OK, but be warned... it's not so difficult getting the thing apart, but making a neat job of reassembly has been known to drive grown men to despair. And that's because you have to remove the airbelt. But first things first:
1. remove the hose
2. remove the hose-retaining ring
3. remove the flap that covers the green filter.
4. remove the screw beneath that flap nearest to the handle (there's a deeply recessed screw on the other side, but you can ignore that)
5. remove the clip at the back of the machine where the airbelt joins (lever it off carefully with a screwdriver)
6. this is where it begins to get interesting. The airbelt is in two parts - the bulky foam strip and a thin material cover. The cover is held in grooves, top and bottom, running all the way round the machine, by two thin plastic strips around which it is wrapped and which just slip into those grooves. The first challenge is to get those strips, and the covering material, out without damaging them. Just prise one end out with a small screwdriver and work your way around the machine - it's more a matter of patience than anything else. (The second challenge is getting it back neatly!)
7. remove the ends of the foam strip far enough to reveal two plastic clips that hold top and bottom of the body together
8. prise those clips off with a screwdriver.
9. it should now be possible to lift the top cover off. It can be a bit fiddly getting it off over the neck where the hose plugs in, but it does come off.
10. the cable rewind spool is now revealed in all its glory.
11. if you've found my advice helpful so far, here's a final piece... don't try to fit a new cable to the old spool - fit a complete new spool.
12. good luck!
odin223, May 2009
