Kirby G5 Tech Drive issues

I had a G7 that the trans was awefull, it was okay at first but after it ran for 3 minutes it started clanking forward & backwards...took it to kirby he turned it on really quick & told me nothing was wrong & sent me on my way. That was Sat. Monday morning bright & early I was there again & told him to run it for 5 minutes then you'll see, he said there was nothing wrong with it so I plugged it in the show room with other people there watching & sure enough it started running horrible clanking & clucking when pushed & pulled. I said to him now smart ass what are YOU going to do about it??? He said he would order a new trans. Left it there for a week, he called said it was ready, came to pick it up, on the way was thinking to run it for five minutes to see if it is fixed, got there told him I wanted to try it to see how it was & sure enough after 3 minutes it started doing the same thing again. I said to him YOU never touched it & said what kind of scam are you running here??? He said he would fix it as he was taking it back, I stepped on the cord & told him to bring it back to me, I took the repair tag off, tore it up put it in my pocket took the machine out after he was trying to let him fix it. I put it in my car & said sorry to have bothered you. Never again will I deal with something like that!!! Went home, looked on ebay bought a new trans. Far cheaper then what he was charging & with 2 screws & a tug out came the ok'd one, in sent the best one bolted back on & it works great. It's a easy fix if you are handy plus on youtube there are places on there that show you how to replace it & fix your own machine so best of luck!!! Mark D.


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Post# 285378 6/19/2014 at 11:36 (3,597 days old) by sonnyndad ()
Checkrate/Likes A while back, I traded with my aunt an Ultimate G DE for her G5. Since I already had a much better Ultimate G DE and no G5, it was a good trade. The G5 has only one problem-the Tech Drive is shot to crap. It can hardly move under its own power, and with the drive engaged, it is almost no different than pushing it around in neutral. It is also extremely LOUD. I've heard that G5's and Gsix's tend to have whinier drives than the other models, but this has got to be the loudest drive I've ever heard in my life. I want to take my G5 to St. Louis next year, but I'm not going to if I can't quiet the drive down. Is there an adjustment I can do to make it work a little better, or is it truly shot? I don't REALLY want to pay $100 for new drive, but if push comes to shove, I might have to. View Full Size

Post# 285381 , Reply# 1 6/19/2014 at 12:29 (3,597 days old) by sptyks (Skowhegan, Maine)
Checkrate/Likes *G5 Tech Drive...* If your Tech Drive is that LOUD, and doesn't move on it's own then I wouldn't mess with doing the adjustments. Most likely it is SHOT and needs to be replaced.

Post# 285385 , Reply# 2 6/19/2014 at 12:56 (3,597 days old) by sonnyndad ()
Checkrate/Likes That's nice...

Post# 285402 , Reply# 3 6/19/2014 at 14:40 (3,597 days old) by sonnyndad ()
Checkrate/Likes *It still moves the wheels,* But has very little torque. I can easily stop the wheel by putting my thumb on it. Even in neutral, when it is not under any load, it makes a whole bunch of noise.

Post# 285448 , Reply# 4 6/19/2014 at 18:05 (3,597 days old) by sptyks (Skowhegan, Maine)
Checkrate/Likes It's the loud noise that has me worried that it has very limited life left.

Post# 285457 , Reply# 5 6/19/2014 at 19:41 (3,597 days old) by sonnyndad ()
Checkrate/Likes What will happen when it reaches EOL? I will hopefully be getting a new G6 drive from Kirby Needs on ebay for Christmas. It would be an embarrassment if I took this machine to St. Louis with that drive being so whiney. I do intend to take it to St. Louis next year.

Post# 285544 , Reply# 6 6/20/2014 at 10:02 (3,596 days old) by sptyks (Skowhegan, Maine)
Checkrate/Likes Well then, you should have plenty of time to replace that Tech Drive between Christmas and next summer's convention. In the meantime if you want to try adjusting this noisy tech drive you can find instructions for adjusting it on the web.

Post# 285548 , Reply# 7 6/20/2014 at 10:50 (3,596 days old) by sonnyndad ()
Checkrate/Likes *Limited life left* You said the noise means that it has a limited life left. What will happen when it does die? Will it seize up or something?

Post# 285565 , Reply# 8 6/20/2014 at 13:20 (3,596 days old) by sptyks (Skowhegan, Maine)
Checkrate/Likes The noise indicates that the clutches are all worn out. Most likely it will just stop working and will not provide any forward or reverse motion. If it it does seize up (not likely) the drive belt will snap, but that probably won't harm the motor.

Post# 285577 , Reply# 9 6/20/2014 at 15:27 (3,596 days old) by sonnyndad ()
Checkrate/Likes In normal use, this Tech Drive makes a sound not unlike someone pushing a Kirby Generation series against a wall in drive. Both forward and reverse make this same sound. I've been using it to vacuum my house (all shag carpet), and I think it is getting worse. Now, in forward, it does this thing where it "jerks" and just does NOT want to go. It is not the carpet doing that, it is a completely different kind of "jerk." I guess I could describe it as feeling like someone switching between neutral and drive really fast while it's going forward. It seems to be losing and gaining back power in forward. I will be getting a new drive ASAP.

Post# 285748 , Reply# 10 6/21/2014 at 23:27 (3,594 days old) by marks_here (_._)
Checkrate/Likes *My G5 was fine with no problem but...* I had a G7 that the trans was awefull, it was okay at first but after it ran for 3 minutes it started clanking forward & backwards...took it to kirby he turned it on really quick & told me nothing was wrong & sent me on my way. That was Sat. Monday morning bright & early I was there again & told him to run it for 5 minutes then you'll see, he said there was nothing wrong with it so I plugged it in the show room with other people there watching & sure enough it started running horrible clanking & clucking when pushed & pulled. I said to him now smart ass what are YOU going to do about it??? He said he would order a new trans. Left it there for a week, he called said it was ready, came to pick it up, on the way was thinking to run it for five minutes to see if it is fixed, got there told him I wanted to try it to see how it was & sure enough after 3 minutes it started doing the same thing again. I said to him YOU never touched it & said what kind of scam are you running here??? He said he would fix it as he was taking it back, I stepped on the cord & told him to bring it back to me, I took the repair tag off, tore it up put it in my pocket took the machine out after he was trying to let him fix it. I put it in my car & said sorry to have bothered you. Never again will I deal with something like that!!! Went home, looked on ebay bought a new trans. Far cheaper then what he was charging & with 2 screws & a tug out came the ok'd one, in sent the best one bolted back on & it works great. It's a easy fix if you are handy plus on youtube there are places on there that show you how to replace it & fix your own machine so best of luck!!! Mark D.

Post# 285749 , Reply# 11 6/21/2014 at 23:40 (3,594 days old) by sonnyndad ()
Checkrate/Likes Yep, I've dropped many a Kirby transmission.