Robs Kirby G6 Y2K Edition Expresto!

[huskyvacs]

broomvac, is there any way to tell if a Kirby's transmission needs to be tuned up? Is there certain things to look for, or is it just by a trained feel? I have experienced Kirbys that have different movement speeds than others, I always thought it was something to do with the wheels being worn out.

 

[sptyks]

Kirby transmission adjustment...

I have adjusted those two black hex transmission screws many times. The top one adjusts forward motion and the bottom one adjusts reverse motion. They are very sensitive so only adjust 1/4 turn at a time, then test to see if your Kirby feels right for forward and reverse motion.

 

[texaskirbyguy]

The two hex screws on the pivot plate were left in as I knew exactly what they were for. Those are definitely not ones I wish to play with.
I also left the slide on the adjustment plate for the same reason. If I find it needs adjustment, I will deal with it then.

Anyone know what lube (if any) to use on the handle slide bearings?

Below are the pictures of the carnage so far, at least most of it.

I need to polish some metal this weekend!

 

[texaskirbyguy]

So I finally got around to polishing the metal pieces.

I had broken it up into a couple weekends and I wanted to post it all at one time.
Last Sunday I did the top motor housing, rug nozzle, and fan case. I used my typical Kirby polishing recipe, which is Mother’s mag and aluminum polish, apply and buff with a 4” cotton wheel on the cordless drill, wipe off and buff with Viva paper towels, then repeat with a hand application and buffing. Overall it came out very nice; some before and after shots below. Not perfect but good enough for me. The handle was so nice that it only needed a hand polishing. No before or after shots as it looked the same both ways, which is great! I did forget a before of the fan case though...

Now I noticed that the metal is thinner on this model, compared to all the pre-G units I have done. I have also noticed that there appears to be sanding marks in all the aluminum parts, as if at the factory, they did not sand them with fine enough paper long enough or something. A very heavy hand on the buffing wheel got out many of the finer sand marks, but the deeper ones remain. Anyone else notice this? Given the symmetrical pattern, it could not have been done after it was put together. Regardless, it looks very good.
The headlight was in such bad shape it would be done later.

 

[texaskirbyguy]

Today the nasty headlight was done.

It had some serious scratches and gouges, some over 2 mils deep. Gotta love how people force these things under beds and such…

I wet-sanded in the direction of the scratches with 400 grit 3M wet-dry paper, using a tiny amount of dish detergent as a lube. I used a minimal amount of water, just enough to kepe the paper from clogging. After 54 minutes of hand-only sanding, the scratches were gone.

I had jumped to 2000 grit next, as I had lost my 600, 800, and 1000 grit in my messy garage. However, after 30 minutes of going the opposite direction, then going back in the direction of the scratches, I was done. Not bad time-wise considering I had skipped some grits. It came out very nice.

After another 30 minutes of polishing with Mother’s mag and aluminum polish with the 4” cotton wheel on the drill, it looked great. I did a hand polish and called it good enough.

So two hours were spent on this headlight, but it looks like new now. Some before and after shots are below, some in different lighting as surface detail is sometimes hard to see.

Hopefully next weekend I can start the reassembly!

 

[texaskirbyguy]

Last disassembly...

So I had forgot the last bit of disassembly, the rear motor bearing.

The process was slightly different than the older machines because the rear motor shaft is longer to hold the PTO gear to the transmission.
As a result, the bearing has to be pulled the entire length of the motor shaft, a full 15/16".
I had to add longer bolts to my (non-Kirby-approved) bearing puller to start with and replace them with the short ones near the end.
No big deal, but it took 10 minutes instead of the usual 3...

Next the real fun will start - reassembly!