Eureka 3041BZ Upright Vacuum

How to Identify and Fix Common Vacuum Problems ?

Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced Vacuum Technicians :

Inspect the belt to see if it is broken, stretched out, or out of place. If the drive belt is broken or stretched out, replace it. If the brushroll is sticking, it will cause too much friction and put too much strain on the belt. Remove the brushroll and clean all hair, string, and lint from the brushroll bearings.
Often, a belt breaks because the machine is running over the edge of a rug or other thick items, perhaps even the vacuum cord. This causes “snagging.” When this happens, the belt becomes stuck and usually overheats. Unfortunately, this results in immediate breakage.
From the top side of the motorized nozzle, grasp the hood near the handle socket and lift the hood forward to remove. Lift the brush roll from the pulley end of the base to remove the worn belt from the brush roll. Replace the new belt around the brush roll pulley and return the brush roll into the base.
Broken or jammed wheels will make it hard to push the vacuum. Check for any hair or debris in or around the wheel that may be preventing rotation. Clean the wheel and the hinge and check for improvement.
Check for a plugged hose:

Plugged vacuum hoses are sometimes the reason for a loss in suction. Hoses can get clogged with hair, dust bunnies, string, or anything else that can`t pass through the other end of the hose. Airways inside the machine should be looked at as well. Wherever there is an air passage, check it.

Most cases of a jammed or stuck brush bar are quick and easy to fix, simply pulling the debris gently from the brush bar. Alternatively, if you need to clear a problematic blockage, you can take the brush bar out of the housing easily, for quick maintenance.
The most common problem with a vacuum cleaner is also the easiest to remedy: clogs in the hose or attachments. Also the electrical cord, motor, switch, fan, brushes, and motor bearings can all need repair or replacement. The drive belt may need replacing; and the attachments, hoses, and filters may need unclogging.
Before you spend your time trying to go back over the same areas, hoping you`ll get it all cleaned up the second time around, check out your brush roll and belt. If you`ve cleaned your brush of any sticky stuff and hair, and it all looks fine, you`re likely dealing with a stretched belt.
If a belt is not tensioned properly, it will ride too loose or too tight on the pulley. A belt that`s too loose on a pulley will cause slippage, which leads to heat build up from friction. This heat will damage your rubber belts and cause the belts to crack and break.
Misalignment is one of the main causes of timing belt drive failure. Excessive or uneven tooth wear, belt tracking and tensile failure can all be attributed to misalignment. By checking and aligning your shafts and timing pulleys you can increase the life of your timing belts and save yourself lots of downtime.
Next to the motor, the belt on your vacuum is just about the most important part of your vacuum. Without the belt to spin the brushroll, most vacuums won`t pick up on carpeting at all! If your vacuum uses a rubber belt, check it once a month for cracks, melting, and especially, slippage.
Vacuum cleaners are fairly simple machines. They need power to be transmitted to the vacuum to create a suction force that lifts debris. So, the usual areas that cause suction loss include the wrong height setting, stuck rollers, a faulty gasket, a broken vacuum belt, a filled bag, or a clogged hose.
However, as most vacuum belts are made of standard rubber, over a few months of use the belt will age and stretch. This can cause the vacuum belt to slip on the drive shaft which results in your vacuums brush roller turning slower or not at all, which reduces agitation and in turn your vacuum`s overall cleaning power.
One of the easiest ways to increase vacuum cleaner suction is to empty the dust bag or container. Dust containers need to have enough space for airflow, otherwise, they could get clogged and have less suction power. Regularly check your dust compartment and empty or change it when it`s already 70-80% full.
Push harder than you pull.

Many people naturally exert more force when they`re pulling their vacuums back than when they`re pushing them forward, but this can leave dirt on the floor. Vacuums are designed to be pushed forward at a rate of about 12 inches per second and pulled back at a rate of 6 inches per second.

Low suction or poor pick-up may be due to a clog in the vacuum cleaner. If you notice a change in the sound of the motor or a reduction in the spinning action, check for clogs. First, remove the Easy Empty dirt tank from the vacuum and discard all dirt and debris.
If your vacuum cleaner has lost suction power, it`s time to empty the container. Vacuum cleaners come with various foam or mesh filters. These might get clogged over time if not cleaned or replaced properly. This will cause your vacuum to lose suction.
Inspecting the Vacuum Commutator for Motor Brush Problems

Test that by turning the motor off and pushing on the center shaft, the armature. If it has any play, besides spinning, then replace the motor. If solid then replace the brushes – motor brush replacement instructions.

Brush Head Bearings Are Clogged or Have Failed

These are symptoms of bad or dirty bearings. You should remove the brush roll or rolls from the vacuum. Check to see that the bearings at the end of the brush roll allow it to spin freely. Make sure that there is no hair trapped in the bearings.

Floor Selector Switch is Disengaged: Most Sharks have a switch that can select either hard flooring or carpet. With hard flooring selected, the machine will turn off the brush roll.
If the roller brush is not spinning, it cannot pick up dust. One reason could be that the power button is not set to position II, which runs the roller brush. If the button does not work, here is the link to the power button replacement guide. Another reason is that the roller brush could be broken.
Founded in 1909 in Detroit, Michigan Eureka vacuums have been in American`s homes for more than a century. Now we`re building on that experience with innovative cleaning technology to help you clean for years to come.
The roller brush makes it possible to get dirt out of carpets. The roller brush is the combination of a belt, a roller, and sometimes a small vacuum head motor. The roller spins, and the bristles attached to it sweep up debris that then gets sucked into the dirt container of the vacuum.
Cleaning your vacuum cleaner head

Simply turn your vacuum head over, place the hook under anything that`s caught up and pull, making sure to follow the line of bristles. Once cut, you should be able to easily pull the hair away from the brush.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

Bearing on end of brush froze causing belt to break. I need to replace the brush and belt. Are there other belts in/on this model?
ANSWER : Hi there.

there is a belt in the unit.
the owners manual here will give a good guide on how to replace the unit.

the maintenance schedule here will help you with the filters and a good guideline on what to do on a regular basis for this machine.

Good luck

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I’m using (or WAS using) a Eureka ”the boss” model 8803. The belt broke, no biggie, so I replaced it with a Eureka model U belt, the problem is when I put the new belt on and turn on the vaccuum, the belt breaks again. I am also having trouble getting the brush roller to fit right when the belt is in place. I can’t find any sharp edges that would cut the belt,nor can I find where any small bits may have broken. Anyone have a solution for me?
ANSWER : First, make sure you have the right belt, second, i am thinking that you are not lineing the roller up right, it will only fit one way. look at the ends of the roller and the grooves where it slides in, you should be able to see clearly how it goes.

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Hoover Wind Tunnel 7500 Brush not Turning. I have replaced the Brush and the belt. The problem does not seem to be either to me. I believe might be a missing part. The place were the belt hooks on is a metal pole which never seems to grip the belt well. In fact it seems loose most of the time and slips on the brush, causing the belt to eventually burn up. Could there be a missing plastic or rubber piece meant to hold the belt taught  on the metal pole?
ANSWER : Check the Idler Pulley part Number 43241004 (Item 13 in the IPB)

http://64.49.205.183/v/u6451900.pdf

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We have a Hoover upright vacuum cleaner, model Core 7. There is a switch that turns on and off the brush drive. This operates via a cam with a bearing putting pressure on the final drive belt to engage the brush head.

My brush head is not turning and with the lever set to engage the drive there is still considerable slack in the final drive belt.

There appears to be only a bearing deflecting the belt, should there be a pully or other device mounted on this bearing? There is so much slack a

ANSWER : Yes, there should have been a white plastic sprocket on top of the bearing – in its channel the belt would sit. Unfortunately no parts are available for this unit that can be bought retail – only available by order to dealer repair shops....
Unfortunately to fix it you must send it to one and that would be more expensive than a new one. Just junk this chinese POS and buy another chinese POS.

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Kenmore Canister Vac, Progressive, 25512 255513 model. Brush won’t turn. One end of the brush roller, end closest to belt, is off center which is keeping it from turning freely. The end cap is like a square. Other ends turns fine. Do these end caps come off? If so how? Can’t get it to budge. This is exactly what is keep brush roller from turning.
ANSWER : Take a flat head screw driver and pry the end cap off. It will come off. You might have some string or hair around it causing it to not turn.

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Hoover WindTunnel Self-Propelled V Belt
ANSWER : I had this same problem with the V belt on my Hoover Vaccuum..
.There are three (3) basic things that will cause the brush roll not to spin..
.1. When handle is upright, brush roll is OFF..2. When switch is set for HARD surface, brush roll is OFF..3. Broken/worn FLAT belt or V Belt, brush roll will not spin.
.
.I noticed that the brush roll was not spinning when my vacuum was set for CARPET. After removing the cover I noticed that the V belt was loose, I thought the belt was worn so I purchased a correct replacement belt and installed it, but the new belt was also loose and when I turned the large flat belt pulley it did not turn the V belt pulley at the same time..
.I double checked the surface setting and I had the vacuum switch set for carpet, but still when I released the handle out of the upright position the brush roll would still not spin..
.My aggravation finally led me to this posting on FixYa’s website..
.The first thing I did was checked the screw to the left of the V belt as suggested by ejmjr5 and this did nothing to solve the problem or create more tension on the V belt, even when the upright handle was not in the upright position..
.After playing around with the surface setting control switch/nob I notice that when I moved the switch out of the HARD surface setting and over to CARPET, I had thought that the switch was set for CARPET as it visually appeared, but I was not pushing the switch over hard enough to click it into the CARPET setting mode..
.VOILA, the brush roll now spins correctly even though the V belt seams to be too loose for the pulley..
.You really have to force the switch into the CARPET setting. Be sure that you hear the switch/nob click into place..
.Now you can effectively clean up after that hangover of a party!.
.Burp!

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My older Dyson DC14 (the purple one) early model with a clutch on the beater bar belt needs a clutch replacement. The bar has been cleaned and there are no worn or damaged parts so I conclude that the clutch at the motor end of the belt needs to be replaced. I can find the part online but no instructions on how to disassemble the vacuum to get to and replace it. Dysons only advice is to give me the address and phone of the nearest service center. Can you help me?
ANSWER : Have a look at www.dysonmedic.com which has some very useful info on dismantling and repairing Dysons.
.
.Although this site doesnt actually cover the DC14 yet, the DC14 is very similar to the DC07 so as regards dissassembling the machine, and replacing the clutch, my experience is that the DC07 info will enable you to do the job.

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Hi my proheat bissell 7901 stopped pumping water to the floor, but it pumps water from the hand hose. I read the manual and followed how to check belt and the flat belt on right side of shampooer is fine and I turned on and it turns and so do the brushes at the bottom of the machine. I was reading online and I guess there’s two belts on this machine? where can I find the other belt to see if it needs replacing. I guess it’s a ribbed belt? that is the water pump belt?
ANSWER : Just taken ours apart with the same problem… found it was caused by the 2 halves of the main casing coming apart in the area where the upright pedal release is. I found this to be due to the upper casing having broken in 2 places – the bottom of the screw wells..This means that the water tank cannot exert sufficient pressure on the valve to release the water..Only solution is a new top cover assembly

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