I Bit the Buillet -- The Matag A407 is Mine

[eurekastar]

Well, I bit the bullet and picked up the A407 for $50. It's now in my garage going through its paces, and it runs like a top. According to Appliance411, it was manufactured in January 1975. It has a few minor issues:

1) someone defeated the lid switch, because it will shift into drain/spin with the lid up. I guess the lid switch is bad. So I'll need to check that out. 2) The transmission has been slinging some oil over the years. I don't plan to do anything about that. 3) I initially connected only hot water to it from the utility room. When I turned it on, it started spitting water out of the cold supply side of the valve. Is that how it is designed? 4) Somewhere between my house and the previous owners house, one of the buttons on the control panel got lost. He's looking for it. 5) The fabric softener cup floats up when the washer is almost full. That makes me wonder if it's filling too much or it's just not seating properly. Or is that what it does when there's no liquid in the cup? 6) it has some minor rust spots inside the wash basket, which I'll address as well

I'll give it a good cleaning and touch up some of the paint. Otherwise, I think it's a keeper! I'm happy with my $50 purchase and I didn't have to drive 180 miles for the Whirlpool!

 

[DADoES]

 
Maytag lid switches of that era stop all action, not just spin.  Off-balance trip is integral to the lid switch mechanism so there's no OOB shut-off protection if it's electrically bypassed.

The other inlet port must be capped if only one hose is connected ... or use a Y-tap to connect both supply hoses to one source.

It may be filling a little much but not unusual that the softener cup floats up a little when empty on high level.

 

[repairguy]

Congratulations! Enjoy!

 

[appnut]

Some friends of mine from church had that exact model, along with a DE606 dryer, in harvest gold.  They were from Iowa and  married and began their family there before moving to Texas in 1985 or so.  That washer lasted until early 1990s.  Had done countless loads of towels, soccer uniforms, and other family wash.   Bearing failure. 

 

The first time I went over to their house, when it wasn't a party, was on a Saturday morning.  I walked into the house and was almost at the hallway heading into the kitchen when the washer went from pause into spin.  I proclaimed, you have a Maytag!  The wife just bust out laughing, I think by this time she was already aware of my appliance "interest". 

 

[gyrafoam]

Oh yeah. You have clean up to do. Tub band bolts dissolving with rust allowing water to drip overboard. Years of over sudsing as well can indicate teenagers once tormented the machine.

The fabric softener cup is going to float a bit during agitation if empty. That's typical. Looks like the normal amount and location of oil stain. I get annoyed when wash water splashes over the top of the little cup and drops into the fabric softener cup. Just a quirk.
I am careful when loading my machines with de activated lid switches and tend to stay nearby just in case. So far I haven't had an issue. I tend to do full loads anyway.

Congratulations on your find.

 

[akronman]

Congratulations!

Nice, and thanks for the pics.
Pic 11 shows routine suds trails/grime from age, wipe it clean and then you'll be able to see if there are leaks every wash or if the grime is just slow routine accumulation.
I had a large tub late 70s MAytag, and now have a standard capacity. With no fabric softener in the cup, the cup would rise 1/8 to 1/4 inch, no problem at all.
Use the Searchilator here for "motor carriage", you'll get instructions on cleaning/lubing that, simple inexpensive maintenance that will help peak performance on older Maytags.
The oil looks very normal, don't fix what ain't broke.
Maytag lint filters get dirty quickly, I put mine in the lower rack of my dishwasher about once monthly, cleans up well.
Open the lid and check the water air-gap assembly in the upper rear left corner near the water valve, cheaply available on Ebay, often needs replacement. Very easy job.

Don't pick too much on the Whirlpool you did not buy, WP and Maytag both made long-lasting machines and are great in any one's collection. Each different brand has good and bad points, and the variety is fun.
Congratulations and years of use on your 'Tag.

 

[good-shepherd]

Looks like the tub cover seal has been leaking a long time which would explain all the rust in the cabinet.

Tub cover really needs to come off, rust cleaned up, leak corrected and new stainless tub band bolts.

 

[eurekastar]

I put it to the ultimate test this afternoon. I washed two heavy cotton rugs and I was very pleased with the rollover. However, as it shifted into its first spin, the load was unbalanced and never got up to speed. In the final spin, I redistributed the load and it did fine. The lid switch will definitely need to be replaced.

During the final spin, the drain hose popped off the pump. I slid it back on and tightened the set screw. I'm just glad it was in the garage with the front cover off or there would have been a major flood!

I also need to figure out how to adjust the pressure switch because it is overfilling.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Well, first of all, congratulations. As a fellow lover of these classic Maytags I am thrilled that another has been saved and given a loving home. With proper maintenance, you can look forward to many years of faithful service.

 

[peteski50]

Maytag!

This is a nice machine - Good Luck with it!

 

[washerlover]

Lid Switch

Those Maytag lid switches are tough to bypass — I would leave it as is. Great machine and congrats on your find!

 

[beekeyknee]

Define over filling. Above the line where the lint filter meets the agitator barrel would be considered overfilling by most. Others consider above the upper most holes in the barrel's side an overfill. The machines I have or have worked on are set to the seam where the lint filter meets the barrel. I personally have never had any item go over the concrete ring at this setting. Then again I don't wash shoe strings or baby socks. Anything that small I would wash in a laundry bag. I have washed rags that have been cut into five or six inch squares and never had a problem. Others report having problems with small items going over the top of the inter basket and either jamming between the tub cover and inter basket or going completely over and ending up somewhere in the outer tub and sometimes down the drain hose to the pump. I don't know exactly what causes this. Possibly an O of B condition that does not correct itself, being unlevel, over sudsing... don't know and I hope to not find out. Some of these things could be considered abuse, as noted above.

On a secondary note, your machine is one of the last machines with the blue strip on the bottom of the console, the blue and grey plastic dial and the simpler lettering on the buttons. The water level button that disappeared during the move will be hard to replace. The wording changed during 1975 along with other features that are not so obvious, basically cheapening the product to increase corporate profits IMO. Keep laundry pre-treatment products and jewelry away from the machine. They will cause damage.

That's my two cents. Take it or leave it as you will and good luck with your machine.

 

[rp2813]

Not a big deal but --

 

Shouldn't the timer knob be all chrome instead of the later acrylic type? 

 

Best of luck finding the "Normal" button.  Trace your steps, scour your truck or whatever you hauled it home in, and keep after the seller to inspect the area where the washer had been located, where it was loaded, and everywhere in between.

 

[eurekastar]

Control Panel Color

Can someone tell me the name of the secondary color on the control panel? Sometimes I think it is silver/grey. At other times, it looks aqua/teal. I plan to begin cleaning it up this weekend so that I can do touch up painting the following weekend. Any thoughts on paint color for the control panel would be appreciated. I want to keep it looking as close to original as possible.

Also, has anyone ever used oven cleaner to clean up the grime on an older washer. It is really good for getting grime off of showers and bathtubs. I have degreaser but I was wondering if anyone has experience with using oven cleaner.

Thanks!

 

[wayupnorth]

Use a nylon scrubbie to clean any grime with soap and hot water first to see just what color needs to be matched that nail polish works great, scratches that need to be touched up before messing with a deep cleaning and the restoration to a nice new machine.

 

[good-shepherd]

anyone ever used oven cleaner to clean up the grime

Oven cleaner is not for cleaning washers. You're mainly dealing with hard water mineral deposits and detergent soap scum. I use Bon-Ami or other bleaching cleansers for general cleaning and crud removal. For hard water deposits I use diluted muriatic acid, wiping it on just long enough to dissolve the deposits then flushing well with lots of water, it's best done outside with a garden hose.

Don't worry about getting the machine too wet, they were built for that and will drain and dry quickly, just cover the motor with a plastic bag.

I follow with a leaf blower to get the excess water out. Sounds crazy but it works and is faster than dragging out the air compressor.

 

[good-shepherd]

name of the secondary color on the control panel

There is thread somewhere on AW, someone was doing a Maytag resto and repainting the blue on the control panel. I believe they were using automotive touch up spray paint like Dupli-Color but I don't recall the part # off hand.

However, it was not even close to the faded, discolored panels one finds on vintage Maytags these days so forget about trying to color match that way.

 

[askolover]

try disconnecting the thin air hose from the water level pressure switch and blow down through it.  My mother's Maytag was over filling to "full" on medium setting.  I blew down through it and heard slimy gunk move and it's been fine ever since.  Simple to try.

 

[eurekastar]

@ askolover -- I've been thinking about doing that, but I just ordered a new pressure switch hose. I hope that works!

I was thinking of using oven cleaner to clean up all the grung created by the transmission oil. I'll be removing the motor during the cleaning process. The glide bracket needs attention since their isn't any play in it.

It will be a fun job to tackle!