How to change belt of riccar vacuum rsl3 - Riccar 8955 Upright Vacuum

SOURCE: Riccar 8800 belt replaced but now floor brush won't spin

Are you sure that you get the right sized belt? This is the correct one you need:

Riccar 8800 Belt

SOURCE: Riccar 8000 Series Brush Won't Engage

Greetings from GoVacuum,

It sounds like you have a bad part called the Clutch Rubber Pad Holder Assembly on the inside of your roller brush. I believe that the problem you are having is that the roller brush does not spin, but the belt is properly installed and engaged, correct? This can only be something inside the clutch mechanism in the roller brush itself has gone bad. The easiest way to fix this is to purchase a new roller brush assembly, which can be purchased here; Riccar 8000 Series Roller Brush With Rug/Floor Switch. I realize that this is a rather expensive part at $43.00, but it may be worth it for you to avoid the aggravation of having to take apart the roller brush piece by piece. To test out this part, and verify that it has gone bad what you need to do is turn the vacuum upside down and remove the bottom plate. Then make sure the vacuum is in the Carpet setting on the Rug / Floor switch on the top of the vacuum. Now while the bottom plate is off, turn the vacuum cleaner on. Can you see the belt spinning on the brush? Is the brush roll itself not spinning? If the belt is spinning on the pulley, but the brush itself is not spinning, this indicates that it's bad.

If you decide that you'd rather just replace the rubber gasket inside of the roller brush, here's a detailed repair solution for you on how to replace this part;

Step 1: Remove the roller brush from the vacuum cleaner completely. If you need help with this step, please see my repair solution for the belt change on your model here; http://www.fixya.com/support/t4184186-replace_belt_riccar

Step 2: Once the roller brush has been removed, turn the brush on it's side, so the metal end that has 2 teeth protruding out is on top, and the end that has the rubber cap is downwards. Use a flat head screw driver to remove the clip on that outside of the brush;



Step 3: Remove the clip on the outside of the brush with a screw driver, then remove the metal end cap from the brush. The entire roller brush is spring loaded, so you'll need to apply some downward force to these parts so they don't just shoot off. It's really the easiest if you lay out the pieces to the roller brush in the order that they were taken off, to make it easier when you are reinstalling these pieces. After removing the metal cap at the end, this is what you should see:


Step 4: There is a small plastic washer underneath of the metal cap. Remove the washer, and the plastic part underneath of the washer that has two teeth protruding outwards. This is how the brush should look after this step;




Step 5: After removing the plastic part with the teeth, the next part of the brush is the metal part which is called the Inside Metal Cam. The Inside metal cam is the part that the actuator arm for the rug / floor switch connects into. Remove the Inside Metal Cam from the brush. This is how it should look after this step;



Step 6: The next part underneath of the Inside Metal Cam is called the Agitator Pulley Clutch. This is the part that the belt rides on. Remove the Agitator Pulley Clutch from the roller brush. This is how it should look after the Agitator Pulley Clutch has been removed;



Step 7: The next part that needs to be removed is called the Agitator Compression Spring which is used to spring load the entire roller brush. Simply slide this spring off the Agitator Shaft, and this is how it should look;




Step 8: After the Agitator Compression Spring has been removed, turn the roller brush on the side, and remove the Agitator Shaft from the roller brush. This is done by simply pulling the other side of the brush end which is covered by a rubber boot. This will remove the long metal shaft which is sticking up. This is how it pulls out;



After the shaft has been removed, the other end of the brush should look like this;



Step 9: The next part that needs to be removed is probably the part that's worn out on your vacuum. The part is called the Clutch Rubber Pad Holder Assembly, Riccar Part Number C012-0400. The way the roller brush works is, when you move the Rug / Floor switch to Floors, the clutch (the parts that you just took apart) loosens up so that the belt is still turning, but the pulley that it spins on is not tight against the brush. When you select the switch to carpets, the clutch then tightens the pulley against the Clutch Rubber Pad Holder Assembly so the when the belt spins on the pulley, it's also now going to spin the brush. Over time this part gets heated up, and the rubber wears down to a point where the pulley will no longer stick to it, which causes the exact problem that you have, where the belt is installed correctly, but will not spin the brush. Simply use a flat head screw driver and pry directly on top of the brush strip, and remove the Clutch Rubber Pad Holder Assembly;

This is how the part looks by itself; If you're interested in purchasing this part, you may contact your local Riccar dealer, or we can also supply you this part. Once again this part is called the Clutch Rubber Pad Holder Assembly, Riccar part number C012-0400. Please just email me at [email protected] for pricing on this part if you need it. I hope that this repair solution was helpful for you. If this didn't fix it, please contact me, I'd be more then happy to try and help you diagnosis this problem further. If this repair solution was helpful to you, please be sure to rate the solution as helpful by clicking the 4 Thumbs Up Icons in the top right hand corner of this repair. Thank you very much, Chris Jones GoVacuum.com

SOURCE: Changing Belt on Riccar 8650

Greetings from GoVacuum,

I will attempt to walk you through the belt change on your Riccar 8955 upright vacuum cleaner. I have taken pictures for you for each step to ensure that it's done properly. What you'll need to have handy for this repair;

- Phillips Head Screw Driver
- Riccar 4000 / 8000 Series Belt
- Riccar 8000 Series Roller Brush With Clutch Assembly (only if the brushes have worn down, not necessary if brushes are still long)

Step 1: Make sure the vacuum cleaner is unplugged, and turn the vacuum cleaner upside down so the bottom plate is upwards. It's easiest to do on a work bench or counter top.




Step 2: Unscrew the two metal screws on the metal bottom plate with your Phillips head screw driver, and remove the bottom plate from the vacuum cleaner so the belt is completely exposed with the roller brush


Step 3: Remove the belt guard that sits to the left of the roller brush, and is a metal part that protects any dirt & debris from going over to the belt. Here's a picture of that part being removed;


Step 4: Remove the Rug / Floor actuator arm from the clutch on the right hand side of the roller brush. Simply pull the metal actuator arm to the left of the brush and out of the circle that it sits in. Here's a picture of that;



Step 5: Once you have removed the actuator arm for the clutch, as well as the belt guard, lift straight up on the roller brush and remove the roller brush from the vacuum cleaner:



Step 6: Once you have removed the roller brush, and the old belt from the vacuum cleaner, take one new belt and wrap it around the metal pin in the back of vacuum cleaners agitator housing. Here's a picture of where that pin is located with the belt wrapped around it;



Step 7: Once you have the belt wrapped around the metal pin (this is the shaft to the motor that actually spins the belt), but the other end of the belt through your new roller brush;



Step 8: There is a specific way that the roller brush has to be inserted. If the roller brush is not put in properly, this can cause all sorts of problems including the brush not spinning, and continuously having to replace belts. You can see on the end cap of the roller brush (the right side where the belt rides) that there is two little teeth that protrude out of the end cap as well as an indentation on the opposite side;


Step 9: With the roller brush inserted through the belt, position the two teeth facing downwards. You can see in the vacuum cleaner where the roller brush sits, a little groove down inside of the housing. These two teeth need to straddle that groove. Also make sure that the little ring, or circle that the clutch actuator arm sits into, is facing upwards completely. It should be directly on top of the two teeth. Stretch the belt using the roller brush as leverage down into the agitator housing of the vacuum cleaner, making sure that the two teeth are facing downwards straddling the little groove. After the brush is back into the vacuum cleaner, take the metal actuator arm from the rug / floor switch, and insert it back into the metal ring (or hole) on the roller brush;

Step 10: Replace the metal belt guard that rests to the left of the belt. You'll notice on the belt guard that there are two little 90 degree notches on both sides. These notches need to face towards the belt or to the right. Here's a picture of the belt guard being put back into place;



Step 11: After inserting the belt guard back into the vacuum, turn the vacuum cleaner over so the top of the agitator housing is facing you. Change the the rug / floor switch from bare floors to the carpet setting, and the turn the vacuum upside again so the brush and belt are exposed:



Step 12: With the vacuum set to the carpet setting, pull the belt forwards to ensure that the brush is spinning freely. If the belts do not spin freely, repeat steps 2-10.


Step 12: There is a flap that can be opened after the metal bottom plate has been removed, that will give you more access to the motor shaft. Make sure that this flap is closed;


Step 13: The last tricky part can be reinstalling the metal bottom plate. There is a little lip on the front of the vacuum cleaner that the edge of the bottom plate has to slide under for it to be installed properly. A lot of people just install the bottom plate over top of this lip, and this prevents the brushes from hitting the carpet as low as if the bottom plate is correctly installed. Here's a picture of the lip with the bottom plate in the backgroud;



Step 14: Slide the metal bottom plate into the lip on the vacuum cleaner, and fasten the screws back into the bottom plate to secure it. The lip is a little tricky, but after doing it just once, you'll have no problems in the future changing your belt.

Here's a picture of the bottom plate installed INCORRECTLY with the bottom plate over top of the lip;


Here's a picture of the CORRECT way to install the bottom plate:



I hope that this repair solution is helpful to you in installing the belt properly. If you found this helpful, please be sure to click the 4 Thumbs Up Icons in the top right hand corner of the solution. Feel free to request a clarification of the repair if you have any questions about this repair, or other repairs. I'm always happy to answer any questions.

Thank you very much,

Chris J.