A 1958 GE, brought back to life!

[swestoyz]

Thanks for the kind comments, everyone! The transmission just purrs during agitation. If it didn't have the filter flo flowing, it'd almost be silent.

John, I'll shoot you a PM regarding the trim for the dryer. And don't worry, I may have another GE project coming up where assistance from your parts department will be of help

I forgot to post the obligatory shot of the model tag for Ken. The parts master shows that GE pretty much left the 950 alone in '58, with no revisions past R1. However the 953, TOL without the fabric softener, did have a revision, R3, that had the '59 style lid.

Ben

 

[hippiedoll]

WOWZERS!!

so many points to touch on here...
First, you did an AMAZING restoration here Ben! That 1958 GE looks & works AMAZING!

The motor running clip in the video, it just hummed along so smoothly! WOW...

Second, I love the black & pink color combination of this washer. The black speckled tub, black agitator, pink agitator cap, pink tub ring, pink fabric softener dispenser, and pinkish metal filter pan. It just all pops so beautifully together.
I wouldn't have known either, that the filter pan was painted if you hadn't mention it.

And that the fabric softener dispenser "tray" was clear, that was really cool!

That was cool the way you worked through the drama issues that popped up on you.

Again, what a FANTASTIC restoration you did here!

Doing the HAPPY DANCE for you on this side of the computer!

WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!
D

 

[sambootoo]

Job well done, Ben. Thanks for an amazing restoration and such thorough documentation.

 

[abcomatic]

HI Ben, Wow, another great restoration! Sure sounds good to hear it go again.

 

[bajaespuma]

Rating plate

Thank you Ben!

I'd like to volunteer to be your assistant when you do one of these rebuilds (very good at holding wrenches)... I'd learn what I need to know.

 

[lesto]

What a beautiful restoration! My great aunt had a 59 model with the seafood green agitator top instead of the pink they used in 58. It was a MOD one speed model with two cycles and lighted dial. Normal had black letters (15, 12, 9, 6, 3 minute wash) and short cycle had red letters with 3 minute wash and shorter rinse and spin. I believe the 59 model was the first year GE offered a cold wash option. When my great aunt died we moved into her house in 1973 and used that 59 GE until the tranny went out around 1978 when I graduated from high school. It would no longer spin fast enough to get the water out. If I had known this site and you guys would come along I would have insisted my parents keep it so it could have been restored. I loved that machine.

 

[tinbarreiro]

Help

Hello everyone. Totally new to this forum came across this greatly detailed restoration process and used it as reference to fix my machine. My washing machine is a GE.....well actually a Durex brand (made in Ecuador under General Electric license) that was built around 1980 or few years prior. It uses the exact same transmission and after checking how to change a couple of broken water and oil seals, changing the oil that was basically turned to mud, replacing the belt and doing a deep cleaning or detailing of the entire thing I was able to successfully put it back together. It worked like a charm for a couple of months but now im having a bit of an issue that with your help, could hopefully be corrected. On the washing cycle, the drum is suppose to spin back and forth or clockwise and counterclockwise but that is now kinda limited and it makes a pretty loud knocking noise. It is still moving just not as much as it was before. The center spider moves as normal. The machine goes through the cycles and the clothes come out extra dry (I suspect the old belt was slipping a bit on high speed as it was covered oil and gunk). When I change the transmission oil, all the gears or pinions where in great shape and they are all made of metal so I don't think the issue is coming from there. However I did not clock the spring clutch at all, nor did I have to fiddle with the latch tube nor the clutch hub as it all fell into place very easily. As a comparison, when I work on the CVT transmission of my ATV, there is a need to actually spin the secondary clutch into position and they most people refer to this as clocking the clutch..... Not sure if that is needed on a washing machine as the system is different. Maybe some of you fine gentleman can share the knowledge or maybe give me another possible cause of this problem as I am totally out of ideas. I did order all new seals in case I have to take the transmission apart again but I forgot to order "The right Stuff" sealant. I only try it after seeing it here and wow that stuff is amazing. Any way, hope to hear back from you soon and thanks a lot in advance. Take a look at pictures of my machine. 40+ years of service and until now, going strong.

 

[combo52]

Reply number 65

1980 GE top load, automatic washer

Very impressive that you’re keeping this machine running, when the machine is washing agitating, the basket should lock into position and not move on this machine, if the basket is moving some and making a knocking noise, the brake that is supposed to hold the basket in place is broken my sister-in-law‘s GE did this it’s entire life. It’ll probably keep working this way, but it’s a defect in the way the brake holds the gear case from turning internally.

You would have to take it apart and see what’s broken if you want to correct it but you may be able to leave it alone. Keep us posted

John.

 

[swestoyz]

John is spot on that the wash tub should latch in place after a few seconds of agitation. The latch slide should engage with the tang on the brake band once the assembly finds that spot within the 360 degrees of rotation, found on the outer diameter of the base bearing frame. Between the frame and the brake band is the brake lining, which on your washer is much longer and larger in height to the small band on the '58. No "clocking" required during reassembly, but rather that lowering the bearing frame on the housing doesn't interfere with the latch.

During wash, often you'll hear a clunk as the latch engages with the brake band, but it shouldn't make much noise after that. When the transmission is reversed for spin the clutch hub draws the latch away from the tang on the brake band and allows the assembly to freely spin. The release for spin happens immediately upon reversal (within roughly 90 degrees of rotation of the pulley).

I don't have any decent interior shots of the later style GE transmission with the updated brake, but Jon took some great shots a few years ago when he rebuilt the transmission on one of his late 60's/early 70's GE's. This should match yours.

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?80000

Ben

 

[tinbarreiro]

John thanks for the information and your incredibly quick reply. To be hones I remember the basket on my washer always doing that back and forth movement reason why I thought it was normal operation. This machine is actually 2 years older than I am as my parenst bought it to wash my sister's dirty dippers...yeah back in the day when dippers where not disposable. I am now 40 so it is unbelievable that a 42 year old machine is still in service. Guess I never saw the brake working but what caught my attention was the sudden knocking noise that appeared out of the blue. I am planning to take it apart just to check it again as the first time I did not see any signs of broken parts, but then again I was not looking too hard for it as I only wanted to chance the seals and put new oil on the transmission. I already place the other for the necessary parts but still haven't received them and that could take a very long time since I am in Ecuador. I will try to do a video of how the machine is operating these days and maybe post the link to YouTube. You are awesome and I really do appreciate all your help.
Thank you.

Martin

 

[tinbarreiro]

Ben wow you totally PhD'ed your explanation and definitively took me to school. When I took apart the transmission I did not studied the brake in much detail as it was not of my concern and since it was my first time ever to take apart any washing machine ever I really did not know what I was doing. No service manual, no previous experiences and only this post as references. I started to have problems of oil stains in my clothes after washing and by reading this post decided to try to fix the issue by changing the seals. It was great fun and since the machine had been on service for son long I had a "what's the worts that could happen" kind of attitude because it was already not working properly and staying clothes rather than making them cleaner. I was unable to take the basket hub out of the axel as it was basically rust welded to it so I decided to take the transmission to a shop. In the metal shop they told me that the hub might break when they heated the piece to get it out but I green lighted the operation and luckily they where able to take it apart without any damage. Once the guys in the shop saw the insides of the transmission they where sooo surprise that they bold told me to make sure I fixed the machine because of the quality of the gears. These men usually work on tractors and heavy machinery so their comment was totally unexpected and it motivate me to fix the washer. The funny part is that there is some kind of brake that actually works in different cycles and it does stop the wash tub and the agitator dead in their tracks. If I for instance open the top in the middle of a cycle the machine stops immediately. Maybe that's a different system but since it does stop I never thought there could be a problem with the brakes. Again I have some parts comming hopefully some time soon and maybe then I will take apart the transmission just to inspect it again now that I know what to look for. Thanks fo the link to Johns other post, that really does help.....but after his struggles with impressing and installing the spring back into place I am having second thoughts about taking that thing apart and loosing an eye in the process. That little breakdown diagram is helpful to and would keep an eye on that latch slide too. I am amazed at the response time, your bast knowledge and also the fact that I can still find replacement parts for a 42 year old machine.
Thank you very much Ben.

Martin

 

[swestoyz]

Martin, you're welcome! Thanks for sharing the fun story of taking the transmission to the machine shop. A huge gamble in attempting to remove the hub but I'm glad to hear they were able to pull it off without damaging it or the spin tube.

If the machine is stopping the wash tub and agitator "dead in their tracks" upon opening the lid during spin, the brake is working just fine. You'll hear a pop when the latch grabs the brake band tang when power is cut from the motor.

Keep us posted on what you find, and feel free to start a new thread.

Ben

 

[helicaldrive]

What are the three dryer

Buttons for?

We had the 1959 GE dryer. I remember the 1959 having only two buttons, start and air freshener. So wanting to know what the middle button did is driving me crazy.

Gorgeous machines!

The dryer was very fast and quiet. But the controls were awkward. It really wasn’t automatic drying by today’s standards. There were no dryness sensors. It was basically a timer with no time markings, and only one heat setting. On Delicate it just dried a shorter amount of time, and nothing got dry on that setting. Then if you wanted a cool down the dial had to be manually reset to de-wrinkle for a selected amount of time. There was no end of cycle alarm or bell either.

But OMG, so gorgeous with that full width fluorescent light and the lighted dial.

 

[swestoyz]

Helicaldrive - great question. The middle button on the dryer is the De-wrinkle setting. It triggers a separate thermostat calibrated for the de-wrinkling cycle mark on the timed portion of the timer.

When activated, a 160 degree thermostat overrides the compensating resistor within the control thermostat, allowing for a fixed limit rather than the standard compensating control.

 

[helicaldrive]

Thanks!

All very interesting.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

startup sound

I like the startup sound of agitation on normal speed.

 

[lotsosudz]

INCREDIBLE RESTORATION

I'm green with envy watching the process of restoration, and seeing it function. Normally i am not a fan of straight vane agitators, even with the indexing tub, and the agi, it still had good turnover. impressive job Buddy, and impressive machine!
Hugs,
David

 

[Chetlaham]

Durex Washer

I really like the design and color of that Durex washer. Do you have more pics of it? I've always had a thing for that particular design of control panel.