Eureka Sanitaire Housing Assembly, S3681B

Any canister carried up and down stairs or bumped through doorway after doorway will eventually take an impact its shell was not built to absorb. Part 6048741 replaces that shell on the Sanitaire S3681B Mighty Mite, the molded body that everything else on the machine, from the motor to the bag compartment and its fittings, mounts into. Note that the switch is a separate purchase under part 28304A2 and does not come packaged with this housing.

Cracks tend to form near a screw boss or right where the cover latch engages, since those are the points that take the worst of it when the machine gets dragged by the hose or knocked into a door frame. From that point forward, the machine loses its full seal, suction weakens, and everything that was mounted precisely inside the old shell no longer sits where it should.

• Part: 6048741, housing assembly (switch not included)
• Fits: Sanitaire S3681B, Eureka SC3683D, Sanitaire SC3683D

Since the switch has to be ordered on its own, inspect it before deciding whether a full housing swap is even necessary. A shell that is otherwise sound but paired with a failed switch only needs part 28304A2, the cheaper of the two repairs, and both parts are worth ordering together only when each one has actually failed on its own. Transfer the switch, cord and internal hardware over from the old shell, and take a photo of the wiring before disturbing anything so the machine goes back together exactly as it came apart.