The World's #1 Vacuum Cleaner Advice, Repair, Discussion & Information Forum

Author Topic: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb  (Read 30726 times)

Offline beko1987

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« on: November 03, 2016, 10:09:09 pm »
Hello! Sorry I've been a bit quiet, life has been up, down and busy lately, and I've been tinkering in the background, but haven't honestly had time to write any rebuild threads!

Until tonight, and I thought I would start with the Vax Mach Air. I bought this for £5 from facebook, and initially things weren't great with it


But a quick unblock of the filter had it fighting fit


Much better! Let's have it apart

ila_rendered

The wand/handle comes off first

ila_rendered

This orange end cap pops off

ila_rendered

and the adjuster mechanism started off well

ila_rendered

but it quickly became apparent that it wasn't coming apart, so I left it be.

ila_rendered

The other small part of the wand comes off, and that's about it!

Cyclone off

ila_rendered

Cord off

ila_rendered

To remove the hose, 2 screws need to be removed from here

ila_rendered

and this screw here to release the hose at the bottom

ila_rendered

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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2016, 10:14:04 pm »
The end of the hose pops off, and the seal comes off too

ila_rendered

Switches now, there are 2 screws on the front

ila_rendered

Next (as I found out, those screws aren't the only ones, so you could do this first) pop out the switch covers and remove them and the springs

ila_rendered

And the 3rd screw reveals itself

ila_rendered

Some gentle levering releases a small catch and the housing separates

ila_rendered

At this stage I removed the handle lock (it was easier to take a photo of it like this!)

ila_rendered

and the spring bit

ila_rendered

The switch housing lifts off now

ila_rendered

Revealing the main power and brushroll switch

ila_rendered

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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2016, 10:18:00 pm »
The switches lift out now

ila_rendered

and unplug

ila_rendered

Had to chop this crimp off to get the wires out

ila_rendered

and the mains cable is gone

ila_rendered

The spinal cord can be pulled out now

ila_rendered

This tool holder can be unscrewed if you like

ila_rendered

ila_rendered

2 screws sit at the base of the spine

ila_rendered

and the spine lifts off

ila_rendered
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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #3 on: November 03, 2016, 10:28:43 pm »
This is easier to photograph now!

ila_rendered

Time to lie down

ila_rendered

Now someone explained to me on a comment how to split the machine, so thank you MadAboutHoovers from the first youtube video, I took heed!

Pop the centre caps off the wheels, and the wheels fall off

ila_rendered

ila_rendered

But, some of the screws were hidden, so a different approach is needed.

Back to the top, brushroll cover off

ila_rendered

The orange PCB cover unscrews next

ila_rendered

and removed the little LED lens

ila_rendered

This is the PCB inside the brushroll housing

ila_rendered

Next, time to go back underneath to remove the screws holding the middle housing in place. You will see most of the screws here

ila_rendered

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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #4 on: November 03, 2016, 10:37:24 pm »
there is a screw either side here behind the wheels

ila_rendered

and one hiding under the ratings sticker

ila_rendered

With all that undone, turn the machine back over, we need to look at wires

This is the main power feed to the PCB, remove the cable clamp

ila_rendered

and undo the terminals to remove the wires

ila_rendered

Remove the power wires to the brushroll motor from the other side

ila_rendered

There's a date of 09/09-2010 on the PCB, my 23nd birthday!

With the wires removed, and the screws removed, the housing can lift off the lower chassis

ila_rendered

With the middle layer removed, the pivot screws become visible now



and within one side of the pivot point is the brushroll motor micro switch

ila_rendered

With the microswitch and reset switch removed the PCB lifts out now

ila_rendered
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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #5 on: November 03, 2016, 10:45:11 pm »
The suction channels are formed with both sides of the housing, and it runs around the edges.

ila_rendered

The 2 halves can be removed from each other now

ila_rendered

Brushroll motor out now

ila_rendered

The supporting bracket unscrews

ila_rendered

Motor data

ila_rendered

Brushroll out

ila_rendered

End caps off

ila_rendered

and clean up the brushroll

ila_rendered

The 2 clips that hold the see through cover on snap off

ila_rendered
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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #6 on: November 03, 2016, 10:48:52 pm »
The front wheels pop out

ila_rendered

The hose inlet for the floor suction is an adapter that screws on

ila_rendered

ila_rendered

This metal bracket locks the machine upright, and provides enough resistance to keep it there

ila_rendered

Onto the motor now

ila_rendered

Post motor filter and cover off

ila_rendered

The lower hose guide ring has another screw, which is on the top of the motor housing

ila_rendered

ila_rendered

and some screws later

ila_rendered
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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #7 on: November 03, 2016, 10:56:51 pm »
There is a diffuser that sits on top of the motor, and the 2 rubbers that locate the motor into the housing are also seen

ila_rendered

3 more sodding crimps to remove

ila_rendered

ila_rendered

This allows the motor to be removed

The foam sound deadening pulls off the motor

ila_rendered

Motor data

ila_rendered

Within the motor housing, the fancase seal can be removed

ila_rendered

The thermal cutout sits behind the motor



ila_rendered

The spinal cord comes in from the top via a clamp

ila_rendered


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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #8 on: November 03, 2016, 11:02:39 pm »
and a second small cable goes out of the motor housing, around the back of the housing and through the pivot point onwards to the PCB

ila_rendered

The suction channels awkwardly screws onto the back of the motor housing

ila_rendered

this highlights the cheap spray finish applied to this machine, which explains why it looks so shit when it scratches up

ila_rendered

Getting there now, time for the cyclone!



With the lid off, we see 2 screws

ila_rendered

Which releases the handle and release button with its spring

ila_rendered

The release valve clips on from underneath

ila_rendered

Onto the other end, at the end of the cyclone 'cone' is a rubber seal

ila_rendered

The cyclone to bin seal slips off the top

ila_rendered

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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #9 on: November 03, 2016, 11:07:13 pm »
To split the cyclone further we have to remove lots of screws

ila_rendered

which reveals the top of the cones

ila_rendered

The cyclone seal is built into the top

ila_rendered

To separate the cone and shroud, this locking ring needs to be rotated

ila_rendered

The shroud just lifts off

ila_rendered

ila_rendered

The cone can be removed from the top part by these blurry screws

ila_rendered

ila_rendered

ila_rendered
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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #10 on: November 03, 2016, 11:11:06 pm »
The bin flap pops off it's pivot points

ila_rendered

and the bin flap seal pulls off

ila_rendered

The release latch pops off

ila_rendered

and it's finally apart!

ila_rendered

Vax do like their screws



and after a day or two it was all washed, dried and polished

ila_rendered

ila_rendered

and in reverse order, it's time to re-assemble it! Bin latch on

ila_rendered

ila_rendered
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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #11 on: November 03, 2016, 11:14:53 pm »
The bin flap seal is fitted

ila_rendered

and the flap itself is popped on

ila_rendered

Cone/shroud now

ila_rendered

ila_rendered

The cone top and cone bottom are keyed, and there is a tab to line up

ila_rendered

Fit the screws

ila_rendered

Lower the shroud onto the cone

ila_rendered

ila_rendered

and fit the locking ring

ila_rendered
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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #12 on: November 03, 2016, 11:18:34 pm »
Fit the top seal

ila_rendered

and do up all the screws. The very top part is keyed the same as the middle part, where the center screw goes.

ila_rendered

Fit the tip top seal

ila_rendered

Fit the bin to the cyclone

ila_rendered

Refit the release valve

ila_rendered

Assemble the cyclone handle

ila_rendered

and fit it



Moving on, fit the suction channel spider bit to the motor housing

ila_rendered

ila_rendered
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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #13 on: November 03, 2016, 11:26:48 pm »
Fit both halves of the spinal wire. This caught me out, the wires are a different thickness, so will only fit one way. Strip the ends cut earlier in readiness for new crimps

ila_rendered

Lay the motor down next to it

ila_rendered

Find your crimps

ila_rendered

fit the thermal cutout and crimp all the wires back together

ila_rendered

Fit the motor foams and rubber locating pegs, and fit the motor to the housing

ila_rendered

and screw the 2 halves together

ila_rendered

fit the post filter

ila_rendered

Add that to the done pile

ila_rendered

Onto the brushroll part now. Fit the metal bracket

ila_rendered
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

  • Member
  • Posts: 5044
  • Country: gb
  • Gender: Male
  • Let's take it apart!
    • My blog
Re: Vax Mach Air U91 Stripdown and Refurb
« Reply #14 on: November 03, 2016, 11:31:17 pm »
Fit the hose inlet

ila_rendered

then the front wheels

ila_rendered

then the brushroll cover catches

ila_rendered

Pop the end caps on the brushroll, slip the belt on and fit it all to the housing

ila_rendered

Fit the brushroll motor

ila_rendered

Lower the motor housing onto the brushroll housing

ila_rendered

and with 3 hands, fit the micro switch, and reset switch with it's cover (it all just about stays still if you're careful)

ila_rendered

But with the pivot covers fitted holds itself. Don't forget to feed the cable through the LH one.

ila_rendered

Fit the top housing on now, feeding all the wires through

ila_rendered
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!

 

 

Trade Dyson Spare Parts

 

 

Dyson Spare Parts

 

 

Freestanding Dyson Cordless Vacuum Stand

 

 

Buy a Dyson DC04 Wand Handle

 

 

 

 

Buy a police truncheon

 

 

Instagram

Dyson Spares, Parts, Advice   Follow us on Twitter

Manchester Vacs on Instagram