70's Lady Kenmore Agitator Removal

[flyingethan]

Does anyone know how to remove the agitator from a 70's series Lady Kenmore Heavy Duty washer, model number 11072693430? The top half of the agitator came off easy enough. After popping the cap off I unbolted it and it came off just fine. However, the bottom half of the agitator is firmly attached and I am not sure if it is supposed to simply slide off of the drive shaft or if there is some other means by which it is being held on. I have pulled on it pretty good hoping it would break free and slide off but I am afraid of being more aggressive and damaging something if it is attached some other way. Anyone know if that agitator simply pry's off or is supposed to be removed some other way?

A little background info.. I bought this set, matching washer and dryer, a couple of years ago and stored them in my garage until a couple of months ago. I replaced many components on them and cleaned the hell out of them. They both have been working great once I had gone through them. This weekend the washer developed a leak and I think it might be the main tub seal. I can get the seal but I've got to get the agitator off to fix it.

 

[yogitunes]

first of all..Welcome to the club....

and that is one beautiful top of the line set....you must have just about every option....

those dual actions, as well as a few others can be tricky to get them removed....

but here we go....well, this is at least one option....

items you will need:

two towels
a 2x4 about two or three foot long
and two ratcheting tie downs

since this is a Kenmore with that side opening lid, and the long dispenser, your going to lay the two towels, folded up, at the 7 and 2 o'clock position, then take the 2x4 and set across the towels, then with the two tie downs, loop them under the agitator in a cross formation, and up and over the board......and start with each adding 2 to 3 clicks on each one until the agitator slides up and off....

this has to be the simplest and quickest way I have gotten some tough ones off.....there are other methods....but this should be able to be done with simple things you have around the house....

let us know how you make out.....

 

[bendixmark]

removal

Disconnect the hot hose from the washer and and let it pour slowly on the agitator spline for 5 minutes, the agitator should now pull off.

 

[flyingethan]

Thanks for the help. I will try that today and I'll report back. I don't want to continue with the repair until I have the parts in hand but at least I'll know how to get that agitator off.

I have been lurking (reading) on this site for a few years but now I have finally become a member. The last few years I have been restoring my Frigidaire Flair ranges. Thanks for the welcome.

I bought this set from a lady who didn't appreciate what she had at all. She had gotten them from who-knows-where and just wanted them gone because she was moving. When I got there to pick them they were still connected and had clothes in them. They were absolutely filthy. I tore them all apart (except for the agitator and tub of the washer) and cleaned everything thoroughly inside and out. After that I connected them up and tested them. I found several problems but I've been very lucky and I have been able to find all of the parts that I have needed, so far. I love avocado and I want to keep this set going for as long as possible. The dispenser lid and lid-frame on the washer is black because the old one was missing the lid and was broken. I was able to find a new dispenser lid/ frame but only in white (I was thrilled that I was able to find one) so I painted it black. I would have painted it avocado but I couldn't match the washer color.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Great set!!!!!!!!!!!!

A set of these are on my bucket list. My Grandparents had one in harvest gold and they were AMAZING! I saw them even wash my aunt's horse blankets, 2 @ A TIME! They got clean too. When Gramps sold the house the machines were 29 years old and still going strong. Clearly some of the best machines Whirlpool ever made.
WK78

 

[flyingethan]

Alright guys, this ain't workin'. I filled the tub up with scolding hot water and let it sit for two hours. I applied the make-shift winch as recommended above (that's what the pics are of) and the agitator will not budge. I emptied the water with the winch in place and filled it up again with hot water leaving the tension on the winch. Still nothing. I am afraid of putting anymore pressure on the agitator because I don't want it to break. I've got it flexing pretty hard.

Is there another way to get this thing off?

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Ethan,

Question...there were two versions of this agitator, at least in the early days when your washer was made. The first version used a center spring to help hold the auger off the base agitator just so much as needed to make the auger engage the drive notches.

A newer version was quickly released which uses a revised auger with two red drive shoes inside the auger.

Which version do you have?

The reason I ask is because these agitators will often get stuck like this as (unfortunately) the agitator shaft splines rust and expand, which freezes the agitator on to the shaft. I have literally picked up machines off the floor briefly trying to get agitators off. When I have spares I have driven a large screw driver into the top to split it open. They always are then easy to remove but the agitator is then ruined.

If you have the first version of this agitator, replacement bases are probably impossible to find, but I have four of them left over from machines that I swapped in newer versions. You are welcome to one if you want to break out the agitator base. I know this sounds a rough way to get it out, but it will work if you get desperate.

The only other suggestion I can think of is to use an Agitamer if you can find one. These are rubber diaphragms that go under the agitator base and are filled with water. As it fills and expands, it exerts pressure from underneath the agitator and will eventually free the stuck offender.

You could also try the hot water again but pour it directly onto the top of the agitator instead of filling the tub.

Good luck!!!!! Let us know how it goes!

Gordon

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Ethan,

I have more info for you.

I looked up your model on Sears' parts website. The parts diagram for the agitator shows the first version with the spring. That is good if you want one of my old ones.

When you get the agitator off, we need to examine the shaft splines. If they are rusted there will unfortunately be another problem to deal with.

Gordon

 

[arris]

Man

Looks like that's a bitch..... don't you love it when people neglect things ??? I had one like that.... used some rust buster.. would tap with a hammer lightly, apply more rust buster.. after 3 days of doing that mine came out...........I was pretty fed up at that point and started pulling and pulling.. it came out........... so fast it hit me in the nose, and gave me a bloody nose.. but it came out... have you tried spraying it with anything like that ?? tapped it, let it sit and try again ????

 

[flyingethan]

My agitator uses the center spring. It's probably never been removed before and may likely be rusted on. I will look for an Agitamer today. If I can't find one then I may have to go the route of splitting it to get it out. If I do that then I will definitely be in the market for a new agitator. I will try pouring hot water over the top of the agitator today.

There is an appliance parts store where I live that I am going to call today. They guys that work there are awesome and have tons of old parts (many parts are NOS). I know that there is newer version of the agitator that I would like to replace this one with but I'll see what's available.

As far as applying rust buster, I wouldn't know how to apply it. Since the agitator base is closed at the top, how would I get the rust buster onto the spline to free up the rust? If the spline is rusted I will thoroughly clean it (maybe take a wire brush to it) and get off all of the rust the best I can and coat it with oil prior to installing the agitator back on.

Once I get the agitator off I am not sure which seal(s) to purchase to stop the drum from leaking. I will try that appliance parts store today and see if they can tell me which seal(s) to buy.

Thanks guys. Your information is awesome! At least I know that I can get the agitator off even if it means destroying it.

 

[yogitunes]

just apply any sort of rust buster, penetrating fluid, WD-40, etc....down the center where the bolt goes, it may take a while to seep down, and you may have to apply several times....

very few times this has not worked, unfortunately this may be one of them, but give it your best shot first, and as a last resort, it may have to be broken off....

 

[flyingethan]

I didn't know that the top of the agitator where the auger bolt screws in was open to the spline. That's good news.

I will try some WD-40 on it tonight. I'll let it set for a while and tap on it using a block of wood.

If I retain pressure on the agitator by leaving the winch in place then use a smaller bolt (so I don't damage the threads) and tap on the top of the spline with a hammer that might drive the shaft out of the agitator. I noticed that when I have pressure on the agitator using the winch the whole tub assembly raises up slightly which means I have a tiny bit of play that will allow me to drive the shaft down just a bit while the agitator is being pulled upward. This might let slowly tap it out, if that makes sense. One way or another I'll get it free.

 

[yogitunes]

yeah, its going to take a little bit of time......I had one that took almost three days, just by leaving the tension on there, and constantly adding more penetrating fluid....blind luck, it let loose on its own....

who knows, you may want to venture with some trial agitators, just for fun, or to see different results from each one...I too prefer the DualAction, but interesting results from a RotoSwirl, RotoFlex, PentaVane, PentaSwirl, or even a Surgilator!

 

[arris]

Agitator

If the only way you can get this off is to bust it.. I have a gold kenmore agitator from a 72 standard capacity washer I won't be using, I would think it should fit this machine, maybe someone on here would know... if you need it you can have it...

 

[bendixmark]

hot water

Did you pour hot water over the agitator spline as I suggested?Filling the tub with hot water wont do a thing.You want the hot water over the spline where the bolt goes to make it expand,this almost never fails for me.Heat it up pound then pull the agitator from the bottom with all you have got.

 

[flyingethan]

Thanks for the agitator offers but I bought a new one today from Sears parts direct. The new one is designed to operate quieter as well. It should be here in about a week. I want to still try and salvage the one that's on there so I am letting WD-40 soak in while keeping tension on it. I tried tapping on the top of it and pouring hot water over the top of it for a long time but neither helped. We'll see if keeping tension on it and continually spraying WD-40 in the top of it breaks it free. I'll give it until the new agitator comes in the mail. At that point it's destruction time.

I looked for an Agitamer today but I can't seem to find one.

Once again, thanks for the offers. I appreciate it.

Once I get this thing off I will take pics and show everyone what the spline looks like.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Leaky tub

Ethan,

You mentioned that the tub is leaking and that you don't know what seals to buy. Have you ascertained where the water is coming from?

Your tub has five seal points, any one of which could be causing the problem. The most likely ones are the centerpost tub seal or gasket, which is part number 383727. These are only a few bucks to purchase and fail often in belt drives. The other frequent culprit is the tub outlet hose, which is what the tub filters and drains from. This is part number 96386 and is NLA now from Whirlpool as they haven't been used in production since summer 1981. If your machine is leaking here, the left front corner of the baseplate will be wet or possibly already rusting.

The third place is where the bleach hose from the triple dispenser enters the tub....front right corner, at 4 o'clock or so. This special hose may not be very plentiful in supply. They can be helped with sealant and reused.

The other two places are less common leak sources. First, the air dome in right rear corner could be leaking, New air domes with seals can still be found or the old one can be sealed with sealer. I doubt this is your problem.

The last is the tub mounted lint filter, left rear at 10 o'clock. You will have wet filter hoses and a wet baseplate in this area if there is a leak here.

My guess is either the center gasket or the outlet hose, sometimes it's both. I have changed both of these as heavy maintenance items when I already have a machine apart for other reasons. Maybe your parts place still has the 96386 outlet hose in stock.

Question -- are you sure the pump is ok?

I hope this has helped! I hope also that the tub doesn't have a rust hole developing. These can be pesky for sure but we'll help you there as well if you need it.

Gordon

 

[combo52]

GETTING A STUCK AGITATOR OUT OF A BD WASHER

Hi Ethan, and Welcome to the group.

 

The only way I ever had much luck getting really stuck agitators out of these washers is to really heat the top area of the agitator and along with the straps or agita-tamer you might have a decent chance. I heat the agitator top area with BOILING water, or a heat gun for quite a while [ almost to the point of softening the polypropylene plastic agitator a little], hot water from the water heater is just not hot enough to do much good.

 

And really the best thing to do is just break it out as Gordon suggested and get a replacement agitator from him, this is what I often do if a replacement is available.

 

[flyingethan]

I'm gonna give it until my new agitator comes in the mail. At that point I will break out the old one. I haven't tried boiling water yet. I am going to do that tonight and see what happens.

I have replaced the water drain pump, reservoir (it was broken and leaky) and the solenoid assembly for the reservoir (opens up to release the bleach into the system) (it was broken and leaky). Bleach hose is good. I cleaned it out, re-installed it and it's dry. Air dome is good and dry.

The lint filter was my first thought. It is wet underneath the filter on the base plate but the hoses going in and out of it are dry and the water appears to coming from between the base plate and the tub. So my thought this far is the center post tub seal. I've gone through everything except that seal and the lint filter. I can't really tell which it is without getting the tub out.

The water is emanating from between the base plate and tub on the left side pretty much in the middle between the front and rear of the unit. Everything above this is dry and everything underneath is dry (I've gone through all the possible leak points underneath and it's good to go). The tub outlet hose where it attaches to the tub could be the problem but I can't tell without getting the tub out.

So, my thinking is it's probably the centerpost tub seal. When I get it apart I'll replace everything I can just to be sure.

 

[flyingethan]

Good news! and bad news.

The good news is I got the agitator off today. Woo hoo! The bad new is that I have some serious rust issues.

After slowly pouring two pots of boiling water over the top of the agitator it finally busted loose. Thank you everyone for your advice.

Okay buddies, I need more of your advice. I found my leak. The basket has some rust but is still usable. The tub has some serious rust in two spots. Where the air dome attaches to the tub is rusted through making a small hole. The center of the tub where the centerpost tub seal goes is rusted badly enough to the point where it probably won't seal anymore. It looks like I tore up that center hole in the tub getting it out but I didn't. It came out looking that way. Both places were leaking. Oddly enough though the air dome hole never showed signs of leaking even though it is clearly rusted through.

The centerpost is rusted badly too. I took a wire brush to everything and still have good metal but it is so pitted that I don't know if I can achieve a seal. Please take a look at the pics and let me know if these things are salvageable.

I have a new centerpost tub seal and it fits snugly but I'm not sure if will be adequate. I've thought about having a buddy weld over the hole next to the air dome and then weld in a plate in the center of the tub to try and create a hole that might create a seal. I'm not sure it would work but I do NOT want to get rid of my washer.

Could I just silicone the crap out of the leaky areas along with using the new seal ( I have new screws with new seals for the tub too).

Is the outer centerpost part of the base? Or is the entire centerpost part of the transmission?

Anyways, does anyone have a basket, tub and/ or base (or transmission if that is what the outer centerpost is part of) that they would be willing to sell? I know it's a long shot but I will gladly pay a higher than normal price for them plus shipping. Plus I would gladly pay for the effort that it takes to package them up and mail them.

I've thought about taking my parts to the local used appliance stores and seeing if they might have some used replacements laying around that I could buy.

Alright, at least I know what I've got now.

Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Wow Ethan....

You've got some work on your hands.

Starting with the basket....that rust hole is probably not a big deal but I would cover the area with POR-15 to try to stop any further deterioration --- on both sides of the tub center tube.

The centerpost has indeed lost a good bit of surface area. If you think it is still sufficiently strong as not to break, my solution would be to clean it thoroughly, paint it liberally with POR, then when dry, I would rub on a layer of two part epoxy and make sure it is flush with the rest of the centerpost. This will build you a new sealing surface. Just make sure it is smooth.

The tub...Boy, if these were still available, that tub would be a tosser for sure. Try to re-form the round edges of the centerpost area as your first step. POR-15 the entire area as a lot of porcelain is missing there. Once the sealing edges are straightened back out, try putting sealant on the new 383727 gasket, insert the gasket, then seat the tub in the machine before the sealant dries. Then, fill the area all around that mangled tub lip with two part epoxy. Believe it or not it has worked, well enough for my own use on a stricken machine. Not sure I'd want to warranty that to a customer but for me it has worked. You can use two part epoxy on the air dome hole as well.

I think I would paint the surface rush on the baseplate with POR-15 as well.

Like I said, you have your work cut out for you, but it's worth a shot!

Gordon

 

[arris]

CenterPost

For the centerpost you may want to look for a sheet metal/machine fabrication shop...I have one in my area that installed a new centerpost for my 75 LDA9800 WP.. here is a picture after the install... as far as the outer tub.. there was a place in Grand Junction CO that had many outer tubs.. you will need to take in inside dimensions and the height... I cannot remember the name of the place off the top of my head.. you could google appliance repair/parts in Grand Junction C.O. not sure if they would have an inner tub.. there is an appliance salvage in AZ to.. when I remember the name will send it. attached is my new centerpost... Jim

 

[arris]

CenterPost

The CenterPost is pressed in and is part of the baseplate..

 

[flyingethan]

Arris,

Did the machine shop make you a new centerpost, refinish the old one or just install one that you had into the base?

That sure is a pretty picture.

 

[arris]

Machine Shop

I bought 10ft of stainless tubing, the inside diameter was smaller than the original but the outside was the same. In order for the bearings to fit they had to mill some down on the inside. they measured the old one removed it, cut my stainless to the correct length and installed the new one. For the baseplate mine was in very good shape very little rust.. I sanded it, put a coat of primmer on, then painted it.. I think I,m gonna put a coat of Epoxy on it...
I had shoulder surgery for a torn Rotator cuff in December, and was not able to do much work on it.. but now I'm doing pretty good so gonna start putting it back together. before I do though I think I'm going to go to the machine shop with my outer tub and see if they could make a new one.. just for the heck of it.... before it goes back in the machine, figure all they can do is say NO.... Jim

 

[flyingethan]

Fantastic effort. I am going to see if I can replicate your efforts. Where there's a will there's a way.

If I can have a new post made and get a hold of a another tub I don't see why this washer can't last another 40 years.

Let the hunt begin.

What kind of business did you buy the stainless steel tube from?

 

[arris]

Stainless

I had the shop measure the old one and then they ordered the new one... I had to buy 10ft and still have most of it in the basement, I wanted to keep it so I could have another centerpost installed in a baseplate... good luck, keep everyone here posted on how you make out... Jim

 

[flyingethan]

KenmoreGuy64, is there a particular sealant that you would recommend if I was going to try and reuse the tub and basket?

 

[combo52]

Hi Ethan I am glad the boiling water suggestion worked. 

 

I would look for a good donor basket outer tub and base plate the rust is bad enough around the hole in the basket that that basket will break in the not-too-distant future. The rusted center post is also in danger of rusting through and Breaking.

 

If you want to try fixing the rusted center post we had good luck with buying thin wal stainless steel tubing then sanding the rust off the center post and slipping the stainless steel tubing over the rusty Center post and then welding it at the top and the bottom doing this is much easier than trying to replace the entire center post and you're much less likely to have problems with alignment.

 

The best type of sealant to use around holes in the outer tub is 100% silicone rubber RTV sealant it's easy to get and works very well.

 

[flyingethan]

Combo52. Great idea. I found a machine/ fabrication shop where I live that is willing to help me out. Your idea of slipping a thin wall tube over the post is a good idea.

I was thinking 100% silicone but I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't something else that is even better. I am thinking Permatex Blue is probably a good option.

I called Appliance Express in Glendale, AZ today and they have several of my washers sitting outside. They said that they would get into them tomorrow and send me pics of the parts that I need. I will be able to see if the ones they have are in better shape than mine or not. They said that the tubs, baskets and bases that they have might be in okay condition. We'll see tomorrow.

There's another place locally to me that thinks they can muster up some parts.

Also, I've seen a few similar models on Craigslist locally that might work. I just need some time to go check them out. Apparently there were many of those around here, Oklahoma City, not too long ago but they have started dwindling in recent years. My local appliance shops say they still get them from time to time.