An update on the 1960 GE WA350 Automatic washer

[turquoisedude]

With the Blackstone washer repairs done and the KitchenAid KDS54 leak-proofed, I thought I'd take a run at the GE BOL automatic that I got at the big appliance auction last November.  

 

I figured it would be good practice to tear into this washer before attacking the 1953 or 1957 GE's that are ever so patiently waiting their restoration...  

 

Mechanically, this washer is very similar to the 1953 GE.  The transmission and clutch seem to be identical.  When I tested the 1960 one, I did manage to get it up to a spin after some messing around but it would never agitate.   My theory is that there is a transmission problem; and to get to a GE washer transmission, you've got to get the tub out. 

 

Full disclosure - I have been trying to get this bleeding tub out for a month now... I think what finally did it was some PB Blaster on the tub nuts.  I put on several coats since I got a can in Vermont on Thursday and today I managed to undo them without stripping or breaking them.  

 

[turquoisedude]

One does have to be careful not to break the fill flume when removing the tub.  Mr.Know-It-All here very cleverly broke this one BEFORE removing the tub...  FFFFFF....Flipping Heck!

 

I should be able to repair, though. 

 

[turquoisedude]

This was encouraging to see.  Both the transmission boot and the water level switch diaphragm seem to be in good shape still.   Amazing and very lucky since both parts are NLA!

 

[turquoisedude]

So I took off the belt and figured I had nothing to lose by seeing what happened when I turned the drive pulley by hand. 

 

When I turn it clockwise (spin), the pulley turned smoothly, but did not make a full revolution.  The pulley seemed to hit something and would turn no further.   I then tried to turn it counter-clockwise (activation); the pulley turned maybe a little more than a half a revolution, then hit something and seemed to lock into it.   I somehow managed to free it up again by turning the pulley clockwise again.   On the next attempts I turned the pulley slowly until I felt the 'stop'.  I did notice the the basket drive was moving as I turned the pulley. 

 

So now I'm going to be studying the transmission service notes that I have on GE's but before I go off on a wild goose chase, does this sound familiar to anyone?   My first (and as we all know usually wrong) guess is that this may have something to do with the Snubber Band that can cause the dreaded 'sympathetic spin'...   

 

Any advice or suggestions are always welcome - I've never torn into a GE transmission before!

 

 

 

 

 

[turquoisedude]

OOPSIE!

Well, here's my first incorrect assumption!  The transmission on the 1953 GE automatic washer uses two belts, not one, so they are probably completely different.  Good thing I wasn't tearing the 53 apart to use its transmission... LOL  If anything, the 60 would be sacrificed if the '53 needed a part!!

 

[gansky1]

Looks this poor machine was used as a cement mixer - that's some hard water!

 

Aren't those fill-flume mountings silly?  Breaking one is part of the solid-tub GE initiation course.  Congratulations, you will never do that again

 

 

[turquoisedude]

Yes, this washer sure saw some rough duty in its lifetime, Greg!   Given where I found it, I suspect it was used in a summer cabin where they pulled water directly out of the nearby lake or swamp....  

 

I'm not going to be opening up the transmission today - the sun is shining and it is NOT, I repeat, NOT snowing today!

 

Stay tuned for more updates and photos of the oily mess I will probably wind up making.... LOL 

 

[bajaespuma]

Aren't those fill-flume mountings silly?

Yes they sure f**king are.

 

And, yes, I broke my first one on my first try removing the cover from the WA-850P I got from Colorado. Fortunately Mr. Nunn had a spare but I'm still swearing about it. Isn't interesting that your absolute BOL has a fill flume with the opening for the elegant TOL  "Rinse" dispenser on top that has been plugged. I have seen some with and some without so there must have been a big box at the Louisville factory that they just grabbed from to complete these machines. Even more bizarre, on both my Solid Tub machines, the little gasket covering the top of the fill flume as it connects to the outer tub gasket is help in place by two of those flimsy brass paper clips that we had to use on our book reports in Parochial school. I'm not kidding. Yours is swathed in some kind of goop that I'll bet Hans put over the whole thing.

 

I'm rooting for you Paul even though you are, after all, my ARCH GE NEMESIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. There's still 1, count it, 1 stuck tub bolt on Aunt Clara that I've PB blasted, drilled, torched and sworn at vigorously that is refusing to budge.

 

Let's help future Filter-Flo virgins; pay attention now:

 

WHEN TRYING TO REMOVE THE COVER FROM A SOLID-TUB FILTER-FLO WASHER MADE BETWEEN 1957 AND 1960, POP THE FRONT CLIPS AND <span style="text-decoration: underline;">VERY CAREFULLY</span> NUDGE THE WHOLE COVER STRAIGHT BACKWARDS (about 2-3 inches) WITHOUT LIFTING IT UP MUCH UNTIL THE COVER FLANGE CLEARS THE FILL ASSEMBLY AT THE BACK RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE MACHINE. USE A FLASHLIGHT AND PEEK INSIDE TO MAKE SURE IT HAS CLEARED THE LITTLE HOSE OR THE FLANGE WILL SNAP THE END OF THE PLASTIC FLUME OFF.

 

[turquoisedude]

Finally made some time for the GE!

Sheesh, it seems this summer just flew by with the big CBS Wash-In and the move from the crumbling core of downtown Montreal to the wilds of St-Liboire!  Every time I was down in Ogden, I kept meaning to get back to work on the '60 GE, but no... 

 

Well, housework and cooking be damned I said yesterday and went on the offensive!

 

I knew I'd have to remove the transmission in order to service it, so that's what I did yesterday.   First, though, I had to take off the transmission boot.  I was very happy that it was flexible enough to do so and, fingers crossed, will be relatively sound when eventually re-installed.

 

[turquoisedude]

Hello down there!!

 

I've never done any transmission work on a GE, so I proceeded slowly and cautiously... 

 

[turquoisedude]

It wasn't as bad as I had imagined!  Heavy beastie, but not impossible to handle. 

 

In the last picture, the transmission has been upended to remove the pulley and cover, hopefully without creating an oil slick on the basement floor.  Hubby's off to Brazil for 2 weeks so after I drive him to the airport, guess where I'm heading??  

 

Question: to pull the drive block from a GE of this vintage, can I use a regular wheel puller??

 

 

 

[turquoisedude]

The Lack of Progress Report....

GGGRRR! This GE washer transmission is a tough nut to crack. And I mean that literally...

Here's what I'm up against: I need to remove what is called the bearing plate to be able to get inside the transmission.

The Service Literature (found here in the Manuals and Literature Library) says to tap around the bearing plate to break the seal, then pry the bearing plate out with two screwdrivers. HA! I've tried tapping and prying to no avail. I've tried using a chisel to help break the seal, but I fear that I'm going to damage the bell end of the transmission. I've tried heating the seal area gently, but that didn't get me very far either. I was a little paranoid about taking a blowtorch to an oil-filled item, too so maybe I went a little too easy on it.

I did manage to get the activator drive block off; it was in such bad shape, it split as I pried it off. I tried to take off the basket drive hub, but sheesh! The bolts were so corroded that I managed to break both of them, leaving the basket drive hub still very firmly in place.

I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't be looking for a replacement transmission instead... If I were to go this route, would later GE transmissions be compatible with the 1960 version (it's a WH38X29)?

Needless to say, you can all imagine who is suggesting this washer would make an excellent planter in the garden in Ogden...

 

[tomturbomatic]

HA-HA, Bell End. What a funny insult and a transmission has one, too.

 

[Unimatic1140]

You might want to try taking a torch gently to the outer portion (transmission housing) to get it to expand Paul.

 

[combo52]

Rebuilding A GE Washer Transmission

Paul you are now in uncharted territory even for me, I have NEVER tried to fix a GE washer transmission, I took one or two apart just to see how they worked.

 

GE always had such a good rebuilding program for their washer transmissions that I never bothered trying to fix one, GEs transmissions were always one of their weak features anyway. GE automatic washers were like the Volkswagen they always needed a new engine,  GE needed a new [transmission ] and in both cases the company was good at keeping good rebuilt ones available and they were also easy to install in both cases.

 

We have a 1960 Pair and a 1958 pair of GEs and I want to restore one pair, I am hopping that one of the washers has a decent transmission in it. Otherwise I may find out what you are going through.

 

The get the bottom cover off I would use a tapered putty knife and just drive it under the steel plate.

 

[jetcone]

Paul here is the link to the thread where I

rebuilt the 1956 GE transmission.

 

 A tapered putty knife will do nothing bend and waste your time.

 

I had tapped all around the bottom plate with a chisel ,hitting those raised counter weights. It took several days but it slowly began to lift.

If your tranny is jammed it could be the brake material has come loose and is jammed in the gears, ( seen that before) , or the nylon snubber has broken off. Have not seen  a gear failure inside a GE tranny before, that would be new.

 

 

The Case of Sympathetic Spin ...OR..A 1956....

A 1956 GE Filter Flo goes back into service! This excellent example is the machine I grew up with and came to me via Robert via Greg. As you will see in the diagnosis video she has the infamous GE Sympathetic Spin syndrome - considered by SOME as incurable-. She would spin out half her water...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[turquoisedude]

Jon, thanks for that link! I guess where I am a little mixed up is the way the bearing frame seems to fit so snugly into the transmission case of the 1960 version - the doctrine I have for my still-waiting-ever-so-patiently-to-be-restored '57 WA855 shows a transmission exactly like the one you have in the '56.

I'm pretty sure that there's something broken and jamming the works inside this transmission - for all the GE 'Complaint Charts' a lack of activation is not well-explored.

I'll keep trying, but I may be asking Santa for a new GE transmission this year...

John, do you by any chance have any spares?? Just in case...

 

[jetcone]

Paul they all go together

the same way. Slammed --together LOL !

 

[turquoisedude]

Progress... Kind of...

We had a mild day about a week or so ago, so I figured it would be a good time to haul the 'ol GE transmission out to the garage to see if we could coax that bearing frame loose. 

 

We used persuasion and a blowtorch this time.... LOL   But that did it - we got the transmission open!