I have no intention of taking NO for an answer.
Of course I should have known that Sears would do ANYTHING to get out of thier warranty obligation. I agree with Veg that the water on stone method may be the way. However I am NOT going to bitchslap any of the salespeople-I used to work there; they are my friends. In fact was greeted with a hug by the department manager on saturday (she must be desparate for employees!) So will try to use whatever warmth is in that relationship to get the problem solved.
Just a few comments about my working at Sears: I took the job at Sears appliance dept. knowing that I would hate it and not be there long. I did need a job pronto, and most employers here are hesitant about hiring newcomers. The small family dealer I worked at in St. Paul would sell me appliances for 10 percent above cost-Sears gave me a lousy 10% off this machine. Sears did turn out to be a hellish place to work. The people I worked with still gripe to me about how horrid it is. What shocked me was the complete disconnect between sales and service. As salespeople, we did not even have a phone number to the service department right here on Maui! All we could do to help people with problems was to give out that damned 1-800 number.
I wanted to try to deal with this today, but had a coworker come over from Honolulu, so I actually had to WORK ALL DAY (Veg, can you believe it). Those Oahu boys are a little more under the thumb than I am here on Maui. Should be alone tomorrow so I can take care of my business during company time, the way it should be.
Buying a new washer is not really in the family budget right now, besides I just want this one fixed. If Sears will not help me with this I will put it back together, run it til it really blows up, then go out and get the cheapest plastic tub toploader I can find.
Jon- The machine was not at all like razor blades- I have coffee machines that are deadly that way at work. It was not EASY to take apart. The teardown took about an hour and a half, while I could take apart a direct drive machine in less than half that time with one hand tied behind my back.
wash&where- I wish it was the vent cap. The tub definately has this strange play in it, which the new machines don't have. I wish this was the problem.
Lawrence- I do still have that Calypso. Veg and I played with it while he was here and it did seem to work. It is still sitting under the mango tree, covered with a tarp. Perhaps I need to take another look...
Austin-Just what Maytag are you refering to? I hope not an Epic! I wish I could lay hand on a nice pre-1990 Maytag. Heck, I wish I had that Thor-O-Matic I found for Robert in St. Paul last summer-then I would have a machine that WORKS
Just for fun- A picture of Veg and I under the mango tree with the Calypso
