thats been so abused.

Upon opening up the machine to investigate the issues (I was hoping the belt for the Tech Drive had simply broken) I discovered some problems....

First off the belt for the Tech Drive is missing! So it will be interesting to see if the drive actually works when I get a belt on there. It sounds okay when moved by hand.

AMAZINGLY the fan is fine!!! Turns out the vibration is from a bad front motor bearing. When I grip the belt pulley and move it up and down / side to side there is slight movement.

SO. I've decided to keep this machine to go with my owned since new Sentria2.
This means I'm going to treat it to a propper rebuild.

So far I have ordered from an eBay Kirby store based in the USA (much cheaper than buying parts from UK) -

New fan, front motor plate with bearing, rear bearing (seems okay but may as well replace that too), bearing puller, new nozzle bumper trim (in corect colour), Tech Drive belt, fan case gasket (where the hose / nozzle connect to fan case), new outer bag clamp (in case I damage the old one removing it to wash the outer bag) and some spare brushroll belts.

I'm assuming by the date stamp on the motor this machine was made in 2002?

 

[matt8808]

And now two questions -

First off when I pulled the motor to bis this funky little thing popped out.

Looking at a parts break down of the motor (number 11) I've placed it back on the rear bearing the correct way?

Also what do you think to the carbon brushes? I've no idea how long they would be when new.... Still got a good few years in them haven't they? Or should I replace now?

 

[matt8808]

Amazingly there are no scratches to the metal body of the machine so I'll be able to machine polish that back to looking brand new. With a new bumper trim on and the bag washed it will look factory fresh.

Along with the new bearings, new fan, new bumper, new fan case gasket and tech drive belt I plan to replace the discoloured and worn cord and possibly the brushroll.

It has only JUST been moved to wear setting 2, so it is only a third worn, but it is the older style softer brush and I prefer the newer style stiffer brush that my Sentria2 came with. See the pic for the difference between the two. Newer style brush is on the left. Picture taken from eBay.

I also need to find a replacement hose and POSSIBLY order a used but working Tech Drive if this one is no good once it has a belt on.

 

[matt8808]

Its now just a case of waiting for the parts to arrive in the post! Will take a while given how far they have to come. So far I've spent £87 on parts with the postage.

This will be a machine I'll run alongside my Sentria2 for less nice jobs such as the car and cleaning for an elderly relative, but once I'm done with it it'll look and run as good as my Sentria2 does.

I plan for my total outlay (buying the machine, collecting it and new parts) to come to less than £200.

A fully rebuilt Diamond Edition with all the tools and shampoo system for less than £200? I'll be very pleased!

It's also been worth it as this is the first G series machine I've worked on and I've wanted one to play with for a while so that when the warranty on my Sentria2 expires if it should need anything I'll be confident in opening it up.

These are such lovely machines to work on

The next update should see the machine fully washed, machine polished and the parts from the USA fitted. Can't wait to see if the Tech Drive works. Watch this space!

 

[charleskirby66]

Congrats!

Ultimate G Diamond is my daily driver, too.  Isn't it awesome?!  Enjoy that Delicate Switch.  Can't wait to see your post-renovation pics!

 

[tolivac]

Don't you love it when some clown uses their Kirby as a Shop-Vac-Glad it survived-was expecting a blown fan!The motor rotor-communtator and brushes all look in fine shape.Good for lots more.GREAT FIND!!!!