Dyson & Sebo Vacuum Cleaner Repair & Advice Forums
Other Vacuum Cleaners & Site Suggestions => Gtech Carpet Sweepers (Vacuum Cleaners) => Topic started by: beko1987 on August 16, 2017, 11:01:46 pm
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At some point in the life of a Gtech Air Ram Mk1, the brushroll will stop spinning, accompanied by a high pitched whining/grinding noise. Fear not, this is a very common issue thanks to a cheap plastic cog being turned by a metal cog. And this thread wil ltell you how to replace it!
YOU WILL NEED:
1 Gtech Air Ram Drive Cog: Drive Cog Shaft Spindle & Bearings For GTECH AirRam DM001 AR01 AR02 (https://shop.manchestervacs.co.uk/drive-cog-shaft-spindle-gtech-airram-dm001-ar01-ar02)
A cross head screwdriver.
A T10 Torx screwdriver: T10 Torx Star Screwdriver. (https://shop.manchestervacs.co.uk/dyson-upright-vacuum-cleaner-spares/dc50-spare-parts/t10-torx-star-screwdriver)
A cold beer for afterwards :thumbsup:
Optional, but handy are:
A dry brush/paintbrush/your wife's best pastry brush
A Damp cloth
Spray Grease/3 in 1 Oil
A stanley/craft knife/scissors.
HOW TO.
Locate your disgraced Gtech Air Ram
[attachimg=1]
Gather your tools
[attachimg=2]
Wait for the well packaged and speedily delivered envelope from Manchester
[attachimg=3]
Which will have the cog inside (and other stuff if you ordered enough to take advantage of the free shipping!)
[attachimg=4]
Observe it's newness and jagged edges
[attachimg=5]
Remove the dirt bin lid
[attachimg=6]
Lift out the dirt bin
[attachimg=7]
Turn the machine over
[attachimg=8]
And undo the cross head screws holding the end caps on
[attachimg=9]
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The long screw goes at the rear (it also screws the brushroll housing down) and the short one at the front.
[attachimg=1]
Remove the end caps. The lift slightly then pull off
[attachimg=2]
The brass bush may stay on the roller
[attachimg=3]
Pull it off and pop it back in the end cap
[attachimg=4]
OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED - Clean the end caps of hair/melted hair as applicable
[attachimg=5]
Next, pull the brushrolls out of the machine
[attachimg=6]
OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED - Clean the hair off, use the knife to cut along the brushroll then pull the hair off
[attachimg=7]
[attachimg=8]
Next, remove the 4 screws that surround the little motor fan window, and the one at the front centre by my finger
[attachimg=9]
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Brushroll serviced, turn the machine back over (still reclined) and remove these two screws at the front
[attachimg=1]
Then, lift the entire motor unit up and out of the machine as so
[attachimg=2]
Back underneath, undo the 2 edge screws (not the middle ones as shown, I realized they don't need to come undone!)
[attachimg=3]
Lift the front part off
[attachimg=4]
We now have this
[attachimg=5]
Undo both screws on the rear of the motor unit. The top one is the long one
[attachimg=6]
Lift the suction ducting off
[attachimg=7]
Then undo the 2 screws at the front of the black cover
[attachimg=8]
And lift that off. Lift from the back of the machine, it latches into the cog housing at the front. It takes a bit of persuasion
[attachimg=9]
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You should now see this or similar
[attachimg=1]
However, because I refurbished this machine prior to taking the photo's for this guide, I can show you it like this!
[attachimg=2]
Take your brush and clean it all off so you can see the 5 screws (4 on the face, 1 on the side) Remove these screws, and seperate the cog housing
[attachimg=3]
This is your issue!
[attachimg=4]
Although again, you will probably be greeted by this
[attachimg=5]
Either way, Lift up the metal drive cog and pull the ruined plastic cog out
[attachimg=6]
You can see the difference between the old and new
[attachimg=7]
[attachimg=8]
Clean all the insides of the cog housing up with the damp cloth and brush. Then, take your new cog and place it in
[attachimg=9]
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Replace the drive cog over the plastic one
[attachimg=1]
Pop a small nugget of lubricant on if you wish, although it will attract the dust more, so maybe don't.
Place the cover back on, making sure to pop the black wire into it's little slot
[attachimg=2]
Then do up the screws! At this point, feel free to drop the assembly into the machine (the contacts sit below the housing) and turn it on to check operation)
[attachimg=3]
Job done, pop it back out and fit the black outer cover, remembering to insert the thin end into it's groove first before snapping the back part down
[attachimg=4]
Refit the suction duct and pop the 2 screws back in (long one at the top/into the black part!)
[attachimg=5]
Locate the cog end into the brushroll housing front
[attachimg=6]
Then re-fit the front plate, long screw in the middle and 2 shorter ones at the outer edges
[attachimg=7]
Refit the motor unit into the machine one last time, and pop the 2 front screws in
[attachimg=8]
Flip it over and put the 4 bottom screws in
[attachimg=9]
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Back over again, and insert the brushrolls, then fit the end caps. The end caps only go on one way, as you can see the lugs are different sizes
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
Pop the dirt bin back
[attachimg=3]
Refit the cover
[attachimg=4]
Then take it for a test drive.
Once it works, bask in your magnificence and pour yourself a well deserved cold drink! I have ale here, but I'm not a sexist chap, so a nice glass of Wine would do the job just as well!
[attachimg=5]
Congratulations, you have just fixed your Gtech Air Ram. Another servicing tip I have is the 2 filters go very nicely through the washing machine on a normal cycle and come out spotless! Just make sure they are thoroughly dry before using them!
I hope you found this helpful, please comment if you have any issues or questions!
Bye for now!
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Excellent as always.
So compared to a dyson handheld how do these perform?
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:bow:
Sam, you should get paid each time someone uses one of your pictorials.
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Stuart should structure the forums like YouTube, 1p per page view! Some of my how to guides have thousand of views!
But I don't do it for the money! Enough perks come my way with parts and favors!
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Excellent as always.
So compared to a dyson handheld how do these perform?
In my experience - absolute rubbish especially on hard floors but that's my personal opinion! Loves flinging dirt around the room and dumping half of what it's "picked up" on the floor when you turn it off. I read somewhere they have 4 air watts of suction so just an expensive carpet sweeper really. I do clean the filters regularly, and I stripped it down for a clean the other month, still exactly the same.
I tested out a V8 with the floor tool and fluffy roller thing the other day and it's hugely better on both carpet and hard floors.
I am using one until I can get a V6 (or V8) so thank yo u for the hugely helpful guide! I'm also going to use the washing machine trick on the filters as they're quite tiresome to get fully clean.
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I've never used a cordless dyson apart from a dc16, so can't comment too much, but tbh I found the air ram not too bad! OK it had been fully refurbished, and had spotless freshly washed filters but it did a grand job.
Just a shame they seem to unreliable and badly built!
I have the full refurb thread to write up still, it shows what a shocking state the machine got itself into!
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Horses for courses then, best off trying one out if you can really and see what suits you/your floors.. Looking forward to the refurb thread, mine could use a bit of a tidy although it's definitely working as it should.
One thing in its favour is it was bought new when they first came out and takes quite a beating on a regular basis (been used as a "daily" cleaner the whole time) and still works perfectly. The clip holding the filter cover on always breaks but mine has never had the cog issue yet.
Will probably sell it and buy a V6 afterwards, I just can't get on with it at all.
and im not impressed with the handheld one either, Im sure the DC35 I had had better suction.The bin is too easy to knock off too and some of the tools are falling apart.
Both MK1s so I can't comment on any of the new models
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I've only used the above for <5 minutes, and did quite like it, but I'm not going to start bleating on about how great they are! I've added wanting one to my radar, but my radar has a £20 limit, so that could take a while!
We do have need for a cordless though, with 2 children Amy is forever pushing the Rowenta cordless I got from the car boot for £5 around to get the bits up, but it's not great (although needs a refurb itself the poor thing). One day I'll upgrade it!
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Sure I've seen some fixer upper DC16s for that sort of money and if they're anything like the 35s that'd be a great bet. The V8 certainly is worlds away from the Gtech on hard floors. Problem is the fluffy brush is about £60 on its own hence I'm scouring eBay for a "cheap" V6 Total clean!
Yes we have a messy dog. Just bought a £20 DC33 in good working order for tough stuff but the cordless one is essential.
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A most superlative guide, as ever. :bow:
As a reminder: People who imagine their Gtech is still under warranty may find themselves doing this job if Gtech refuses to honour the warranty. Gtech refusing to honour warranty is a known problem as readers can learn from this topic: >>Beware: Gtech Refusing to Honour Their Warranty/Guarantee<< (https://manchestervacs.co.uk/DysonForum/index.php?topic=3068.0).
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Hi, I stripped my G tech down and replaced the cog. Started first time and the horrible noise has gone, but it’s turning itself off after a few seconds. It will switch back on but does the same thing again and again. Battery is fully charged. Don’t know if there was anorivlen before I replaced the cog because I only just bought it second hand. Any ideas? Is it likely I've trapped a wire or something when putting it back together? Or does it sound like a battery issue?
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Check the brushrolls are back correctly, it sounds like it's encountering resistance, and cutting off to be safe. Remove the brushrolls and see if it runs any better. Is it fairly easy to spin by hand? There will be motor resistance, but it should turn fairly easily.
Otherwise it could be the battery, but short of the expense of buying another just to see there isn't much you can do there.
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Yes the brush rollers are moving easily by hand. I’ll borrow my friend’s Gtech and try her battery. Jeeze, if it’s the battery I’ve been well and truly had off with this!
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Yep, always a risk! That's why we don't like them very much, very fiddly when they go wrong, and parts are still quite expensive for them!
Good luck though, keep us posted!
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Battery works fine in friend’s machine! And when I put her battery into this machine, the problem still occurs. It’s intermittent though, sometimes it works fine. Wondering if it’s a switch problem? Or something to do with the way I’ve put it back together!
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If your feeling brave and bribe your friend, drop your motor into her chassis... It won't need to be screwed in, literally just unscrew both and drop the whole motor unit into her known good machine
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Has anyone seen the drive cog look this worn?
https://ibb.co/ciJgXA
https://ibb.co/c80ZkV
don't see anyone selling these and don't see how this can work normally unless a tight fit etc.
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Can you tell me where the part circled in red goes. I have two of them and for the life of me I can’t remember where they went
Thanks in advance
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Hi,
I have had the dreaded cog issue and replaced it with another nylon one, it ran fine for 5 mins and then the problem returned.
I had greased it and there doesn't appear to be any end float on the bearings/ roller brushes etc, the plastic ends where the bush sits are not worn and all parts move freely. I have seen replacement shafts available with a metal cog, so what's the general opinion on these?
Surely the reason for plastic is that its sacrificial, so should anything jam up then the motor/ other parts aren't damaged.
So, should I look for a fault somewhere else or just push ahead and buy the metal gear?
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The ones we sell are metal. I didnt know anyone still did the nylon one for the reasons you describe.
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That's odd. I just looked on your website and the photo shows a nylon gear?
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That's odd. I just looked on your website and the photo shows a nylon gear?
Its an old photo. The ones supplied have been metal for a year or two.