A700S Back in Service

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geoffdelp

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Sep 17, 2004
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Hi all ... Some of you might remember that I was fortunate enough to have purchased a brand new, never used Maytag A700S last year from a private party. The machine arrived still on the Maytag pallet with all hoses and paraphenalia inside the machine. Robert and Don came up to Foley in June of last year for its maiden voyage and we had fun!

This machine was made in February 1964.

I used the machine frequently for about a year when I noticed transmission fluid on the floor. In June, I took it out of service. Unfortunately, 44 years of sitting unused in a basement caused the O-ring to dry out. There was nothing left to do but to break down the machine and fix it.

I have never really worked on an automatic before; I've repaired a lot of Maytag conventionals, but never an automatic. I tried my hand on a 101P without much success. I was leery to try to fix something as nice as this A700S.

Nonetheless ... I gave it a shot and got a lot of help along the way! Thanks to Ben Swestka for the great tools to remove the tub and hang on to the brake and for the "new" lint filter/softener dispenser!! I REALLY appreciate it!

The guys at the local Maytag shop were a great resource. The one serviceman hadn't worked on a helical drive for quite a while; they "junk" them (I almost passed out) when they come in to be repaired because the parts are expensive and it's too labor intensive. His help in guiding me in removing the O ring was great. An old dental pick works wonderfully.

Another service rep there helped guide me in getting the pulley back on the helix; that took me about a hundred :-) times putting the machine on its front (very heavy). The service book tells you to put the clutch bearing on its flat side to the brake; that didn't work ... I reversed it and got it the first try!

I now need to re-balance the tubs so you only see about 1/4" of the tub cover. The factory settings got messed up when I removed it.

Enjoy the photos; it was a labor of love! It took me from a Sunday to a Sunday to do. In total, between 8-10 hours of time to get it all done. Even my mom was impressed!

Even though I'm a BIG time Maytag conventional user, I LOVE my A700S automatic and I've missed the suds saver, timed bleach injection, lint filter ... all of it!!

Geoff

 
Congratulations Geoff, on a great job of Tranny restoration!
The machine is truly "as new" again now.

The photo you took of the "Swirl-Away" draining truly shows the water doing just that and almost looks as if it could have been used for actual advertising "back in the day"!

Thanks for sharing!
 
Geoff, buddy - the Maytag looks AMAZING. Those Kennedy era Maytags are certaily my favorite. I can almost hear it washing away right now....

I am glad that you brought up that the baffle gyratators produce more suds - they certainly do. That pumping action was brought up in the ad I posted a few months back - one of the 4 bosted 'features'. :) And you make the transmission rebuild look easy! Make sure you've got some free time this winter as I have plenty of rebuilds needed in the basement.

I do apologize for not getting back to your emails - the internet has been down at home. Look for one shortly.

Thanks again for posting, always a pleasure to see you pop up here.

Ben
 
Congratulations on your restoration Geoff! It is too bad that seals and gaskets dry out and leak, even though the machine was unused. The same thing happens to vintage low milage cars. The seals and gaskets always need to be replaced, even though the car has not been used much.
 
Geoff, I so admire that you are a highly skilled mechanic .

And you caught the water shooting through the drain holes during the suds-return. I LOVE it!!!! ;'D Your photos are indeed worthy of Cecil B. !!!!!!!!

I agree with Steve about the perfection of the Swirl-Away drain shot.

Suds-returns forever! Look how clean it got your jeans !!!! For the Doubting Thomases, what better proof is there than yours?

What a fabulous washer repair chronicle for my morning breakfast reading.

Thanks for the pleasures!

Shock and awe crumbs are all over me.
 
Thanks for the nice compliments; I appreciate it!

Thanks, guys. :-)

It certainly was a challenge for me. Especially, since I couldn't remove the cabinet; there was one screw that is so hopelessly stuck and I didn't want to strip the head on it. My large screwdriver slipped and I put a small gouge in the side towards the bottom. Believe me, there were words said that don't warrant repeating!!

Steve ... can you believe that disposable camera took the picture of the Swirl-Away? I had left the digital camera at work; the photos of the load washed (and jeans) are from the digital camera.

Ben ... bring it on, dude!! :-) You've got 3 beauties that need transmission work? Well ... I know how to do the O rings now, that's for sure. Always willing to learn more!!

Now ... we've got to get Don Shier involved; he needs to learn it, too!! :-)

Rick ... thanks. These machines were meant to be used. I have a few conventional Maytags that I've gotten in new condition, also and the same thing happens to them. Those gaskets/rings dry out from non-use. That's why Robert always warns us about making sure pumps are primed, etc., when machines are getting put back into service. Anything can (and does) happen.

Mickey ... me a mechanic? Hardly. My brother runs away when I break out the cordless drill and hammer!! :-) I've worked on a lot of Maytag conventionals through the years. I must admit, the automatic transmission was easier to work on; the wringer transmission has a "worm" gear and is really hard to remove without damaging something. Same thing with the wringer head; a very complicated gear with springs. I've only done one of those. Maytag used to encourage dealers to return the wringer heads for rebuilding and have the dealers purchase remanufactured wringer heads for resale; it was so much easier and cheaper because of the labor involved.
 
I have a couple transmission seals if anybody needs one

All -

A few months ago I purchased three Kenmore/Whirlpool transmission gaskets on ebay. The seller went to ship them to me and could only find 2, so, thinking they were doing me a favor, they sent me two Maytag gaskets along with. They look just like those in the pictures in the above link but made by Gemline. I am not a fan of Gemline or aftermarket parts, but these look very nice.

I am highly unlikely to use them as my spare time goes to Kenmores. I hate for useful parts to sit around, so if anyone needs one, feel free to let me know via e-mail and I'll try to help you out.

Have a great day everyone!

Gordon
 
I'm so glad everyone is enjoying the photos. That Maytag sure is a beauty and I like having it back in operation.

I've missed thermostatically-controlled warm water washes and rinses!! :-) I took the temperature of the warm water once and it was right at 99 degrees; 100 degrees (+/-) 5 degrees is what Maytag said it is set at. I used a kitchen thermometer that I use when baking bread; it works great for liquids.

Gordon ... thanks for the offer; I'm good for now! Maybe there's someone else out there that needs tranny gaskets. :-)

Tim ... I'll have to put bars on the windows and doors to keep my 'Tag from being kidnapped!!

Jon ... thank you!!

Leon ... I agree; it SHOULD be used ... and quite often, at that.

Eugene ... a graceful period in time, don't you think? The appliances from that era seem "right" to me. I guess it's because that's what I grew up with.

My parents bought a Super-Highlander (A502) in late 1964; the A700 was made until 1965 and was replaced with the A702.

My mom took a good look at this A700S this past weekend and commented that it had more "stuff" on it than her Highlander. She said I was "lucky" to have a such nice machine; even though it had a small tub. Normally, she thinks it's all too old ... she's 87! :-) She was also "proud" that I took the initiative to repair the transmission without too much outside help. What a hoot! You gotta love comments like that.
 
Just so you're aware Geoff, my wife will be in MN this weekend. We'll be in Arlington & New Prague visiting relatives, and doing what my screen name on AW.org says. Be afraid, be very afraid!!!
 
Dear Geoff

Stop being in denial about being such an ace mechanic. You're an inspiration to those of us reaching forward. I mean it!

Love,

Mike
 
OK, Tim ... I'm going to be on DOUBLE alert this weekend! I see I'm going to have to sleep with one eye open!! :-) You're gonna have to pry that dial out of my hand; I plan to use the heck out of it Saturday; Sunday I will be in and out. I've got a ton of yard and garden work to do and I will be creating a lot of dirty clothing.

That poor machine will be breathing a sigh of relief when I leave for work Monday morning!

Mike ... aren't you a sweet guy?!! :-)

I only knew that I wanted that machine running again. The guys at the local Maytag shop were VERY encouraging. They knew the work I did on the conventional washers and they said I could handle it. It sure took a while and I read and re-read the service manual about a million times.

My brothers used to chide me when I was younger that I wasn't mechanically-inclined enough to change the oil on my car, like they could. I used to tell them, "That's OK ... that's why I have two older brothers!" and then I would make them take care of my car, too!! :-)
 

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