'68 Rollermatic

[gyrafoam]

Just when I thought my blood pressure was beginning to drop to too low a level, I decided to switch out the bad motor in my rollermatic with the good motor. As usual, it is "baptism by fire". The mechanism that goes with the bad motor is good. The mechanism that goes with the good motor is bad. I have the good mechanism broken down to the point that the only things that seem to be holding the bad motor on are the agitate arm and clutch. Now there is a little spanner nut I have removed from the bottom of the agitate arm, under the (ball) spherical bearing. There is now a place to insert an "allen" wrench to un-screw the agitate arm from the agitate shaft. This is not working. Greg drew my attention to a tiny nut between the top of the ball "spherical bearing" and the "agitate arm coupling. If I could take a wrench and hold on to that nut while trying to turn the "allen" wrench I should be able to get the thing off. Problem is the space is so tiny between the two, to access the nut I need a VERY thin wrench. A trip to Lowe's did not help me out----no thin wrench sets to be had. Bought a pair of long and small "needle-nosed" pliers-----tried 'em and they just can't get a good enough grip on that nut.

So I'm "dead in the water" trying to figure out how the get the last pieces of this mechanism off.

Any ideas you guys have will be deeply appreciated!
BTW----I do not have the special tool Frigidaire made to hold the impeller (in the water pump) while removing the screw from it. Discovered the Whirly-Kenmore spanner nut wrench works perfectly!

 

[gyrafoam]

Well, Greg just called, and while on the phone with him I noticed my "wire-stripper" was just about thin enough to fit in the slot and sure enough, it did the trick. Now the ball is out of the agitate arm HOWEVER the nut just turns freely along with the bolt it is attached to inside the coupler. The coupler is keyed on to the agitate shaft, so the clutch and spin wheel are still in the way of removing the motor. So close to getting that damn motor off-------

O.K., what to try next?

 

[gyrafoam]

All right, so I got hold of the agitate shaft with the pliers and got the coupler in the channel locks and I was able to unscrew the coupler from the agitate shaft. NOW, HOPEFULLY the last obstacle-----how to get the spin wheel and clutch off of the spin shaft?

 

[gyrafoam]

BTW it is a model:WN3 "Gold Crown". So I've got the clutch off now all the way down to the cams. Now to figure out how to get the rest off AND I don't have the special tool----a "socket cam brake tool nut"!

 

[jetaction]

What you need to do next.......

Shake yourself a Martini, than another!!!

 

[gyrafoam]

OMG-----

Wow! After spending the better part of 12 hours working on that thing yesterday a martini would have knocked me right out! Another, and I would have gone "split-level!

So, I got a good nights sleep and here I am ready to take the bull by the horns for day two. Would sure like to get this thing back together today, but have to figure out how the get whats left of that spin wheel and cams off.

Where are the rollermatic experts?

 

[mayken4now]

Steve Hi!

Wish I could help you. I know nothing about how to work on those, but good luck.

I will email you later today.

Steve

 

[gansky1]

I talked with Steve this morning and he's doing a stellar job on this Rollermatic washer, diving into it with little to no experience armed only with a repair manual (which can be frustratingly confusing at times) and a small workbench. He was able to figure out the spin wheel and clutch/brake package and is now in the process of replacing the bad motor with a good one and then reassembling the entire mechanism from the "ground up". Good luck Steve, you'll get it and have the jetcone jumping in no time!!

 

[gyrafoam]

Done! It took me all day but I got the mechanism built back up from scratch with the good motor on it and had it done by about 4PM. Then went to putting the machine back together. Finnished about 9PM. Did a quick test and she agitates and spins perfectly (with just a tad of water in the pump to keep it from running dry). Will have to see if she is really "sea worthy" tomorrow.

 

[tlee618]

Congratulation Steve on a Job well done!! Looking forward to seeing some pictures. Terry

 

[gansky1]

YAY!! Good job Steve!

Here's a picture of the machine he sent me today...

From Tulsa to Omaha to Atlanta, torn down, rebuilt and now running beautifully!

 

[westytoploader]

YAY!!! Congratulations Steve...I knew you would pull it off! Beautiful job--it looks showroom fresh in that picture! Are you using this as your main washer now?

I didn't realize this was a Tulsa machine either...

 

[gyrafoam]

Westy----

This machine was a wonderful surprise gift from Greg when I visited him in Omaha last February. I coldn't wait to try it out, so one day while Greg was still at work I plugged it in and started her up. She filled and then agitated perfectly for about 10 seconds when suddenly I smelled something burning---------I quickly went to shut her down-----just as blue smoke began to waft up from inside. Bummer.

When Greg got home he quickly diagnosed the problem----the damn start switch got hung up! The motor was fried. FORTUNATLY, Greg had a spare motor and he sent it home with me. So since then I have looked at the machine wondering when I would tackle swapping out the motors.Saturday morning I decided the time had come! So not only did I completely tear down the mechanism, I also had some rust repair to do with the interior of the outer tub AND the drain holes at the top of the inner tub were COMPLETELY blocked with lint! This machine must have been very cool to watch in an "overflow" rinse as the water ( and I would imagine a few items of clothes) came all the way over the top of the tub! No wonder she was withdrawn from service! The water was so hard I had major lime deposits to deal with and the lint that blocked the drain holes had formed SOLID plugs from the dried lime in the water! I had to take a flat-head screwdriver to each little hole to unplug them!I filled a standard size baggie with the plugs! Then I had rust repair to the outside of the inner tub. Oh yeah, it was an intense 48 hours getting her up and running! So thats the story!

Yes, I moved the '64 Highlander (my all time favourite) into storage and will now use the "Rapidry" for a while.

Hope you are enjoying that Unimatic! I love how quiet they are in operation. I remember how noisy so many of the other machines of that vintage were, and always thought that a good feature. Best wishes! Steve

 

[peteski50]

68 Rollermatic

Wow Real Nice Frigidaire - Best Of Luck!
Jetaction
Peter

 

[tlee618]

Steve the machine looks just beautiful. I commend you on a job well done. I know since this was your first rapidry to work on, it was no small undertaking. Congratulations and lots of fun washing ahead. Terry

 

[Brent-Aucoin]

Way to go Steve!

What a nice machine!
Can't wait to see it in action!
I love the color's of gold on the panel, and the window in the lid! Very good looking.
I have had the chance to play with a Rapid-dry before. Very cool machine.
Your hard work has paid off once again!
Brent

 

[foraloysius]

Great job! Well done!! That's a very pretty machine!

 

[lightedcontrols]

She .....is .....a ........mechanical .....girl.......

OK Miss MAD DONNA ....Remember mechanical girl, no oily oily on the roller rollers!!! LOL!!! Mark

 

[gyrafoam]

ooooh--- 'Ah got yo mechanical girl---------

Nothin a little alcohol on a rag won't cure! Wouldn't ya know my machine is missing the center portion of the schematic pasted to the back "DO NOT ---------------ISM is all I have!
O.k.,o.k., so now I know!