How To Replace The Two Speed Clutch On A G.E. Filter Flo

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thatwasherguy

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Hey everyone, hope you’re all well. I spent the afternoon finishing up replacing the clutch on my 1989 G.E. Filter Flo. I took lots of pictures throughout the process to document here, with the hope that it helps others.
Enjoy,
Thatwasherguy.
 
Well, you gotta start somewhere!

After you remove the hex head screws that hold the rear access panel on, you will need to first remove the two clamps that hold the pump coupler on. There tension is held by 1/4 inch hex head screws.
 

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Now, it’s time to remove the motor, shifter, and clutch.

Unplug the two wiring harnesses going to the assembly. One will be a two wire connector for the shifter, and the other will be a five pin connector going to the motor. Next, loosen the three 7/16 inch nylon lock nuts that hold the motor plate onto the frame of the washer. One is right by the left suspension bracket, one is next to the connector for the shifter, and the other one is buried behind the motor. Remove the belt, and lower the motor to the floor. Next, tip the washer forward, and slide the motor out from under it.
 

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Now that the motor’s out, the real work can begin.

Start by driving out the pin that holds the drive pulley to the shaft extension. I used a punch and a hammer for this. This may take some effort to accomplish.
 

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Next, you’ll want to remove the pump drive pulley.

This is supposed to just slide up and off, but due to a pump leak, this particular one had to be smashed off.
 

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We’re getting into it now!

Next, the outer drum gets removed. Put some small nails into the holes in the center of the rectangular cutouts to hold the slip shoes in the outer position. Like the pulley, it is supposed to simply lift up and off of the shaft extension. Unfortunately, this had to be smashed off as well on my machine.
 

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Now for the inner drum.

Like the latter two components, this one just lifts up and away from the shaft extension. This was the first bit that didn’t require the hammer, yay!
 

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Next up, you’ll need to remove your spring.

There are some spacers that are installed on this, so you’ll want to be sure that you don’t get them out of order. In my case, though, that didn’t really matter, as I was throwing away the whole clutch.
 

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Now, remove the two nuts on the U bolt…

And lift the shaft extension and carrier plate up and off. Once again, mine was so well rusted, that a little bit of persuasion from the hammer was necessary to get it off.
 

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Now, to talk clutches.

You have several options for a replacement clutch. You can order just the components you need, such as shoes and bearings, or you can do what I did, and get a complete assembly, under part number WH49X265. This includes everything but the pump drive pulley (part number WH7X45), and the pin that holds it on.
 
Now, to start the journey back from Narnia!

First up, you’ll want to inspect the motor shaft for any sort of rust or wear. Mine had some light surface rust, but nothing major. I cleaned it up with some sand paper, and then coated it with anti seize to hopefully ensure that the battle I fought removing the old clutch never happens again.
 

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Now we go back, in reverse order.

First, the shaft extension and carrier plate get reinstalled. I would recommend adding some anti seize to the nuts on the U bolt as well.
 

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Next up, the spring and spacers.

Make sure you reinstall the washers that go in between the main shoes and the spring.
 

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We’re in the home stretch now!

Reinstall the outer drum. I also put anti seize on the shaft extension where it’s bearing rides to ensure that it wouldn’t get stuck like the last clutch did.
 

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Now, reinstall the pump drive pulley.

The service manual recommends sticking a nail or something through the hole while you drive the pin into it to keep it lined up, but I was able to do it with my bare hands, albeit with a lot of effort.
 

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Now, reinstall the motor.

Tip the washer forward again, and slip the motor back underneath it. Align it with the three studs that hold it on, and add the washers and lock nuts, only tightening them enough to hold the motor up off the floor. You’ll need the motor to be able to slide in order to get the belt hooked back over the outer drum. Once this is done, tighten the nuts up until they’re tight, and then back them off slightly. Pull the motor away from the transmission until the belt is nice and tight, then re tighten the nuts.
 
Replacing a two speed clutch on a GE filter flow washer

Well done, as everyone can tell from your good instructions it’s fairly detailed thing because you have to disassemble the clutch to remove it from the motor and to reinstall it after a while GE started just selling the whole motor and clutch in a unit which was often not a bad deal if you had one that was in bad shape.

Of course you don’t have to remove the pump drive from the pump and from the driver on the top of the clutch unless you replacing that rubber driver or replacing the water pump.

I always just lay the whole washing machine on the face of the machine with some padding rather than try to work underneath it.

It was always amazing that GE went all the trouble with these multi speed clutches and yet they were one of the world‘s largest makers of electric motors and they could’ve easily just put a two speed motor in the washer.

John L
 
I always appreciate, celebrate and save these wonderful How-To threads. Guy, thank you very much for doing and posting this. This is a project I actually might be able to do with my very limited tech skills.

John, I agree with your comment about how easy it would have been to use a two-speed motor. But wasn't the issue always that, with a 2-speed motor running on SLOW, the Filter-Flo stream wouldn't have enough momentum to make it into the filter pan? Even I, Filter-Flo lover that I am, recognize that the FF system was mostly BS that used way too much water, but I love those filter pans and I don't think there's a better washing machine for people with Golden Retrievers.

What I wonder about, and never thought about until I joined this site and saw Mr. Seeger's amazing GE AW early Automatic, was WHY, for God's sake, WHY didn't the engineers in Appliance Park use THAT machine (with its Rim-Flo that might not have needed a forceful stream, it's Frigidaire-fast spin speed and it's wash-board solid tub) as the paradigm for their Latter Half of the Twentieth Century models?????????

They went back to the Rim-Flo when they Borg-assimilated Hotpoint washers, but they quickly dumbed-down those machines when Jack Welch and his merry band of bean counters took over. Apparently white goods didn't please the stock-holders as much as nuclear weapons and dirty finance.
 
Replacing a two speed clutch on a GE filter flow washer

Well done, as everyone can tell from your good instructions it’s fairly detailed thing because you have to disassemble the clutch to remove it from the motor and to reinstall it after a while GE started just selling the whole motor and clutch in a unit which was often not a bad deal if you had one that was in bad shape.

Of course you don’t have to remove the pump drive from the pump and from the driver on the top of the clutch unless you replacing that rubber driver or replacing the water pump.

I always just lay the whole washing machine on the face of the machine with some padding rather than try to work underneath it.

It was always amazing that GE went all the trouble with these multi speed clutches and yet they were one of the world‘s largest makers of electric motors and they could’ve easily just put a two speed motor in the washer.

John L
Thanks! I agree, I always thought that going to the trouble of having a multi speed clutch on these was kind of strange. On the other hand, it certainly made these machines unique.

I always appreciate, celebrate and save these wonderful How-To threads. Guy, thank you very much for doing and posting this. This is a project I actually might be able to do with my very limited tech skills.

John, I agree with your comment about how easy it would have been to use a two-speed motor. But wasn't the issue always that, with a 2-speed motor running on SLOW, the Filter-Flo stream wouldn't have enough momentum to make it into the filter pan? Even I, Filter-Flo lover that I am, recognize that the FF system was mostly BS that used way too much water, but I love those filter pans and I don't think there's a better washing machine for people with Golden Retrievers.

What I wonder about, and never thought about until I joined this site and saw Mr. Seeger's amazing GE AW early Automatic, was WHY, for God's sake, WHY didn't the engineers in Appliance Park use THAT machine (with its Rim-Flo that might not have needed a forceful stream, it's Frigidaire-fast spin speed and it's wash-board solid tub) as the paradigm for their Latter Half of the Twentieth Century models?????????

They went back to the Rim-Flo when they Borg-assimilated Hotpoint washers, but they quickly dumbed-down those machines when Jack Welch and his merry band of bean counters took over. Apparently white goods didn't please the stock-holders as much as nuclear weapons and dirty finance.
Thanks! The how to threads on here helped me tremendously with my 1978 Maytag restoration, so I figured I’d do one on this machine, since there wasn’t one already. I’m happy to hear that I did well enough at explaining the procedure that you feel confident in performing the repair. If this thread keeps even one Filter Flo from being scrapped, then it was worth it. I’ve also wondered why they didn’t keep the super fast spin speed of their previous models. I wonder if most people not having dryers back then, and thus being more concerned about wrinkles contributed to their decision to get rid of it. I totally agree about Jack Welch as well. IMO, it was a mix of him and White Consolidated Industries that started the race to the bottom in domestic appliances.

Thatwasherguy.
 
My honest opinion is they should have just ditched the two speed clutch altogether and built the delicate cycle into the timer. IMO GE offered one of the only washers ever built that could get away with a single speed motor. There ramp agitator was gentle enough the it could accommodate delicate loads with a shortened wash time. Their slip over hand was agitator would also have made a great delicate cycle agitator in single speed machine.
 
My honest opinion is they should have just ditched the two speed clutch altogether and built the delicate cycle into the timer. IMO GE offered one of the only washers ever built that could get away with a single speed motor. There ramp agitator was gentle enough the it could accommodate delicate loads with a shortened wash time. Their slip over hand was agitator would also have made a great delicate cycle agitator in single speed machine.
I agree. The two speed clutch is a neat feature from a collector standpoint, but from a practicality standpoint, there are several other ways that they could have accomplished a delicate wash. I’m with you, I think they could have gotten away with an intermittent agitation setup like the Maytag fabric-matic machines, especially with the hotpoint hand wash agitator. Honestly, I think that the ramped activator is one of if not the best standard back and forth agitator that anyone ever made.

Thatwasherguy.
 
I agree. The two speed clutch is a neat feature from a collector standpoint, but from a practicality standpoint, there are several other ways that they could have accomplished a delicate wash. I’m with you, I think they could have gotten away with an intermittent agitation setup like the Maytag fabric-matic machines, especially with the hotpoint hand wash agitator. Honestly, I think that the ramped activator is one of if not the best standard back and forth agitator that anyone ever made.

Thatwasherguy.


I remember their MOL and TOL models had a poly knit cycle the did a combination of wash and soak. Their single speed BOL models had delicate labelled on the Permanent Press cycle but with a shorter wash time. Everything including the spins were shortened on the Permanent Press cycle.
 
That business of labeling a Delicate cycle at a shorter wash time on a one-speeder is highly misleading, unless intermittent agitation is involved. I had a friend (deceased, miss you Brenda!) who had a typical lower-end one-speed GE FF with Regular and PP cycles, three temps, three fill levels. She had been of the impression that the Delicate timer setting runs at a slower speed, was shocked when I explained it's just a label at the shorter wash time and runs at full speed through the entire cycle from that point to the end, no different than starting at a longer time.
 
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