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Author Topic: DC03 Absolute+- Beginnings  (Read 13023 times)

Offline beko1987

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DC03 Absolute+- Beginnings
« on: November 16, 2013, 08:32:14 pm »
This worked its way into my car this morning from a vague facebook ad!





All the tools have the newer logo on apart from the crevice tool



I haven't had a DC03 in ages, and this one is in pretty good condition, and should clean up nicely. It runs well, has ok suction for now. lets give it a whirl

Oh..

Nothings happening on the carpet

Lets turn it over...

Ah









The belt is also nackered as I lifted it clear of the brushroll with 1 finger

snippy snippy



And it works much better now! Not fantastic, but its a good solid base.

Got this out of my mums carpets, so not all bad



It's now sat awaiting attention as the DC08 jumped the queue as I want to sell it.

Sat with its sucessor



And a DC05 Absolute+ I have









So, need to grab some new filters and new belts. Do these need special belts or would 04/07 belts fit?

And another nice addition to the collection.Almost tempted to keep the DC05 too and start an Absolute+ set, but I;m not sure yet.
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline MVacs

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Re: DC03 Absolute+- Beginnings
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2013, 09:16:50 pm »
Clutch belts are the same, yes.

Offline absolutepurplelime

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Re: DC03 Absolute+- Beginnings
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2013, 09:48:12 pm »
Are you doing to keep that 03 beko, I bet it will come up really good. Hope my de Stijl does :)

Offline beko1987

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Re: DC03 Absolute+- Beginnings
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2013, 10:54:53 am »
Yea I plan to keep this one. Need to start collecting Dysons before they become too rare and difficult to find a good one. Got some pictures to upload in a sec, you can see the whole sorry story. Glue will be needed though...
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline beko1987

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Re: DC03 Absolute+- Beginnings
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2013, 01:41:20 pm »
Well, after eventaully getting the DC08 back together, I turned to the DC03. Expecting a nice easy clean up, I was wrong!



Top washable filter was very manky. I did wash it, but I'm looking out for a new one, it didn't come clean enough for my liking, and the non washable bit was minging deep down







The filter housing was nice and clean though. Will give it a light polish before re-assembly









Stripped the wand off





And extracted the hose



Yummy, damp dog



Poked out



Split the hose assembly down some more













Did the ring of sealant come from the factory, or a previous repair? Kept it anyway!



The hose also has a split, if I can find my glue I will attempt to repair it, if not then new hose time!



Ah lovely, more ruddy plaster dust!





Removed the switch, and managed to snap one of the retaining lugs, more glue needed!







Dug the screw out to release the filter top/tool holder





And stripped it down







Top end done, I flipped her over



Much scrapage later and the damp layers of hair were removed. It is cracked in a few places, which should glue up, but the base plate part has worn down a fair bit by the weels so they now don't clip in, so it may need to be replaced.





Much fiddling later, it's all seperated. Makes more sense now I;ve done it how it works!



Clean clutch cover







Looking very odd now



Mint motor removed



Last of the air duct removed





Last but not least was the cyclone



Release valve was choked with dust















And voila, a pile of very dirty parts to wash



Pile of seals to clean and other random fixings



Misc



And the biggest jigsaw puzzle ever is awaiting re-assembly (as is the Turbopower which I still have not done anything with!)

Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline beko1987

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Re: DC03 Absolute+- Beginnings
« Reply #5 on: December 11, 2015, 05:31:46 pm »
Well, this little DC03 is still about. I've never been impressed with the performance with it, although it did work. The lack lusture performance was confirmed with the now-Mvacs DC03 Clear, which worked MUCH better


Even with the top chassis blockage cover fitted properly, it was still bad. I used it upstairs for a bit, then tore it down the other night to see if I could work out the issue



It's switch cover was pinched for the 03 Clear



Tools off



The Upholstry tool annoyed me



The hose was broken too, the clip to hold it onto the wand doesnt work



The wand cap spring is bent too as the cap flops around



Wand release button off



Top cord hook off



Hose released from the bottom







Hose removed from the changeover casette



I split the hose end



and noted that there were no little tiny springs present to enable the wand clip to work (it's never worked, I've never stripped the hose out before). The hose and filter (the filter was a silly idea as per my other thread) went into the washing machine

Hose seals out



Switch housing out





Unplugged



Removed



Top blockage cover removed





Seal out



The spinal cord can come out



Cyclone-Chassis seal off



The little passthrough seal is different on this one than the DC03 Clear, but peels off nicely





Pre motor filter holder comes out now



Filter top/tool holder assembly unscrewed



Little seal removed



Purple base removed, which revealed that the white inner was not positioned correctly



Filter holder seal removed



It looks like there is a seal missing from here too





Filter housing - chassis seal removed



Moving down now, the little clear window is removed from the cleaner head



The base plate comes off now. This doesn't seem to sit correctly at the front though, and I can't work out why that is





Split



Wheels removed



Brushroll out



and split



Wheels off now





The broken clutch cover can be unscrewed now



and removed, along with the soleplate seals



Clutch and bumper removed



The brushroll housing can be removed from the chassis now, and it seems one side of it is broken





The removeable soleplate clip unscrews



I think this is part of the changeover valve, either way it unclips from the back of the cleanerhead



and the changeover valve seal pulls off



Looking barer now



Motor housing off



motor housing side seal lifts off



The tiny motor can be seen now





Motor is spotless



armature not too bad



motor seals and retaining bracket off



The motor suction channel is held in with 2 screws





This releases the post motor filter housing, which just needs a clip squeezing to be removed from the machine



The spinal cable and remains of the sealing grommit can be removed  from the chassis now



The changeover valve seal from the valve to hose is removed from the chassis




The pivot plate for the side of the brushroll housing pulls out of the chassis



I went to remove the cup that the cyclone sits in, and it crumbled away in my hands. It had faded much more than the rest of the machine though, which weakened it muchly





The chassis is empty now!



Cyclone now



Bin and lower cone all stripped



top seal removed



Release clip removed



Cyclone screw removed



and cyclone bits withdrawn



Cone and Shroud split



Bin seal removed



Release valve cover falls out



release valve assembly unscrewed



seal out



Release valve split



all ready for washing



All was washed up, then the washing machine finished, and I learnt why DC03 Pre motor filters are not washable...



bit melted



bit broken







bit messy



Was like an explosion in a cotton wool factory, took fecking ages to vacuum up, and I had to clean the power head out on the Miele afterwards

Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline beko1987

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Re: DC03 Absolute+- Beginnings
« Reply #6 on: December 11, 2015, 06:08:07 pm »
All washed, dried and polished, I put an order in to Mvacs, who had me sorted out within an hour for £a really good price!

So, time for back togetherness. Release valve first









Screwed up



Bin seal refitted



Release valve cover popped in



Cone and shroud meet again





Screwed up



Seal refitted



release clip clipped on



Lower seal on



Upper seal on



And the cyclone is done



The broken RH Pivot point slots in



Lower seal in



Spinal cord fitted



Lower filter cover fitted



Motor suction channel fitted



Motor wired up and fitted



motor housing seal refitted



Changeover valve brushroll housing seal fitted



The broken piece of the brushroll housing glued up very nicely



Random purple thing fitted



Baseplate clip screwed back down



Bumper and brushroll housing fitted fitted



Fitted the clutch



The broken clutch cover was screwed down



brushroll seals fitted



Wheels fitted



Brushroll fitted



Soleplate was reassembled



and fitted



Clear window fitted



Tool holder to chassis seal fitted



Pre filter housing seal fitted



slider assembly reassembled and sealed up (without the missing seal fitted)



sticky seal fitted



tool holder fitted



Pre filter holder fitted



chassis - cyclone seal fitted



blockage cover sealed up



and fitted



Cyclone fitted (minus lower cup)



That was it for Sunday night. It's been waiting for the Hermes man, who knocked on the door this afternoon with a box of goodies! So far, I have swapped the lint strips from the DC04 Absolute+ upholstry tool onto the DC03 Long nexk upholstry tool





and washed up the other bits. Hopefully later tonight, I can finish this off!
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline MVacs

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Re: DC03 Absolute+- Beginnings
« Reply #7 on: December 11, 2015, 07:41:04 pm »
Didn't we send you a clutch cover? You mentioned fitting a broken one.

Offline beko1987

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Re: DC03 Absolute+- Beginnings
« Reply #8 on: December 11, 2015, 07:48:29 pm »
Yep,  just fitted that actually! Eating pizza,  then will crack on!
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline Madrat

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Re: DC03 Absolute+- Beginnings
« Reply #9 on: December 11, 2015, 08:07:25 pm »
I do like the 03 but my god the designer liked the rubber seals  :boggleeye: there seems like hundreds when you strip one

Offline beko1987

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Re: DC03 Absolute+- Beginnings
« Reply #10 on: December 11, 2015, 10:07:03 pm »
It's a very messy design with all the seals isn't it! Especially the changeover valve.

Anyway, I washed up the bits that Mvacs sent me, and finished her off after Dominoes and a few beers



The unbroken clutch cover was fitted



and the brushroll very carefully fitted!



The baseplate just doesnt seem to clip in at the front as well as I think it should. Warped floorhead?



The white part Mvacs sent me didn't have a seal on it either. Looking at the DC03 Clear pictures I dont think it had a seal on it either tbh. I fitted the Mvacs part as it didnt have the little dink in it the other one had



I found a too big seal



cut it to size and it pushed in and held around the perimeter of the white part





A smear of grease helped it all slide home.

I fitted the tools



Fitted the non faded cyclone cup





Sealed up the wand hole







Fitted the changeover valve



Onto the hose now. I found a broken hose end, and one tap with the hammer later liberated it's two speings, and fitted them to the DC03 hose cuff



Hose all clipped together, I wired up and refitted the switch



and fitted the switch cover



Wand back together



I fitted the wand cap spring from the broken DC03 Clear wand, as it wasn't bent. The cap springs as it should again



All done and back together, I gave it a quick test fire, and the suction is back again! And when you block the wand suction off it sounds blocked! The floor head seems to pick up better than it did too, but part of it's problem is it's just so light. Some weight on the floorhead would improve matters no end. It still picked up a fair amount from the rug in 3 passes too.







I'll vacuum the whole house tomorrow and see how it's improved in the real world, but initially, it seems to be fixed!
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

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