A606 At Last

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The belts will feel loose on a Maytag. They are tensioned by the motor slide. The belts are special fabric covered to allow for slipping as the Maytag has no clutch.
You don't have to remove the front to look for leaking grease. Just tip it back and look at the center pulley.
The agitator just comes off by pulling it up....Ir your lucky. Sometimes they get stuck from corrosion on the agitator shaft and can be almost impossible to get off. If its a problem try filling it with very hot water before trying to take it off.
 
The leaking grease probably caused the problem. The belts get grease on them an the belts slip too much. To cure it the trans will have to be replaced or rebuilt. I guess I would have to say it is bad. If you can find a donor machine with a good trans that would be the cheapest way to go. They do take a bit of work to replace them though.
Did you get the agitator out? That's sometimes half the battle right there.
 
I have good news, and bad news...

Fixerman,

The bad news first. The agitator is quite stuck onto the post. I'll have to wait until the weekend when I can wheel this washer over to a hot water supply to try to loosen it up.

The good news is that while there is grease flung around the underside of the machine, the transmission itself is spotless, with absolutely no sign of leakage. My guess that the flung grease under the washer is from a previous transmission failure, and that this one is a replacement. This is corroborated by signs of someone cleaning old grease off the top of the base, inside the machine. They probably did that when they replaced the tranny. Unless the trannies leak through the shaft that connects to the bottom pulley, I think this one's in great mechanical shape. Additionally, the outside of the outer tub is spotless - no sign of rust, not even any sign of overflow or dripping.

The motor glides quite nicely on its tracks, and the springs are spotless. There's even some clear grease showing on the tracks. The motor looks original, with the original metal shroud and drip cover. I say this because the motor I purchased to fix an older Maytag (500 series?) came with a plastic drip cover.

Anyway, the belts are genuine Maytag, but are quite glazed. So I will be shopping for new belts, as well as the load size button kit. Before I install the new belts, I'm going to clean all traces of old grease from the underside the machine.

Everything spins easily - the drain pulley, the tub, even the tranny. Well, that has some resistance but that's to be expected, I suppose.

I'll know more after I renew the belts, hook it up to the nearest tap, and give it a workout.
 
Sorry to tell you this,but...

The oil leak comes from the shaft seal,not the transmition seal itself. The oil is from the transmition,however it leaks out via the shaft shown in the photo.

1-18-2006-21-44-4--rickr.jpg
 
and it runs out on the pulley...

Which spins the oil all over the belts,floor and inside the cabinet.

This unit did not leak,but it had sat unused for 30+ years so I had all the seals,and trans. oil replaced anyway.

I guess some guys just switch the nice vintage Maytag center timer cabinet with a "junker donor" machine that doesn't leak, instead of replacing the seals. These machines still seem to turn up quite often,so perhaps that may be an option for you.
Best of luck!
Rick

1-18-2006-21-49-42--rickr.jpg
 
Rick,

Thanks for the information.

I'm still thinking that this machine once had a tranny leak but that it was fixed... there is evidence that there was grease in the upper part of the cabinet, which was cleaned up. Like I say, when I replace the belts and clean up all traces of grease from under the cabinet (and what's left in the upper cabinet), I'll keep a close eye on it and check for any additional leakage. In any case, it sounds like I'll have to run the thing anyway to loosen up the agitator. Some good STPP in the mix could help to dissolve any corrosion holding that thing on so tight.

It's possible the previous owner cleaned up the grease in the upper cabinet... but I think he would have told me. After all, he was giving the thing away. I did ask him if the machine dripped any oil, and he said definitely not.

Also, the belts themselves are not greasy... I don't mind rebuilding this machine if it needs it, but I'm thinking it doesn't need much more than new belts.

Time will tell!
 
I could be wrong,but...

I meant to say the oil leaks UNDER the cabinet,as in the area of the photo posted. The leaking oil would not be present inside the cabinet,only UNDER the cabinet.

If the machine doesn't leak any more oil that might be fine,however it might mean the transmition is out of oil also.
 
It looks to me the center seal is definately leaking. If somone did replace the trans at one time one would think they would have cleaned up the pulley before putting it back together since the pulley must come off before removing the trans for rebuilding or replacement. I have seen many Maytags that look like this one and usually scrapped them rather than sell them, however I have sold some with a little grease leakage and they seemed to be ok. The reason the belts go bad is oil tends to rot rubber. You can try just replacing the belts and it may work fine if the leak isn't too bad. You would have to check it occasionally to see how bad the leak is.
 
If I can add my 2 cents, there is oil in the brake assembly, which can spill over onto the pulley when the machine is tipped on it's side. Sud's 606 looks liike it hasnt been overused, considereing the condition of the porclain in the tub. I would simply replace the belts and clean the pulleys, and reevaluate the leak after a couple weeks of use. My old 142 drips a dime size drop of oil every year or so, and has done this for the past 20 years.
Bobby in boston
 
Thanks, Bobby.

I did some checking for parts availability on Parts Select. These belts aren't cheap - about $25 each (the machine takes two). But a necessary expenditure, I think.

If hot water doesn't work to loosen up the agitator, does anyone have a hint as to what else to try? I'm a little concerned I might damage the agitator if I pull on it too vigorously... it's kind of bendy at the bottom...

If the seals need replacing, I would consider that a learning experience...
 
I got a pair of belts at RepairClinic for ~$25. They were listed separately at $25 each, the package deal was listed separately, I think I found it as a link to other recommended parts when I was looking at a selected pump.
 
Be careful, Suds. I broke a black bakelite agitator once trying to pull it from the bottom. Does anyone know how good the Maytag agitator puller works? I never got one, and I don't know if this could destroy the agitator either. The original agitator one this 606 is very special and now very hard to find in good condition.
Bobby in boston
 
We keep getting the same questions all the time. Be nice to have a FAQ section to refer to for common questions. Though it would take some space it could be made up for in fewer questions and pics being posted. I'm sure Robert has nothing better to do anyway. LOL

bobbyderegis, I am not aware of a agitaor puller specifically for a Maytag but there is a tool called an Agitamer that works on some agitators. Works best on agitators that are driven from the top of the agitator such as Whirlpool or GE. Not so well on Maytags. I once tried to use it on a turquoise plastic agitator and the bottom just folded up and eventually broke the agitamer. They are about $40 so this can get expensive. I once made a tool for pulling Maytag agitator that worked pretty well but is time consuming to engineer. This topic has been discussed previously so try searchinag the archives for more on this subject.

 

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