Part where belt attaches to is missing

SOURCE: Replacing Belt

On the front of the power head is a knob with the KIRBY name on it. Rotate this knob in a counter clockwise direction and it will "lift" the belt off the motor spindle. Release the head lever, only one direction it will turn and remove the head. Turn the head over on its back, turn the KIRBY knob to release the old belt. Remove the brush guard by turning the two release fixtures. Remove the guard. Pry the brush out of the head. Remove the old belt. While the brush is out remove any build up of hair and lint off the ends that's where the bearings are. put a few drops of 3 in One oil on the ends. Put the new belt over the brush and re-install the brush into the head. the brush will go in only one way. With your finger pull the belt into the housing and rotate the KIRBY knob until the pawl inside grabs the belt. Re-install the brush guard by engaging the two metal pieces into the front of the head and pull down backwards over the head and rotate the holding clips back horizontal. re-install the powerhead on the machine, lock it in place and rotate the KIRBY knob clockwise. You should be all set!

SOURCE: eureka model 4870 belt replacement

- NO WAY AROUND THE END OF THE DRIVE SHAFT TO REMOVE DAMAGED BELT.

• Following the belt replacement instructions in the manual, I removed the three screws, took off the base plate and removed the brush roll, slipping it out of the belt.
• Up and somewhat inside the plastic housing I could see the other end of belt going around the drive shaft.
• But the shaft had no gap around its end to allow removal or replacement of belts. It extended from the motor completely across the space and against the plastic housing.
• Yikes.
• I dismantled the housing until the end of the shaft was accessible and found that the problem wasn't the shaft moving out of position.
• The problem was that the bushing mounted on the end of the shaft for the belt to ride on had slipped over.
• Ah HAH.
• I applied some LokTite green threadlocking adhesive (though neither the shaft nor the bushing are threaded) to the shaft, slipped the bushing all the way onto it and put it all aside to set up.
• Finally I reassembled the machine with a new belt in place, plugged it in, crossed my fingers and hit the power switch.
• It worked like new! FIXT! And I had only one screw left over. It was a small one too, so I doubt if it was important...heh.

SOURCE: Self-propel switch arm broke off where control

Greetings from GoVacuum,

This is a farily common repair on this model. What ends up happening is that when someone picks up the vacuum cleaner by the handle of the machine, which on this model also is the controller for the self-propelled transmission, it places too much strain on the actuator arm of the vacuum cleaner.

You can do the best to try and not pick up the machine by the handle, but instead using the carrying handle on the back of the vacuum cleaner, this is distribute the weight much better, and even make the machine seem less heavy, and this will also prevent the actuator arm from breaking again in the future.

Now for fixing your vacuum, Please click the link below for an excellent tutorial on how to replace this part;

How To Replace The Actuator Arm On a Self-Propelled Hoover Windtunnel Upright Vacuum


We have also put together a very helpful video for your vacuum cleaner on how to replace the belts. The belts on this model are also a frequent issue we see with these self-propelled Winddtunnels. In fact, for best results you should change the belts once a year, even if they are not broken, because they do heat up and stretch to a point where they don't work as well as a new belt would. The video also explains how you can maintain the roller brush will help you get the longest life possible out of your belts.

Video Repair on How To Replace The Belts Hoover Windtunnel Self-Propelled;



I hope that this information was helpful to you in repairing your Hoover. If you did find this helpful, may you please rate the repair by clicking the the Thumbs Up Icons in the top right hand corner of this repair to help me start out here on Fixya? I really do appreciate it, thank you so much!

Feel free to request a repair clarification if you have any questions or concerns you'd like to address.

Chris J.
GoVacuum