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geoffdelp

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 17, 2004
Messages
1,063
Location
SAUK RAPIDS
It has been really cold here in Central Minnesota. Since Christmas, most nights are well below zero and we've had a nice bit of snow.

I got a great line on a Maytag E2LP a couple of weeks ago from our local Maytag shop. They had an acquaintance who moved into a home and found one in the basement. One of the good parts was that it was FREE and had to be from the late 1950's or early 1960's, because it had Maytag spelled out in chrome on the front. I told the dealer to get it, only if it wasn't a rust bucket as I'm sure it would be worth having.

The BEST part, however, was that it was PINK!! Couldn't believe it!! Did you know that between 1961 and 1963, Maytag made only 8,474 pink Maytag E2L's? I would have assumed the pink would have been more popular in the 1950's. Also wonder if Maytag was using up their pink paint??

Irregardless, this was a good machine to get and a pump model, no less. On Friday, I borrowed a truck, picked it up from the dealer, and drove home in -5 degree weather with it in the bed of the truck; it was REALLY cold!! I brought her in and "slid" her down the steps to the basement and put her in front of the furnace and water heater to come to room temp. I was really pumped to work on it all day yesterday (Saturday); I had to come into town to get supplies and couldn't WAIT to get home and keep going!

She was a really big mess; poor thing!! If she weren't rescued, she was headed for the big shredder!! I've got to wonder what that basement looked like! BOY ... was she covered with gunk; big time.

Wait until you see what I used to do this initial cleaning and assessment; you'll be surprised!!

Enjoy the photos ... Geoff

Here she is ... "Miss Pink" made in January 1963; 47 years ago this month!! :-)

geoffdelp++1-10-2010-10-28-17.jpg
 
Nothing about this machine was clean; it also smelled really bad.

There was a roll of brown paper towels, a utility knife blade, 4 screws (2 under the agitator), and a safety pin under the agitator. There was sand/broken concrete in it, too. I had to use the vacuum to just get started.

Surprisingly, the agitator came out without any undue effort.

geoffdelp++1-10-2010-10-34-44.jpg
 
Yes ... "Pink Plus" liquid detergent from Fleet Farm.

Remember Robert's post from a few weeks about the fabric softener (he was right, too ... classic Downy fragrance from the bottle)? Well ... Fleet Farm also makes this Pink Plus liquid detergent and if you want a BLAST of "classic" fragrance; this is it.

It doesn't smell like it out of the bottle, but once it hits hot water, it will remind you of classic dishwashing detergent like "Trend" or "Sweetheart" or "Pink Chiffon". Remember those?

I suppose Fleet sells it like this for farm use. When my cousin and her husband were still milking, they used a lot of Tide or liquid dish soap in the milk house to clean the milk cans and butterfat from the separator; imagine doing that twice a day - 7 days a week!

This stuff cuts grease; you have to use a lot and REALLY hot water.

geoffdelp++1-10-2010-10-47-10.jpg
 
Look how it cleaned up underneath. What's left is rust and this machine is going to have to be disassembled for new gaskets and transmission fluid; I'll try to clean the rust up then.

geoffdelp++1-10-2010-10-49-47.jpg
 
Her poor bakelite agitator. Well ... somebody dropped it and it has a crack.

It was used like that, I bet, too. The water from the tub gets in the crack and goes down past the spline and rests on the center plate/seal for the transmission.

My guess, because of the way she operated, is that there is water in the transmission and has caused the oil to become more solid; it will all have to be changed out.

geoffdelp++1-10-2010-10-54-44.jpg
 
I just HAD to test her out, however.

Her pump does not work. It spins freely, but there has to be something in it. You can lay the hose down to drain, but it is slow because of the obstruction in the pump. I'm going to take it apart soon and try to figure out what happened.

I don't want to replace all of the pump; the front cover is pink ... I don't want to lose that!!

As a matter of fact, all of the parts Mrs. Homemaker would see are all pink; the rest are white or primer gray.

geoffdelp++1-10-2010-10-56-38.jpg
 
Here's the E tub. Can't use harsh chemicals and hard water in it.

I've got mechanically softened water, so I use only real soap (like Fels or Zote) in this machine.

geoffdelp++1-10-2010-11-01-13.jpg
 
Looking forward to using this machine more. She needs more work and I will have to get on it.

A perfect "putzing" project for winter.

:-)

geoffdelp++1-10-2010-11-07-33.jpg
 
Happy winter!!

Lake George in downtown St. Cloud opened on Friday for ice skating. They have a nice warming house and I plan to go after work tomorrow (Monday) and make a fool out of myself!!

(the view from my laundry room door)

geoffdelp++1-10-2010-11-08-56.jpg
 
Those Are!!!!

The best wringers ever, love the pink, as most of you know im one of the few people who does not like Maytag Automatics,not true for the wringers and portables, they are wonderful!
 
This one is for Drew...

Thank you for remembering! The harem grows! A wonderful find and such a classy lady, too. It was simply wonderful the way your picture story shows her transformation from a dirty girl to close to her former regal self. If you wouldn't mind, could you photo document the changing of the oil for us?

Tacky colors? Not to me. Haven't you seen the coppertone Highlander I found recently in another thread here? That makes a combination of white, harvest and coppertone in mine. Pink! Ahhh, someday! Time to update the harem photos. BTW, what happened to "I'm pretty much done adding to my wringer harem?" LOL!!!!

BRAVO!

RCD
 
Thanks for the great compliments! It is a fun machine to have and is a real work horse. She has a way to go with restoration but for now, is functional.

I'm telling on you, Greg ... MOOOOMMMM, Greg is trying to make me do something weird in the laundry room!! :-)

RCD ... what can I say? It was pink! Actually, I got rid of two machines this past summer. I had room? :-) Sure ... I'll try to do a photo essay on the break down.

Have you done one of these yet Drew? You will be surprised that it is not so bad, if you are using the right tools and are not making any changes to the transmission; just cleaning it up. If you are replacing parts on the transmission, it is harder and at this point, hard to get parts; almost better to swap out.

These transmission were built tough, however.
 

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