1960's era Kenmore washer not spinning correctly

[ralph611]

My late 1960's model 70 Kenmore automatic was sitting unused for a long time,
Had a new belt put in. Now it doesn't spin correctly. It seems the tub spins ok but the
Agitator doesn't keep up. It seems to hold the clothes back leaving too wet clothes. The
machine did loose some fluid when it was laying for over a week on its front. The guy
putting the belt in left it that way. I took out the agitator and lubricated around the moving
parts and replaced the agitator. It will sometimes come to a full spin. Any ideas?
I don't want to spend a lot of money but love older machines. Anyone have any ideas
or live close to the Chicago area that could look at it? Thanks in advance. My name is Ralph.
Email is [email protected]. Cell num 773 391-7172.

 

[ladyk]

Worn out or out of adjustment basket drive could be the problem.

 

[bendixmark]

slow spin

When the belt was replaced if the transmission was dropped down it could have been re-installed misaligned causing the spin tube to bind up.

 

[lorainfurniture]

Don't you have to reset/ adjust the brake when changing the belt? Someone correct me if I'm wrong as these machines are waaaaay before my time

 

[arbilab]

I changed my WP belt (it broke) and just put everything back where it came from. Worked fine. More a chore than I was expecting, compared to Maytag I was used to. But just that one machine doesn't make the process definitive.

 

[turquoisedude]

This sounds like what happened during the seemingly never-ending restoration of the '66 Inglis - when I finally got a new transmission into the machine, I was not able to get the machine to spin properly.  In this case, I made a big mistake in reassembling the tub brake yoke - I put the spring under the yoke instead of above it.  Once I put it back in the right place, the washer would spin again correctly.    I did have one further issue due to incorrect belt tension, but again, once it was adjusted, all was fine. 

 

Adjusting belt tension on a Whirlpool belt-drive machine is done by loosening the motor mounting bolts just enough to allow the motor to 'swing' enough to tighten (or loosen) the belt.  

 

Hope this helps!!

 

[arris]

Could be wrong

I could be wrong, but after loosening up the tranny for say a belt install, aren't you supposed to hand tighten the tranny mounting bolts while on it's side or front, and then move to the upright position and then fully tighten them, this way everything lines back up ??? Could it be the turbine fluid has leaked from around the bearings and possibly it's dry if it had been sitting for so long, or maybe oil dripped on to the clutch while the repair guy left it laying on it's side for a week,which would cause the clutch to slip. I wonder how much experience the repair guy has on belt drive washers. Wonder if he reinstalled the T bearing correctly ??

Gordon and/or John ?????

 

[blackstone]

Tightening Belt

We always carried an old transmission shaft (approx. 3 ft. long) with us on service calls. Perfect length for leverage when moving the motor into position, and then easy to hold while tightening the bolt.

 

[bendixmark]

alignment

That machine is before the t-bearing ball.Remove the transmission braces,back the bolts out 9 turns then stand the machine up and tighten the bolts 3 turns at a time,reinstall braces.The clutch pad should be adjusted just above the drive pulley so they dont contact during agitation.To test alignment,lay machine on face,remove belt,turn transmission pulley while pushing up on spin cam bar wigwag follower to engage transmission into spin.Turn pulley until cambar is fully extended.Now grasp top of cluchplate above spin pulley and pull down.That assembly should drop down an eighteenth of an inch away from baseplate and turn freely by hand.