Taming a Rollermatic - Custom Deluxe style!

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

Hi everyone! I wanted to share a restoration that I had finished recently. This was certainly a fun one!

A few years ago a fellow friend from the group let me know that he had been gifted a few mid 60's Frigidaire washers, one of which was a turquoise 1965 Custom Deluxe. I had been chasing the dream/hope of finding a nice, restorable '65 Rollermatic for quite sometime. A few had come and gone over the years, but none that were turquoise. At the time I had recently bought a WI-65 Rapid Dry, but after seeing the two side by side the decision was easy - the Custom Deluxe would be the one to keep.

The machine sat idle in the workshop for a few years and was used as a test mule for another Rollermatic project that I had worked on for a club member. This fall a window opened up where I felt I could knock this one out quickly. Well, as life goes, other unexpected projects got in the way, pushing back progress and completion until earlier this year in January.

This was a machine where all the parts to restore it mechanically had already been collected well before I even had the machine. The first step was cleaning and coating a spare outer tub with POR-15. I had saved this outer tub from another Rollermatic that had been parted out. [this post was last edited: 2/19/2025-23:05]

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

The two speed impact clutch mechanism had been sitting on the floor of the workshop for several years. Thankfully it was in pretty good shape, although when it had been tested upon arrival every bearing was screaming for mercy.

Over the years I have come across some really odd and rare Frigidaire tools, one being the special pliers that Frigidaire put out to aid in the removal of the early agitate arm ball. The 1964 through early 1966 machines used an all rubber ball on the arm. It would be really easy to tear these if a vise grip or channelocks were used.

During disassembly I noticed that the bearings on the agitate arm and agitate wheel had the same ND part number stamped on them, and wondered if they could be pressed out. Sure enough - the agitate arm was a piece of cake, and with a fabricated tool used to help with the agitate wheel, I was able to get both out! And thankfully so, both were incredibly crunchy and worn out.

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

With both bearings out the research took off. The bearings were stamped ND 885165-B, which cross over to a water pump bearing used in the early 60's on GM products. This makes sense considering this was a GM product and Frigidaire even documented this in the GM Design article that Robert has posted out on AE. It's worth downloading and reading through for the Frigidaire enthusiasts in the group.

Thankfully, this bearing is still readily available under the National brand, as item number National 885165-1. I ordered two through Zoro, item number G4942818.

Both pressed in easily using the shop press, no heat needed. I also cleaned up the ball within the agitate arm and set the torque spec to match the instructions provided in the 1972-1979 1-18 Tech Talks (that were also included within the 9957111 repair kit for the earlier Rollermatic arms). [this post was last edited: 2/19/2025-23:07]

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

Next up where the spin shaft bearings. The upper bearing is a Torrington J 1812 needle bearing. I replaced it with a INA SCE 1812 / Grainger item number 4XFJ9. When pressing this bearing in make sure to press it to the depth that the original was pressed to, and not down to the stop machined in the housing (roughly 1/8” of an inch).

And then the lower bearing. My favorite bearing to hate, the Frigidaire 7524183, or the ND 77504CJ. This is technically a 6204 bearing, but the bore is NOT a 20MM bore but instead a 13/16" bore. This custom size is impossible to find and I've only ever been able to find NOS Frigidaire replacements.

I decided to pull the shields off the original and see if it could be cleaned enough to reuse. Thankfully, the inside wasn't rusty at all, just caked with dried up wax from the old grease, and brake dust. After cleaning it and repacking it, I lucked out and found that generic rubber shields from a 6204 bearing will fit perfectly in the 7524183 bearing!

In the photo, an NOS 7524183 on the left, center is a cleaned/repacked 7524183 with 6204 shields, and on the right is a cheap Chinese 6204 bearing that I stole the shields from[this post was last edited: 2/19/2025-23:25]

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

With solutions for the main bearings checked off, cleaning all the other mechanism parts took place. Here are all the pieces that make up a 2 speed Impact Clutch Rollermatic, ready for reassembly. [this post was last edited: 2/19/2025-23:08]

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

First things first - pressing the motor rotor lower bearing into the housing, and then pressing the rotor into the bearing. This is tricky because you don't want to over press the rotor against the bearing ensuring there is no slop between the bearing and the rotor, otherwise it is really easy to deform the two washers holding the bearing in place. Ask me how I know.

Also, make sure to follow the service manual and tighten the two 12 point bolts that hold the spin shaft housing to the motor base to the 80-120 INCH pounds.

Lower motor bearing - ND 3203
Ordered - NTN 6203LLUC3/L627 / Grainger 4ZXE9

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

Next up, the lower spin shaft bearing is pressed to the spin shaft. GM provided a special tool to aid in both pressing the bearing on the shaft, but then also driving the shaft into the housing.

Doesn't that rejuvenated, evil bearing look great in that housing? LOL

The lower bearing/brake plate is then installed over the bearing. Notice the cap screws used on this early '65 mechanism. They used Phillip head screws shortly after this through to the end of the 1-18. [this post was last edited: 2/19/2025-23:09]

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

Next up is installing the brake lining and spin wheel. I did tear this spin wheel down completely to clean it, even though GM indicates that these are not serviceable. The "safety clutch" linings look identical to the sure spin clutches, but these almost never get used for their intended purpose - as a safety to cause the wheel to spin and not tear the cam apart upon a reapplication of torque, say after a lid was opened and quickly closed.

All 1964-1979 Rollermatic mechanisms use the same brake lining, and specify the same travel distance to set the wheel at - 1/32" of travel UPWARD. Make sure to do this with the spin roller/s removed and press upward, not along the ride of the cam itself against the stop.

Also, I learned that the Impact clutch wheels use a bronze bushing whereas the later Sure Spin wheels use an steel bushing. For the Sure Spin clutches they do recommend adding a tiny amount of rust preventative lubrication, but none for the Impact clutches. Since I had done a full clean of all surfaces I added a TINY amount of turbine oil to the bushing before assembly.

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

Next was installing the agitate wheel and arm. GM provided a special spacer to get the correct spacing for both. I don't know what the actual thickness of the spacing is - I should go measure that and document it here.

With the agitate side completed, all of the drive components are in place!

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

In the '67 and '68 Rollermatic Tech Talks, GM advises to use a product called Leak Lock to seal between the carbon seal and the housing. By chance I happened to find that the original company is still in business and still sells the stuff! I ordered a lifetime supply that I'll pass along to the daughter.

The pump housing was cleaned and coated with the KBS RustSeal epoxy coating. This stuff will save any pot metal pump and I'll be using it on all restorations with pot metal parts, moving forward. A new 5431073 seal was installed, and the original washer on the impeller was cleaned and lapped before installing in the impeller. A tiny dab of blue Loctite is then used on the impeller bolt, and I coat the inner diameter of the impeller in gray anti-seize.

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

With the mechanism fully assembled it was time for some bench testing! Overall, the mechanism sounded great but it needed a few adjustments. The upper motor bearing was a bit too noisy for my tastes, so I put a second replacement bearing in place and rerouted the wires for the switch so that they wouldn't get nicked by the rotor.

Upper motor bearing -

Upper: ND 907163
Bore: .5118 / 13mm
OD: 1.2598 / 32mm
Width: .3937 / 10mm

Based on 77501 / 77108 (77108 is extra quiet) - having a standard 12mm bore

Ordered - 6201-2RS-13mm from Amazon (search on Google vs. in Amazon to find 13mm bore vs. 12mm bore)

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

After getting the bugs worked out in terms of noise, a test in the machine was next. Sadly, while things sounded pretty good I just couldn't get the brake to engage! I tried adjusting the cam stop nut, setting the wheel higher, cleaning everything. Nothing.

I even tried a spare spin wheel, swapping out the roller. Nothing. It was taking about 2 minutes and 30 seconds for the tub to finally stop. After futzing with it for over two months, I finally told myself - just use it like this.

With the decision to press on made, the next choice was agitators. I had been dying to try the '64 3 ring vs. an NOS '65-'69 deep action. A vote was cast between a few collectors and myself, and thankfully the '64 three ring won! The pulsator is a minty, low use '65-'66 pulsator.

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

After running a few loads through the machine for testing, a leak formed at one of the hoses and a nasty rattle was now present during initial spin.

While fixing the leak it became obvious what the rattle was - the spin driver was quite loose on the motor shaft. This meant the drive side of the mechanism needed to be taken apart, which means taking the pump apart. UGH.

The photos below show the assembly of the replacement spin driver, the re-cleaned agitator driver, and ensuring the alignment of the spin driver has the alignment tab in the notch on the motor frame. I also used this opportunity to reset the spin wheel height to 1/32" inch, after taking it all apart and cleaning everything once again.

So, was the effort of replacing the spin driver the ultimate resolve for the brake not engaging? Watch the clip and find out!

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

I was so relieved that the brake was now engaging! And, the rattle during initial spin was perfectly cured. I buttoned up a few more things on the bottom end and shoved it back into the main line up.

Here are some glamor and money shots!

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

And some action shots!

swestoyz · Feb 19, 2025

And, saving the best for last - the full length cycle YouTube clip!

If you watch through to either the end of the first or last spin, you'll notice that the brake duration has improved greatly compared to the earlier clip when the brake had first just began working. I'm chalking it up to everything just needing more brake-in time, no pun intended. The tub now stops in well under 12 seconds.

Overall, I'm so glad the mechanical restoration of this machine is complete. I've run several dozen loads through it and it continues to get quieter and more stable with each wash and it is by far one of the quietest Rollermatics I've ever heard, in person.

I'm sure there are some details that I had planned on sharing but I've forgotten in the moment. I'll make sure add in anything I missed in the next few days.

Until then - enjoy!

Ben

repairguy · Feb 19, 2025

Congratulations Ben! Your restorations are amazing and I always look forward to reading your detailed posts with such dedication to detail. Thanks for another great documentary of a fantastic piece of appliance history.

vacbear58 · Feb 20, 2025

Wonderful restoration

golittlesport · Feb 20, 2025

Beautiful machine!!

Thanks for taking the time to show us the restoration and all the splashy action shots and video! Truly an amazing job!

I was in a rental house in the late 70's with this same washer in coppertone in the kitchen but it had the jet cone agitator. It was noisy but I loved it.

Taming a Rollermatic - Custom Deluxe style!

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