My Misdirected Anger
Mark,
I see that my anger at your lack of response to my post was totally unwarranted, as I can now tell that you did read them.
I can offer my suggestions on how to work on your tub cover and if you choose to not use it or not respond I won't be offended. This will probably be on the long side, as I can't explain this process in detail in a short post.
First off, your tub cover clamp is in the wrong position. The screw and nut portions of the clamp should be in the front left hand and back right hand corners of the cabinet. You want plenty of clearance in case of an off balance situation. You don't want that part of the clamp striking the cabinet and causing damage.
I'm very fastidious about keeping all parts clean, polished, lubricated and free of rust for a successful restore.
To fix tub cover start by
1: Using penetrating oil on clamp screw and nut. Loosen and tighten both sides of clamp. Clean clamp. If rusted use oil, like 3-in-1 or WD-40 and a green scratchy pad or steal wool. Clean screws and nuts with the same oil and a brass brush if needed. Rinse with WD-40 or kerosene and wipe with clean, dry cloth. Oil screw threads with a little oil and turn screw in and out to see if clamp is working well. Keep working with it tell it is. Set aside in safe place. No bending during or after process.
2: Pull tub cover up and out. Remove gasket and clean it with warm soapy water. I used the green pad for areas that didn't want to come clean. I even used a dull knife on stubborn, crusty rust spots, then cleaned again until it was smooth. Wet a paper towel or lint-free cloth with Pledge or Armor All and wrap the towel around the gasket and pull it through until it's well coated. If you lay it in a warm place it will help the gasket soften up and absorb the coating.
2: Clean the tub cover, paying special attention to outside edge of cover where gasket rests. If you're having trouble with mineral build-up, use some vinegar or CLR; something along those lines. Clean well where the injector hose goes. A little Pledge, Armor All or spit will help it go back in the cover. Sorry. I digress. After the cover is clean, inspect the porcelain for chips or rust, especially around the outside edge where the tub cover meets the collector tub. If you find rust, sand the area(s)with some fine grade emery paper - P150 to P220 - somewhere in there. Enough to take off the rust w/o making deep scratches. After sanding, dust it off. The outside of the tub cover was a little rusted on my machine and since it wasn't visible, I mixed up a little JB Weld and smeared a thin coat over the areas to fix the problem. You can even dampen your finger and run over it to make it extra smooth and thin. Make sure it's sealed completely or it will rust again. Set aside and let dry overnight. If part of the porcelain is damaged where you can see it, you'll have to use a porcelain patch. I've seen it on here in some thread, but I don't know where. I think Robert may have posted it. I've never used it. Now you'll have to do the same thing to the collector tub and lip if it needs it. If you have to seal it you'll have to use your little finger. The space between the tub and the basket is small, as I'm sure you've noticed. A good flashlight comes in handy. If you're using emery paper down in there, be careful to not drop it between the collector tub and the clothes tub.
3: Now comes the fun part. Replacing the tub cover. Some people find this task easier if the washer lid is removed. It's easier to work in the area with it off and it's also nice to clean when it's off. If you don't take the lid off I think it's best to cover the control panel with a towel to protect the lid and panel. The first time you take the lid off it seems kind of weird, but the second time's not as bad. If you want to try, stand straight in front of the washer, open the lid tell it's parallel with the length of your arms, and pull straight back on the lid with steady tension until the lid lets go. Two hard plastic balls will roll down into the basket when the lid releases. Put the lid where it won't get damaged. Leave the balls in the washer or put them in a cup. Don't loose them. I think they're still available, but I wouldn't want to go through the hassle of ordering or tracking them down. Most of the time when you're working to put them back on they just roll right back down in the basket. When you get ready to put the lid back on, soak the balls in the hottest water you can find. Get one ball out and place it in the indention in one side of the machine. Put the lid back down on the washer front first. While holding the first ball against the machine, bring the lid down to the ball and sandwich it between the machine and the indention in the lid. Then take the second ball and repeat on the other side, except hold that ball in the indention on the machine and lay the corresponding side of the lid against the outside of the ball. One side of the lid will be in the correct position and the other side with be high. Then with the indention in the lid lined up with the ball that's wedged between the two surfaces, push down with steady pressure and both balls will compress and the lid will pop back into place. This sounds like a daunting task, but once you get on to it, it's not bad. The trick is the hot water and time. If the balls cool down before you get the lid back on you can repeat. Do a trial run just by holding everything in place before you try the installation.
Back to the tub cover. The tub gasket is triangular, so it doesn't matter which way it goes on, just as long as it's not twisted. Make sure all surfaces are clean. A piece of dirt or a non-smooth surface can cause a leak. Should have told you this earlier, but check your gasket for cracks or big dents. This will cause a leak. Most of the time these gaskets are fine. I took some Pledge and polished the outside edge of the tub cover on mine so the gasket would slide easier to get the proper adjustment. Also moisten a towel with Pledge and run around the inside edge of the collector tub. This also helps. Be careful with that part. If the towel falls between the collector tub and the clothes tub you've got that same problem as the emery paper. Use a long towel.
Place the bottom edge of the tub gasket about an inch above the bottom edge of the tub cover all the way around the circumference of the cover. Hold the cover at about 3 and 9 o'clock with the off balance bracket straight back at 12 o'clock right under the lid switch. Gently push the tub cover down into the collector tub until the gasket touches the tub lip. An old service manual I have says to use two wooden clothes hangers between the tub cover and the inter basket to get proper clearance between the clothes basket and the washer top, but I don't think this seems to be a very good way to do things anymore. There aren't as many wooden clothes hangers around as there used to be and the ones we do have are probably a different size by now. I do have two thick plastic hangers that are 6/8th's thick, but sometimes the baskets are of slightly different heights on each side and that wouldn't account for this. Since the top of the tub cover just has to clear the washer top by about 3/8th's - 1/4 of an inch, just lower the washer cover to it's normal resting position, temporally put the top cover screws in the top front corners to be sure the tub cover and washer top align. Then manually raise and lower the tub cover for the correct clearance by putting your fingers on top of the wash basket and using a smooth object, like a piece of wood or plastic (any smooth narrow object) and raising or lowering the cover until you get the correct clearance. Repeat this procedure around the circumference of the tub cover opening until you get an equal clearance all the way around. Then without touching the tub cover, lift the washer top again. Gently slide the tub gasket down between the collector tub lip and the cover while making sure the cover doesn't move, by keeping your fingers between the cover and the clothes basket. If you haven't moved the tub cover any, your clearance should be the same when you put the washer top back down. Mine is set at just around the 3/8th's - 1/4 distance and works perfectly. Not much can get between there, yet there's no contact with the basket or the washer top.
4: Replacing the tub cover clamp. A delicate step. Loosen the tub cover clamp screws enough so that it will slip easily over the tub cover without moving it and will fit over the collector tub lip and gasket. The "V" that's created by the combination of the collector tub lip and the gasket should fit inside the tub cover clamp. Get this clamp over that "V" without moving the tub cover. Make sure the clamp screws are in the corners as I mentioned earlier. Tighten each screw the same number of turns. The end of the screw where it sticks through the nut should be about the same length on both sides of the tub or have close to the same number of threads sticking out behind the nut. Turn each screw a couple of turns on each side of the tub, jumping back and forth diagonally from one screw to the next. While doing this, watch to make sure the "V" on the tub in sinking into the clamp. In fact check this even before the clamp starts to get tight. By tightening the screws equally on each side and watching the clamp seat properly, you are making sure the tub isn't going out of round and you're getting a sure seal. When you're getting close to the end the tightness will feel about the same on each screw and you will have about the same amount of screw end protruding past the nut in each corner. When you're finished the screws will be pretty tight on both sides. The clamp should appear to be about equally close to the tub all round. When you're finished with that, lower the washer top cover, check that the top cover screw clips are in the right positions and replace and tighten the top cover screws. If you're lucky you'll still have the same clearance as you had when you made your initial adjustments.
5: I don't know if your model is the type that shuts off an off balance load by tripping the lid switch or if it's the one that pushes the timer knob back in. In either case I think there's a plunger and bracket assembly behind the lid. If you do decide to take the washer lid off you can remove the two screws that hold in the assembly and clean the old grease out of there and put in some new poly-lube. Mine has the plunger that pushes the metal bar into the lid switch and when the load goes out of balance the tub cover bracket knocks the metal bar off the lid switch. I put a tiny film of poly-lube on the end of the bar and the white piece that sticks out of the switch. Now when there's an off balance load, one tap and the machine stops. I don't know if you want to try that or not, but I think the plunger and bracket are NLA. After your tub cover adjustment is right you can check which type of shut of system you have by pulling the tub forward. Either the timer knob will pop in or you will just hear a click. If it's just a click, opening and closing the lid will start the machine again. And by the way, if you want to clean and grease this switch you'll have to do this while the washer top is still up.
6: You can start with a med. fill of water and if the tub does leak you can shut off the machine and start it again and not much water will leak out. Since your machine didn't have much of a leak to start with, I'll bet these things will solve your problem. Mine had apparently been leaking much worse before I got it and I started doing the things I mentioned above and it didn't leak a drop the first time I started it. Good luck.
Brian
