Hi have taken off the front turning handal that holds the belt to the kirby head , how dose it go back to gether?

HI There,

This is a confusing system that Kirby has designed here. This is a source of many questions that we field on a daily basis. There is an exact procedure that needs to be followed when removing the head of the machine that has the roller brush and belt.

You need to have the dial set to Belt On when vacuuming, but when you first put the head back on after using the attachment hose, shampoo attachment, or replacing the belt, you need to first put the head onto the front of the Kirby with the Belt Off setting, then after it's connected to the front, turn the dial back to belt on.

Here's a helpful video that we've recorded showing the exact proper procedure you need to follow on your Kirby. This will also show you how to do basic maintenance on your Kirby's roller brush.


Hopefully this was helpful for you. If you have any follow up questions, or need further help on anything for your Kirby, please feel free to use the comment field here on Fixya, and I'll be more then happy to answer any of your questions. If you found this helpful, please be so kind and rate my repair helpful, or leave feedback for me.

Thanks so much,

Chris Jones
GoVacuum.com

1)First, you turn the square belt lifter on the front of the power nozzle until the red arrows line up (belt off)
2)Remove the power head from the front of the machine. Now turn the belt lifter the other way and line the green arrows up again. This releases the tension on the belt
3)Turn it upside down and release the two clips that hold the metal baseplate on and remove the baseplate.
4)Grab the brushroll and pull it out of the power head. Slide the new belt onto the center of the brushroll. It will hang loose...it doesn't have to stretch around anything yet. MAKE SURE THAT THE BRUSHROLL SPINS FREELY!! If it doesn't, you'll burn all new belts quickly due to the added strain on the belt.

You can get a replacement belt here:

Kirby G5 Replacement Belt

1)First, you turn the square belt lifter on the front of the power nozzle until the red arrows line up (belt off)
2)Remove the power head from the front of the machine. Now turn the belt lifter the other way and line the green arrows up again. This releases the tension on the belt
3)Turn it upside down and release the two clips that hold the metal baseplate on and remove the baseplate and you can access the belt.

You can get a replacement belt here:

Kirby Ultimate G Replacement Belt

remove power head turn knob on front counter clockwise look in hole on back of powerhead make sure belt is on the hook install powerhead back on motor turn knob clockwise

1)First, you turn the square belt lifter on the front of the power nozzle until the red arrows line up (belt off of the Kirby's driveshaft but on the "hook" inside the power nozzle) 2)Remove the power head from the front of the machine. Now that it is off the Kirby, you can turn the square belt lifter until the green arrows line up. (Belt on, which means on the driveshaft on the front of the Kirby when the power nozzle is on the Kirby which makes the brushes spin. Now that the power nozzle is off of the Kirby, the belt isn't actually resting on anything but the green arrows will still point to belt ON ) This removes the belt from the "hook" so that it can be slipped off the brush roll. 3)Turn the power nozzle upside down and release the two clips that hold the metal baseplate on and remove the baseplate. 4)Grab the brushroll and pull it out of the power head. Slide the new belt onto the center of the brushroll. It will hang loose...it doesn't have to stretch around anything yet. MAKE SURE THAT THE BRUSHROLL SPINS FREELY!! If it doesn't, you'll burn all new belts quickly due to the added strain on the belt. 5)Look at the ends of the brushroll. The brushroll has three height settings..you should see notches AND NUMBERS on the sides of the brushroll's end caps. ONE notch (also #1) FACE UP on BOTH sides is the first setting and should be used when the roller is new. Three notches is the last setting used before a new roller is needed and should be used if the brushes are short and worn. Put the brushroll back in, making ABSOLUTELY SURE sure that the SAME NUMBER of notches and the same raised number on the edge are FACE UP on BOTH sides. This is important, as the brushroller will be unbalanced if inserted wrong. Also, one end cap of the brushroll is larger than the other and will only fit onto the larger notch in the power nozzle. 6)Replace the baseplate by fitting the front clips into place and then push it down in back and secure it with the two rear swivel clips. Make sure it fits securely down over the bumper on all sides with no suction leakage. 7)Turn the belt lifter to where the RED arrows line up, making sure that the inner "hook" grabs the belt and stretches it up while you are turning it. Once you have the belt stretched up, put the power nozzle back onto the Kirby and lock it in place. 8)NOW...turn the belt lifter back to GREEN. If the little green light on the power nozzle lights up when you turn it on, CONGRATULATIONS!!! The brushroll is spinning!!

1)First, you turn the square belt lifter on the front of the power nozzle until the red arrows line up (belt off of the Kirby's driveshaft but on the "hook" inside the power nozzle) 2)Remove the power head from the front of the machine. Now that it is off the Kirby, you can turn the square belt lifter until the green arrows line up. (Belt on, which means on the driveshaft on the front of the Kirby when the power nozzle is on the Kirby which makes the brushes spin. Now that the power nozzle is off of the Kirby, the belt isn't actually resting on anything but the green arrows will still point to belt ON ) This removes the belt from the "hook" so that it can be slipped off the brush roll. 3)Turn the power nozzle upside down and release the two clips that hold the metal baseplate on and remove the baseplate. 4)Grab the brushroll and pull it out of the power head. Slide the new belt onto the center of the brushroll. It will hang loose...it doesn't have to stretch around anything yet. MAKE SURE THAT THE BRUSHROLL SPINS FREELY!! If it doesn't, you'll burn all new belts quickly due to the added strain on the belt. 5)Look at the ends of the brushroll. The brushroll has three height settings..you should see notches AND NUMBERS on the sides of the brushroll's end caps. ONE notch (also #1) FACE UP on BOTH sides is the first setting and should be used when the roller is new. Three notches is the last setting used before a new roller is needed and should be used if the brushes are short and worn. Put the brushroll back in, making ABSOLUTELY SURE sure that the SAME NUMBER of notches and the same raised number on the edge are FACE UP on BOTH sides. This is important, as the brushroller will be unbalanced if inserted wrong. Also, one end cap of the brushroll is larger than the other and will only fit onto the larger notch in the power nozzle. 6)Replace the baseplate by fitting the front clips into place and then push it down in back and secure it with the two rear swivel clips. Make sure it fits securely down over the bumper on all sides with no suction leakage. 7)Turn the belt lifter to where the RED arrows line up, making sure that the inner "hook" grabs the belt and stretches it up while you are turning it. Once you have the belt stretched up, put the power nozzle back onto the Kirby and lock it in place. 8)NOW...turn the belt lifter back to GREEN. If the little green light on the power nozzle lights up when you turn it on, CONGRATULATIONS!!! The brushroll is spinning!!

Hope this was helpful :) and thank you for using Fixya!!!

Put the belt on the brush roll, place it in the nozzle, make sure the belt is in the center, turn the big knob on the front until it locks, then install the nozzle on the vac., turn the knob in the other direction, and it will be put on the pulley.

I can't get the new belt on my Kirby

I would advise you to ALWAYS to FIRST UNPLUG YOUR VACUUM before beginning any service procedure.
The Kirby Vacuum has a removable head and bottom plate and the belt is hooked on by a hook inside of the Kirby head of the vacuum. You need to slide the belt onto the Kirby brushroll to the center and the dial in front of the Kirby vacuum does rotate to the right – so @ this time you would dial the belt clockwise and the inside hook will pickup the inside belt and continue turning the dial / hook until it stops – look inside to see if the belt in on the fan shaft – if it is then install the bottom plate back on the vacuum and then install the head back on the Kirby or if it is newer the head is already on the motor assm.
Plug in the vacuum and if the belt stays on and the brushroll is tuning you have done it right – if not reverse the situation, unplug the vacuum and start over with the procedure. The hook will dial the belt onto the fan pulley if done correctly. Example: try to turn the dial on the front of the vacuum to see hoe it works and the way the dial will turn so that the procedure will be easier. The dial does turn hard when dialing the belt onto the pulley.
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first things first...take the powerhead off of the front of the kirby. If you look at where the powerhead connects to the front of the kirby and you'll see a large hook...turn the hook using the crank on the front of the powerhead so that the belt is pulled up and away from the brushes. (OFF position) The hook stretches the belt so that it can fit over the fan driveshaft (its the finger looking thing that sticks out of the front of the kirby when the powerhead is removed.)

Next, place the two "feet" of the powerhead onto the "perch" located on the front of the kirby (under the driveshaft opening)....lock it on by turning the silver lever on the top of the kirby (the one under the hood/light)


Now spin the knob on the front of the kirby from off to on. This releases the belt from that hook in the powerhead so it can rest on the driveshaft. Off means the belt is off of the drive shaft and the brushes won't spin. On means the belt is on the driveshaft and the brushes will be spinning. But remember, the belt has to be stretched open on that hook inside the power head BEFORE the powerhead is placed on the front of the kirby. Otherwise the belt won't be connected to the spinning driveshaft, and the brushes won't spin

On the front of the power head is a knob with the KIRBY name on it. Rotate this knob in a counter clockwise direction and it will "lift" the belt off the motor spindle. Release the head lever, only one direction it will turn and remove the head. Turn the head over on its back, turn the KIRBY knob to release the old belt. Remove the brush guard by turning the two release fixtures. Remove the guard. Pry the brush out of the head. Remove the old belt. While the brush is out remove any build up of hair and lint off the ends that's where the bearings are. put a few drops of 3 in One oil on the ends. Put the new belt over the brush and re-install the brush into the head. the brush will go in only one way. With your finger pull the belt into the housing and rotate the KIRBY knob until the pawl inside grabs the belt. Re-install the brush guard by engaging the two metal pieces into the front of the head and pull down backwards over the head and rotate the holding clips back horizontal. re-install the powerhead on the machine, lock it in place and rotate the KIRBY knob clockwise. You should be all set!