Filter-Flo Spin Question

[gansky1]

In one of the GE factory service books I have, they said that the sloshing of water over the top of the tub and in the bleach funnel was due to under-loading of the washer for the selected water level. According to them, a properly selected water level would not slosh water around during spin-drain.

Now what fun would that be?

Thanks for the videos - you did a good job on that clutch, it sounds great!

 

[tristarcxl]

Oh weak.......the UK Hotpoint does a whimpy neutral drain! Where's the fun in that!

From looking at it, it seems the tub in the Hotpoint is smaller than the US GE's, it certainly seems narrower anyway. Maybe that's why the 610 RPM spin on the GE is still pretty effective? The clothes sure paste against the tub though.....I'd hate to see the results at 1000+ RPM! You'd probably need a crowbar to get them loose!

 

[Unimatic1140]

As others have said the sloshing from behind the rubber clothes guard was/is perfectly normal in a Filter-flo. As a matter a few years back I was helping lawyers for LG fight off a number washing machine patent lawsuits filed by Whirlpool. One of the patents that Whirlpool receied in the mid 1990's was on water spinning over the top of the tub and returned into the wash basket. So I went out and found an early 70s one-speed GE Filter-flow and the lawyers flew out from Washington, DC and filmed this machine and used this in court. They won their case hands down by showing "Prior Art" (meaning someone else had done this earlier and it invalided their law suit as well as Whirlpool's patent). LG fought and won many others patent suits brought on by Whirlpool just by filming/testing/observing some of my 50's and 60's machines.

 

[swestoyz]

fight off a number washing machine patent lawsuits filed by

Wow Robert, way to stick it to the man! I'm so glad that Whirlpool got what was coming to them by trying to patent every last possible washer idea in the 90's.

Ben

 

[tristarcxl]

Killing two birds with one stone...

So here's yet another video.....

Part 1: Overloaded the CRAP out of this machine to show the ramp agitator rolling clothes over.

Part 2: Spin with overloaded machine to check for wash-down of the tub seal.

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[bobbyderegis]

Oy, Tristar. Did you burn out the new clutch? That was a huge overload. My neighbors used to overload their old Kenmore like that for every load. It had the Super Roto-Swirl agitator, similar to the GE. They got no rollover whatsoever. Funny how their machine ran for over 20 years and finally the belt snapped. If a GE was overloaded like that for years, I wonder how long it would take for the clutch or motor to burn out?
Bobby in Boston

 

[andrewinorlando]

That is completely normal for a Filter Flo that is working properly.....

 

[tristarcxl]

No clutch burn here! The machine is completely capable of handling that hellacious load. But if you watched, the clothes DID roll over! Even though that poor thing was PACKED. I normally don't load it even half that much......I prefer to get water moving between my clothes!

Besides......doing more loads gives you more time to watch the fun....

 

[jaytag]

Clutch Shoes

Where did you get the new clutch shoes? I have one to rebuild and need to find them.

 

[tristarcxl]

I found them on eBay from a repair store that was closing about 4 months ago. If you want the GE part number, I kept the packaging for future reference and I'll be happy to give you the numbers of the thrust bearing kit and the clutch shoes if you want it.

 

[yogitunes]

what some people don't realize....

is that these macines were great for basement applications where the drain pipe was high, the pump always ran at high speed for pump out and filtering, no matter what speed the machine was running at...

and the underside of the lid would hold the filter pan while loading and unloading...

but it also seemed to me that my mothers 65 filter flo had a faster agitation stroke, was it a different design than the newer ones or just different because of it being one speed machine, also like the way at the beginning of the wash the tub would spin to lock and got the whole load up and moving...

nice rebuild otherwise, that sure takes off during spin quickly...

 

[jaytag]

Would love the numbers THANKS

If you would, that would be great. Thank you.

 

[mrb627]

Nice Machine.

I have always been a big fan of the GE Filter-Flo machines. This makes me want to run out and find one to rebuild myself.

Thanks for the videos.

MRB

 

[kqkenmore]

filter flo

I agree I am wanting a filter flo they were the best and I miss Dash detergent that is what my mother used and it was a great combo the next best was a filter flo and Tide powder that is what I used.Great machine enjoy

 

[ultramatic52]

Bearing and shoe numbers

tristarcxl I will really appreciate if you post the number of both parts. I also want to rebuilt my EASY filter flo 2 speed clutch since it´s a 20 year old washer and makes a knocking noise on low speed agitation and spin. My EASY is the large capacity. I don´t know if this affects the spinning speed. It makes the little cascades at the back of the white gasket, but not as much as yours and it takes a while to get to the highest speed, but never as your GE. When clothes come out they are not dripping wet but not damp. If I throw them to my Whirlpool Catalyst, it will take more water out of the clothes which means I´m not having the top spin speed this washer can get because Whirlpool seams to have the same spin speed, maybe a little higher (640 RPM), but I think there shouldn´t be this huge difference. I changed the motor first of all so it could not be a motor issue. I found the 1/2 hp and runs really quiet. I love this machine but want a clutch mantainance. I hope you can help us!!!!!

 

[tristarcxl]

GE Part Numbers...

Here's the GE part numbers:

Thrust Bearing Kit (Plastic and bronze spacers inside clutch): WH4X91

Clutch Shoe Set (Set of 2): WH7X110

The dates of manufacture on the kits I bought were 5/20/99 and 8/31/01 respectively. I don't know if GE still makes the parts or not, but at least now you know what to ask for!

The upper bearing can be cleaned out and repacked with grease in place. Once you have the clutch apart, remove the snap ring that holds the upper bearing in place. Chances are the bearing will be "stuck", but you can restore the bearing in place. Take a sharp knife and pry up towards the center on the rubber seal and work the blade around. The seal should pop up and you can take it right out. Be careful not to bend it! It does contain a small metal ring inside it that is easily bent if you're not careful.

Soak the top half in solvent to get the old nasty grease out. Once you've gotten all the old grease out of the bearing, make sure it's nice and dry. Pack the bearing with a good quality wheel-bearing grease and make sure you get it behind the ball spacer! I packed mine very tightly with grease. Be sure to spin the bearing several times to work grease throughout the bearing races. Clean up the excess and replace the seal and snap ring.

When replacing the clutch shoes, make sure that the shafts are polished and free of grime. Use some Acetone or laquer thinner if you need to in order to make sure those shafts are SPOTLESS! Before you put the new shoes on, put a drop or 3 of 3-in-1 SAE20 Motor oil on the bronze bushings to keep them from seizing in the future.

For a short dissertation on WHY I say to use this type of oil, see post 22574 in the Pink forum. The thread involves a GE Mobile Maid, but the same rules apply since bronze bearings are at play here!

For anyone interested, I documented the reassembly process in a Flickr photo album. I've commented on the pictures so you know what you're looking at. See the link below...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ttuee2006/sets/72157619027531311/