ITS SPRING PEOPLE TIME FOR A VITAMIX TUNE UP!! GET CRACKIN'

[jetcone]

Get out your wrenches, screwdrivers, dawn & hot water, toothbrush & 0000 steel wool and teflon oil & MAAS chrome polish!

 

Todays tip is on tuneing up your Vitamix for summer !

Flip your unit and remove the handles- NOTE the screws for the handles are fillister, the screws for the feet pan head, you'll see in the photos so PAY ATTENTION!

[this post was last edited: 4/8/2020-09:10]

 

[jetcone]

Next step

Remove the ground screw- sometimes this vibrates off and you'll hear a rattle in your unit, find the nut and lock washer . 11/32 nut driver.

 

[jetcone]

Now you can remove the

metal handle supports.  Next marvel at the build quality, look at the size of that motor - Its a repurposed router motor, look at the size of that bearing and shaft ! Thats where we will be applying fresh oil.

 

[jetcone]

Next get out your teflon oil

Turn the unit on its side, apply several drops to the bottom bearing and turn the shaft.

 

[jetcone]

Next we will lube the top bearing

The top bearing is hard to get at, so we will apply drops to the bottom and top openings and flip the unit up and down while turning the shaft so that the drops run into the floating bearing. Pay ATTENTION PEOPLE !

You can access the bottom of the top bearing from the grille, you'll see a small gap where the drops can go in. Turn the shaft as you drop oil. 

 

 

[jetcone]

Final step

As your working on the unit, remove the feet and rubber pad, soak in hot water and dawn. Scrub parts with toothbrush, dry and reinstall! 

 

On reinstall, handles and steel plates go first , then bottom plate and feet. Be sure fillister screws are installed on handles.  GET TO WORK PEOPLE!

 

 

 

[tomturbomatic]

Where the hell has your blender been that it  needs all of that? Is this an annual maintenance or rehabbing one you found at a thrift shop? My Osterizer is going fine from the mid 70s with only things like blades and gaskets replaced.

 

[tolivac]

The 3000 VM blenders I have don't need this kind of maintenance unless it an abused yard sale one.At best-remove the bottom cover-put a drop of oil in the bottom bearing.Let the unit sit upside down for a few hours.Then put the base cover back on-then lube the upper bearing as shown.then let the machine sit upright a few hours-then runs like new!!!!The motor used in these is a Black and decker 1hp router motor.Seen this from the tool repairs I used to do.Same treatment for the router motors-if the router has had hard use-those bearings then have to be replaced.In a VM blender the bearings don't get the side load use as in a router.

 

[combo52]

I Gave Up On The VM 3600s About Two Years Ago

I still have two motor bases and one container left if anyone wants them [ Jon C gets first dibs ]

 

I got tired of buying the drive and blade assemblies at more than $50 a pop, when I would get a new place assembly we had to have Smitty weld the nut in place because the blades would strip loose from the shaft in just a few weeks. 

 

Then at least once a year the rubber drive would just break off. the other fun with these blenders were the sparks flying out under the unit and across the counter top, and several times I had to set the unit outside after making smoothies till it stopped smoking, the amazing thing was that I never completely killed the motor, it would always work again.

 

John L.

 

[jetcone]

LOL what great responses

Yes  Tom I do an annual lube job and since this gets daily use the feet get crapped up with gunk so they need cleaning.

 

Tolivac, thanks for the information on the motor being B&D !! So cool to find this out, the body was a toaster body converted for VM!

 

John! I'll take it off your hands for sure!! Love saving abused appliances , its a hobby of mine! 

 

[tolivac]

Yes,its sad that VM no longer supports the older 3000 VM blenders.They were rough-tough and many still survive today-as in this site.Keep in mind these machines now are more than 30 yrs old!!!Besides routers B&D also used that same motor on some of their "sidewinder" 6.5" and 7" circular saws!!!The motor was connected to a gearbox to slow the speed down for the saw blades.The new VM motors come from Ametec.Still a good motor!Just not as serviceable as the BD motor.On the older reversible VM blenders you would get the sparks when you pused the forward-off-reverse lever switch to reverse just after you went from forward.You had to hold the whole machine down-or it come jump like a bullfrog!!!Whenver I spot any of those SS-chrome VM monoliths at yard sales I snap them up!!!Just fun to use even if the parts are NLA.I have MANY new VM and Blendtec blender machines now.Use em all on occasions.