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swestoyz

Well-known member
Platinum Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2004
Messages
6,611
Location
Cedar Falls, IA
Hello everyone! I wanted to share a recent restoration success story with the group, that does include a bit of drama (i.e. learning opportunities). This may take a few days to write up, and if so thank you for your patience. For archival purposes the more details the better, right? Thankfully the drama in this saga doesn't really begin until half way through.

In late winter/early spring of 2019, Jetaction and Gansky1 stopped by CF to pay a visit on an overnight stay, and like all good appliance collectors, the topic of our "wish lists" came up while doing some wash that evening. When the question came to me I immediately responded with a solid tub GE, a washer that had eluded me up until that point. A few other machines were rattled off, laughs and intrigue were exchanged, and we continued on with our conversation.

A few weeks later a fellow collector reached out to see if I was interested in a GE set they were looking to sell. After seeing the pictures immediately I said - yes, of course, tell me more! Were the washer Gods looking down on me with delight?

I asked for some additional photos in hopes to see that the outer tub boot was something that could be salvaged. Thankfully the boot had been replaced at some point with a later replacement "star boot" for these special 1956-1960 machines. Knowing it had a good boot, a deal was struck and a shipper was arranged to pick up the set so they could come live in Iowa.

Here's a sampling of photos that were shot my way ---[this post was last edited: 4/29/2020-22:29]

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Restoration efforts were held off until a few other machines could be finished during the summer/fall/early winter.

By the time New Years 2020 had passed the '58 GE was next in queue! First off a quick test was in order to see what condition the mechanicals were in.

The shreaded pump coupler was toast! It lasted maybe 10 minutes before finally giving out completely.

Also, take caution when removing the original spring style coupler clamps. These things can take an eye out!



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With the intial tests looking promising it was time to dissemble the machine.

The three tub bolts came out with ease using an impact wrench. The pre-'61 machines use a steel flange that the three bolts thread into, rather than the threaded die-cast basket hub on the later perforated tubs. No fear of stripping out the basket hub on these.

And, yeah, the wires are a mess. You could take photos of each wire as you remove them, but the board is also labeled as well.

With the top removed (BE CAREFUL NOT TO KILL THE FILLER FLUME!!! Read the service manual carefully for this step), the sins of previous installers were exposed. The top seal was not seated properly along the outer tub top, near the fabric softener dispenser. I imagine it may have leaked during spin.

Overall, YUCK. Ancient fabric softener is gross.

We also get to see how the auxiliary hose runs for the fabric softener. It's pretty ingenious. The solenoid is activated during the fill for wash to hold back water flow, and not activated during rinse fill to allow water to reach the fabric softener trough.

And of course, everything that is rubber is as brittle as can be. The only items that were soft was the water inlet hose from the water valve and the Filter Flo outlet.[this post was last edited: 4/29/2020-22:32]

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With the outer tub pulled from the cabinet, rust repair was done over several days.

First, everything was cleaned up with some steel wool and a coat of POR-15 was applied along the flange to seal up all rust that would have been covered by the patch.

Next, hole repair was done both with plumbers epoxy and JB Weld. If I had to do it over again I probably would have just used the JB Weld, or had let the plumbers epoxy set longer than 24 hours before sanding to shape. It would ball up due to the heat from sanding reactivating the compound.

With the patch sanded and a test fit of the boot checked off, several coats of POR-15 were applied to both the patched area as well as spots within the outer tub that would see a lot of standing water. The top edge was also painted with a few coats for good measure.[this post was last edited: 4/29/2020-22:33]

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In parallel to letting the paint dry for the outer tub, the wash basket was cleaned and also touched up with a few shots of POR-15. 1958 was the last year for the two piece tub; starting in '59 they went to the integrated balance ring version of the wash basket.

The plastisol coating on the balance ring had a few stains (from fabric softener?) but overall it still presents well.

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Drama - first round

During the mechanical test the transmission sounded great in both agitate and spin, and probably could have been left well enough alone. But, if the whole washer was going to be disassembled the transmission could use some new seals.

The evening started off innocently enough with pulling the agitator block and agitator shaft seal. A little bit of heat from the torch and a three arm puller and both popped off with ease. I figured, "heck with this success, why not try my luck with taking the basket hub off?"

Several years ago I had recalled reading Robert's post about disassembling an AW6 transmission and he detailed how he successfully removed the basket hub. I apparently did not heed his warnings. At all. His suggestion was to clamp the spin shaft in a heavy vice, heat the basket hub, and while using a pipe wrench start twisting the hub on the shaft, rather than hitting it up the shaft.

Yeah, in the haze of earlier success I totally biffed it. If you ever decide to take the hub off a GE transmission and you want to reuse said hub, NEVER attempt to use the agitator bearing mount as a point of impact. IT WILL BREAK. I also didn't have a vice available that night so I have no idea what I was thinking when attempting this. Usually I'm pretty methodical when approaching mechanical work. Not that night.

Please let my poor decision making sway you from doing the same. The WH17X41 basket hubs for the 1960 and earlier solid trub transmissions cannot be replaced with the later perforated tub version - WH17X51 or WH17X69. [this post was last edited: 4/29/2020-22:44]

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?30427
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Drama - second round

After that night I swore to myself that I'd be more careful in the future. Slow down. Measure twice, cut once. Or in my case, read the manual and do as it says.

Yeah, that didn't last. A few days later it was time to inspect the original two speed clutch. While the principal behind the original 1957-1961 two speed clutch is the same as the later versions for the perforated tubs, what does make them different is the carrier plate. The earlier version of the carrier plate acts like the drum of an automobile brake drum and a solenoid activates a brake shoe that presses against the carrier plate to keep it stationary, when slow speed is called for. Amazingly all the parts for the clutch were in great shape - the linings were good, the drums looked great, but the bearings for the carrier plate and primary drum were shot.

I thought, oh that will be easy. Just drive them out and replace them with a new WH4X12 bearing.

Again, don't do what I did. Read the instructions that are clearly stated in the service manual. Both the primary drum and the carrier plate have a flange plate that hold the bearing in place via a retainer around the bearing. It is impossible to drive the bearing out without first drilling out the four rivets and then driving the bearing out from the opposite side that had the retainer fastened to either the drum or the plate.

No, I took the impossible to replace carrier plate and literally pounded the center of the die cast out of the plate in an attempt to drive it out. I'm too ashamed of this to show you the after picture.

DON'T DO THIS.

At this point I have an impossible task ahead of me - find a replacement basket hub and carrier plate, or try to improvise.

Did I find a way to repair the basket hub? Did a carrier plate fall from the sky via the washer Gods who trusted me to take care of this GE? Find out in tomorrow's installment.

Until next time!

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I second that emotion

My thanks as well. What a great gift to wake up to this morning. I love Solid Tub Filter-Flo's with Rinse Agent dispensers (I will NEVER understand the strategy GE used when they went to the Perforated-Tub models, eliminated the really useful built-in Rinse Agent dispensers, replaced them with very complicated Bleach dispensers and then, after a couple of years, offered their customers lame and faulty Activator-mounted FS dispensers).

I have a 1960 Dream Machine that has a faulty 2-speed clutch so your post is timely and helpful.

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Wonderful Ben.

I Love that Old Style Activator. The earliest machine I remember Mom having was a 54 (I think) with the Temp did on the left, Cycle Dial on the right and the Green Water Saver Bar in the middle with the Round GE Medallion on the from of the machine. Ours was a Non Filterflo but had the same Activator and only one speed.
 
Drama solution - round one

Thanks for the kind words, everyone!

Come early February I had two problems to solve:

1. Come up with a solution for the basket hub
2. Figure out a way to power the transmission without the original clutch

Tonight I'll tackle problem number one. In the photo groupings I shared earlier I did try putting hub clamp back on the basket hub to see if there was enough meat left within the casting to safely hold the hub on the shaft. While there probably was enough material to get by it wasn't something I was comfortable with. This, on top of the busted agitator bearing mount (or sleeve, not sure what this feature would officially be called). I contemplated the idea of using some JB Weld to fasten the bearing mount back to the hub, but still was weary of then coating the hub clamp with JB Weld.

At this point I reached out to friends to see if any spares were around knowing full well that this wasn't going to be a part that many would have spares of. Concurrently, I started a nationwide search to parts houses, etc., to see if anyone had a lead on some old GE parts. After several failed attempts I got extremely lucky and found one place that probably had the last NOS WH17X41 basket hub left on a shelf. I naturally bought the part immediately, along with a few other solid tub GE parts. With the NOS hub secured it was time to properly remove the hub.

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Not having a garage bench with a vise really is a short coming. Thankfully the local Makers Space came to the rescue. On a Saturday afternoon I brought the transmission to the shop along with a hand held torch, some emery cloth, a pipe wrench, and a dead blow hammer.

With the hub loose from twisting back and forth using the pipe wrench, the dead blow hammer can be used to smack the flange while gripping the upper half of the hub with your hand and twisting it upwards along the spin shaft.

It was an ugly process, but with time, a bottle of WD-40, some heat from the torch, and some patience, it finally worked past the rust. Success!

I highly recommend using a dead blow hammer for this process. The soft molded rubber of the hammer face will not distort the item you're impacting and it is loaded inside with ballast that will shift during the swing to provide some extra oomph. I believe the hammer I used was the four pound version from Harbor Freight, but you can get them at Menards, etc.

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Next up - pop the bottom cover from the transmission. First, take the pulley nut, washer and seal, as well as the spring clutch and hub off from the shaft.

The manual is pretty vague about the next step of removing the bearing frame assembly. If you find yourself in this position you'll quickly find that it's not a walk in the park.

I found that if I heated up the bearing frame assembly and the outside of the housing with a torch, and then tapped with a solid straight blade screw driver, I could get it to start moving. The key is to keep the bearing frame from moving as you pry against the housing. I used a small screw driver to hold both in place as I worked along the edge with the screw driver. Eventually it will pop off.

And yuck. There is just a bit of water in the oil. And what's this? Part of the snubber band has broken off? And why does the snubber look so funny?

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After some parts cleaning I did some test runs to see if the snubber could indeed be reused. From what I can tell it may have come in contact with the snubber band while the tub was still spinning on agitation. I could have happened in 1958, 1968, or during my dry run test.

Either way, it did hold the tub stationary at one point so I figured it would probably continue to do the job. The idea of trying to make one did cross my mind, but to attempt to emulate the weight of the snubber and ensuring that the pitch of the fins was enough to have it glide through the oil during spin was not a risk I was willing to take.

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The beauty of GE

One of the great things about GE automatic washers is parts interchange, or more specifically the ability to use seals from the last of the perforated tub machines built in 1995 all the way back to the original AW6 in 1947.

From top to bottom, the following seals can be used on all GE transmissions -

Agitator shaft seal - WH8X291 (you do not need to use the extension for the large capacity tubs if the seal was a kit, designated as WH8X291K)

Drive tub seal assembly - WH8X318 (bellows style, for metal housing transmissions, seal between the basket hub and housing top)

Ring seal - WH8X242 (rubber, between the bearing frame assembly and housing)

The single pulley, internal snubber style solid tub transmission from 1956 to 1959 requires two lip seals. One for the bearing frame and one for the pulley. Neither are available as replacements from GE, however they can be substituted for generic replacements. Yay! (The 1960 transmission uses the same seal as the later transmissions, WH8X281)

WH8X184 - tube seal (upper, within the bearing frame assemlby) (1 ea)
SKF - 13537 - Grease Seal (Grainger 35UA53)

WH8X185 - tube seal (lower, within the pulley) (1 ea)
SKF - 13534 - Grease Seal (Grainger 35UA51)

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First off, the thrust washer is installed under the spring retainer. GE mentions that this is meant to act as a brake when the motor/clutch has stopped running. I can only imagine how long it would take to actually stop spinning if this wasn't in place. Funny also that this is only used on the 1956, 1957, 1958, and early 1959 transmissions. Otherwise it isn't used on the early two belt transmissions and isn't needed on the revised 1960 and later improved brake transmissions. The spring retainer was full of disgusting gunk. This alone was a great reason to completely disassemble the transmission.

With the drive tub push through the housing, the face seal for the WH8X318 seal can be installed. I did add a dab of 40w oil to the carbon face and had the curved edge of the o-ring face inside the face seal. Also, when the bellows was driven into the housing I did add a dab of Permatex No 2 to the housing. This was the only seal GE didn't call for any additional compound. But, better to be safe than sorry. Be careful if you do add some sealer to not allow it to get into the oiling holes in the housing. That bearing will need all the help it can get!

Lastly, and not easily, the basket hub is installed with the bar against the bar flat on the drive tube. Because of the spring pressure this isn't a treat considering the POR-15 made it somewhat difficult to position the hub on the shaft. A new bar clamp was used along with some grade 8 bolts from the hardware store.

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Next, the WH8X291 agitator shaft seal was installed. I used an aluminum vacuum hose extension from an Electrolux, a 2x4, and the dead blow hammer to drive the metal ring on the drive tube, and a piece of 3/4 inch copper tubing to carefully drive the top seal on the agitator shaft. GE did call for their sealing compound for the metal ring in the 1973 service manual, so more Permatex No 2 as used.

This seal did not come with any lubrication and squeaked upon install. Off it went and another seal was installed with some Maytag center seal grease on the inside of the sealing surface. All better! The threads for the agitator cap were chased with a 7/16-24 die.[this post was last edited: 4/30/2020-22:54]

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With the top side done the transmission can be flipped over and filled with 54 oz of 40w oil. The only place I found locally that still stocks it was Fleet Farm. Better grab a few extra bottles for the future.

54 oz is roughly a quart and a half. The new WH8X242 ring seal was installed with the groove facing up.

Thankfully, no leaks from the agitator shaft seal or drive tube seal assembly!

Don't forget to install the WH1X1163 collar over the bearing. It is keyed to fit the bearing retainer.

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When the transmission was disassembled the snubber lining showed that it was tired. Partially missing and compressed from years of force from the band, it wouldn't have held the tub at all during agitation.

I used the nifty 70-B Snap On vacuum grip pliers that the 1958 Product Man calls for when removing the band, rather than the vice grip and screw driver the service manual calls for. Much, much easier and doesn't put stress on the band. Make sure to put a coating of 40w oil the bearing frame and the lining prior to install, per the recommendations of the Product Man revisions.

A shout out to our very own Jetcone for researching and getting new snubber linings made!

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?45799[this post was last edited: 4/30/2020-23:14]

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