1968 ROLLERMATIC - DONE or not

[mayken4now]

Hey all, you may remember a thread posting of me doing my first rollermatic and the nightmare's with the jetcone removal ETC......... Received a lot of excellent suggestions and tips via email from a lot of club members.

Here is the machine in all it's glory, new painted cabinet and every part has been cleaned. Outer tub POR 15. New feet/shoes. And a lot more. It was not that difficult putting it back together.

There is one thing about the machine that deams it trash. It wont spin. The clutch in one of the spin rollers is not engaging the break or something like that. The roller spins but will not grab the tub, hence no spin or very very slow. This is why the jetcone was slipping in the first place when I tried to take the nut off. I must have stripped something.

Steve

 

[mayken4now]

Next

 

[mayken4now]

and the back, yes we even had the service panel painted.

 

[northwesty]

Well, it sure looks like new

To paint the panels did you take it to an autobody shop?

 

[christfr]

awesome

it looks fantastic.....have to tell you that is the same exact machine im workin on here..uh oh..mine is all apart in the garage have to repeat coat the por today..this one ran fine but has a brake prob too..when the motor kicks off and the brake engages it sounds like a machine gun. all i can tell is that it has something to do with the solenoid in there but will get to that next week..well at least now i can tell what she is supposed to look like..good luck to you and keep us posted..i want to know all the details...hugs from st louis

 

[filterflo]

Great work Steve, looks showroom new. Sounds like your rapidry clutch needs some attention. They tend to get dirty inside and bind up on the shaft and the linings wear and need readjustment. Its not really too difficult. After all the hard work you've done on this washer, Im sure you can tackle a clutch rebuild...........

 

[Unimatic1140]

Steve the machine looks just beautiful. Do you have service information on the Rollermatic clutch?

 

[thirtyater]

Very nice job! That looks a lot like the Gold Crown Rollermatic we had when I was a kid. Ours had a window lid though. After numerous trips to the Frigidaire repair shop we sent ours to the crusher at 7 years old. Sure wish I had that machine today!

 

[rickr]

Looking good!!

Looks like a brand new machine Steve! I am sure you will find your way through the no spin problem. Lots of Frigidaire experts around here you know.

 

[pdub]

very cool Steve!

Your hard work is inspiring. Sorry to hear about the spin problem. I'm sure you'll get it fixed though knowing you. The machine does look beautiful. I have a similar washer that I need to get to work on but have been consumed with other washers, dryers and dishwashers lately. Your photos have motivated me and I hope to start this weekend. Again, great job and looking good. Patrick

 

[helicaldrive]

It's beautiful!

Don't give up on it now! Maybe August 5 will bring the answer to you.

BTW, it felt SO GOOD to finally have power and A/C again when I came home from work Monday night! I wasn't expecting to have it again until Thursday.

 

[mayken4now]

Answers

northwesty "To paint the panels did you tiak it to an autobody shop?"

Yes

FilterFlo " Sounds like your rapidry clutch needs some attention. The tend to get dirty insie and bind up on the shaft and the linings wear and need re adjustment."

The rapid dry clutch and inner parts were rather clean, but what a mess of the brake shoes(if thats what you call them)

unimatic1140 "Do you have service information on the Rollermatic clutch?"

Yes, it is the tech talk books aquired from gyrafoam and PeterH. I am not sure if those are discritptive however.

Steve

 

[mayken4now]

Here we go

Look at all the peices I had to take apart. Oh my, after all the money and time, I am very dissapointed and upset. I never thought that a washer could get me this upset. I told Jeff (my partner) I am very dissapointed, please bear with me right now. He said "you should have done what I told you to do when the jetcone and agitate shaft would not come out" "throw it away". I wonder if he was right?

I have spent three weeks, working, paying money (about 475.00) and a lot of sweat and frustration for a junk machine. OMG, I have never been a quitter however.

The problem is concentrated in all the parts posted in the picture, when I took the spin roller apart, broken parts everywhere. Included, but not limited to two tiny key way pieces it appeared as they were brass. I am unsure if new brake shoes or a whole replacement clutch would solve the trick. The spin shaft has me puzzled.

If not, I will part the machine out. It has a great cabinet now!

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions, we win and loose some folks! This is just a hobby and a passion for old machines.

Steve

 

[mayken4now]

the shaft

here is the shaft, if you can see what I am talking about

 

[mayken4now]

And more broken parts

There was sheared plastic, metal shavings, broken brake shoes, etc.

Steve

 

[mayken4now]

Once again, thanks to gansky1 for the machine, Gyrafoam for getting it to me. I know what these guys are saying, and I feel bad, but the machine would have broke down real soon anyway. It did perfom perfect before I started to take it apart. Again, all I wanted to do was to take it apart, clean it thoroughly and have it painted. Opps, not with one of these, you take the whole machine to the painter when it works well to begin with. I am used of Maytag's (Yikes)!

I should have listened to Unimatic1140 about just wet the lint, don't try to take all that apart, you will create a lot of work for yourself. In part, I agree, however, water and soap were not the answer for the "HARD, CALCIUM, IRON, AND WHATEVER ELSE MACHINE. The pressure washer did not even get it all off, it took me some sno bowl to remove what was left.

Ok engough.

I need a rollematic if anyone has one for sale!!!!!

LOL

Steve

 

[filterflo]

Hi Steve, Dont Fret! You just have a case of Frigidaire owners hebejebe's! The clutch looks like its a mess, but it really isnt. It can be fixed pretty easily, and we can help you thru it. Just take a couple of days away from it, and when your temper cools down and your ambition goes back up, tackle it again. If worse comes to worse, send me the clutch and I can put it back together for you and ready to re-install. Take it from me, its really not so tough, it just looks that way..........

 

[westytoploader]

Hi Steve,

Sorry about your troubles with the Rollermatic, they can really be a b*tch sometimes, but don't give up on it yet. Even though you said there were broken parts in the spin roller/clutch and that might need repair is well, it doesn't sound like that is the origin of the no-spin problem. Judging by what you said about no spin and the Jetcone turning, it sounds like your spin shaft key is either broken or missing. It is a small piece of brass that fits into the "spin tube" (for lack of a better word) and grabs the tub for spin as well as holds the Jetcone in place. If you can remove the old, broken one and piece it together, you could have a new one made at a machine shop.

Out of all the problems a machine can have, no spin is the absolute most frustrating. Been there, done that, except with a '55 Maytag. Hopefully it won't happen again, knock on wood.

Good luck on the repair,
Austin

 

[rickr]

Steve, you will get this machine going just fine. This is all just "curves in the road" Gotta love what your partner said about throwing it away. If it were all just that simple, huh?? <:
Sometimes it's best to give a project a rest for a week or so. Then you come back with fresh ideas, and help from friends.

Rick

 

[Unimatic1140]

I agree Steve, if there is a will there is a way. Worse comes to worse the beautiful cabinet will need to wait until you locate another clutch.

The repair information you have is very indepth and should be helpful.