Inglis TO-41001 Commercial Belt Drive Rebuild -A few questions-

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vegabass25

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 27, 2024
Messages
48
Location
Ontario, Canada
Hey all, it's good to be here. Been enjoying working on appliances for almost two decades. Worked on many washers, But this will be my first belt drive unit. I've done plenty of research on them over the years, and have good memories of an Inglis Liberator washer my mother had years ago.

I picked this machine up the other day. I plan to restore it for my own use and interest. Inglis TO-41001. This is a commercial coin op unit made in Canada. It runs and functions just fine, But as youll see in the photos, Its pretty obvious a seal has failed and water is seeping into the gearcase.

I plan to fully service this machine and its gearbox. Since its a commercial unit AND Canadian made I was hoping to find more information on it before I source parts, Just in case there are small design differences. From what I can tell, It should be a regular old belt drive machine mechanically.

I'm assuming it was made in 1986 based on the mfg number on the motor. Seems to have the "quiet pack" skinny non ribbed belt and rubber damped pully, Which I find to be an odd choice for a commercial machine. Here are some pics. Any additional info on this neat machine is appreciated. Thanks

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Last of the whirlpool commercial belt drive washers

Hi Landon, this is a great machine to fix up. It’s a little better built than the normal home models. It has a better porcelain finish on both the inner wash basket and the outer tub.

It should be an easy build. The parts are all the same as the normal home models both assembled in Canada and the US, the one thing I notice is the rear transmission brace is missing on your washer. This is very important for smooth spinning performance with an out balance, there’s two other races that might be missing as well.

But you’re correct it needs to be pulled completely apart seals and other parts replaced that are worn or damaged and it should work for a long time, I still know of two of these machines that are in commercial use in DC .

John
 
Congrats on your find. This will be a fun and rewarding project to complete. There are many threads you can search for here on rebuilding whirlpool belt drives. There is a lot of knowledge here so ask questions. Can’t wait to see your progress.
 
I knew it looked a little too accessible in there...

Hey John,
Thanks for the info! Glad to hear it has a more robust finish on the washbasket and tub. This machine was still in service until two weeks ago. This makes it the third belt drive machine I know of in town that was still being used daily.

I noticed that brace missing, and am going to check for the two others. Not looking forward to trying to source those. I would much rather not use the machine without them to avoid undue stress on the parts. Those missing braces are the mark of a lazy repairperson in the past. Appears the transmission may have been opened as well, as the longer case bolt that connected that bracket appears to be in the wrong spot. It runs well and sounds good at least. I plan to get that transmission out of it and cleaned up ASAP before that water does any more damage.

Thankfully the water in the transmission was not a surprise, since I immediately noticed the agitator is a bit loose which compromised the airlock underneath it.

Where should I start searching for the brackets? I have two older appliance shops in town but this does not really seem like a consumable part they would keep on hand from back in the day. Seals and moving parts are a different story since they wear out with use. Finding a parts machine is unlikely as this is the first BD unit I've seen for sale in my area in a decade.

I plan to pop off the agitator and get a better look Underneath this evening to see more of what I'm up against. I'll post what I find, along with many other pics along the way. Google searches on this unit bring up not a whole lot. Hopefully that changes by the time this projects done as I document it lol
-Landon
 
Landon, I don't have anything to contribute to the needed discussion at hand but a reflection. In late 1974/frist half of 1975 I lived in a small apartment complex in Austin TX. Friends lived in a similar complex that aws brand new and the washers in their laundry room were exactly like this. Bring back fondd memories.
 
Melven-
Thanks! I really look forward to making this unit run like new again! I think it will clean up quite nice. I even got the keys and spare coin slide parts so all that will be restored as well!

This forum has been extremely valuable for me in learning more about these BD washers over the years. I'll be documenting all progress on this machine here as I go.

Also, I got a better pic under the machine. I'll have more soon, Gotta finish up some other units to free up space in my shop.

Seems ALL the support braces/brackets are missing. What a bummer. Also missing a hinge/retainer for the top. Are the top hinges pretty standard amongst these BD machines?

More pics to follow this eve. Thanks.

-Landon

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Melvin-
That is very much appreciated. I'll call a few places tomorrow but if you have a spare set of braces I would gladly buy them off you. I'll update as I call around.

The seals seem to be available still, But that belt seems tricky to find. Is it a proprietary size? looks like a 3/8" V belt but the pulleys have quite a deep grove to them.

I think I have a repair manual for the BD machines somewhere. If I recall it was the "Do it yourself" one so not sure how in-depth it goes. I remember it being over 100 pages anyway. Ill see if I can dig it up, and check out the literature section as well.

Thanks -Landon
 
Nice machine for a coin-op. Did it come out of a washateria, or some place like an apartment building?

The lid is unusual, as it appears to be one like on a Kenmore, but opens to the rear like most other Whirlpool machines. The majority I've seen have the handle at the front. My cousin Diane had a mid 70's coin-op, but can't remember if if was a Kenmore or Whirlpool. Regardless, the lid opened to the rear.
 
Fingers crossed the center post isn't pooched! I just removed the agitator and brushed off the shaft and retainer nut. Agitator came off easy, and fits a bit loose on the shaft. Splines are a bit rusty. Shaft has some corrosion further down but not as rough as I was expecting. Top and Washbasket will come out next upon further disassembly. Gotta finish the little GE/Whirlpool thing in the last photo for a buddy first lol

The Machine came from a very small trailer park and was sold alongside a direct drive machine that appeared very similar in age and design. Both where in use until a few weeks ago when they upgraded to machines with modern payment equipment.

Thanks

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You are going to need a new agitator shaft. I can see from picture one that it is rusted in the seal area and that’s what caused the water in the gearcase. As Dan suggested I would tear the machine apart before ordering parts to make sure it will actually be able to be rebuilt properly.
 
I'm going into this assuming it needs pretty much everything so I will most certainly be waiting until full disassembly to order parts. It will run again. It has no choice. I look forward to the challenge.

It functions and held water overnight a few days ago for testing, so it's got that going for it. I want to get it running functionally like new, and I want the rebuild to last so I'll make sure to do things correctly.

96388 comes up as a cogged belt. This unit has a smooth skinny one but could be aftermarket. I'll look for markings to double check

All this help is appreciated thanks!
 
Congratulations on your find Landon. Look forward to seeing updates on your progress.

I just completed another belt drive overhaul recently and found that this time around, parts were much harder to come by locally than when I did the first one in the thread Melvin linked to about 10 years ago. In most cases I did have to leverage eBay which does typically have the more common parts.

Its coincidental this one came up, a few months ago I saw an ad for someone that was selling about 10 of these and the older commercial version with the taller backsplash. From the pictures it looked like they were in a storage locker so must have been in tucked away for many years.

There was a recent thread about the narrow belt and I think when I looked at that time some parts suppliers had that listed as a cogged belt when in fact it isn't cogged like the standard belt is. If its the original belt it may still have the old Inglis part number on it but 96388 is the more common part number for the narrow belt.

Good luck and let us know how it goes
 
Those speedy sleeves seem quite interesting. I've heard of a few other ways of restoring various shafts used in industry. Down the road when the NOS parts become full unobtainium, this could really save someone's machine.

I plan to remove the basket tomorrow to assess the tub and center posts condition. After that, I plan to remove the transmission to see how its doing internally so I can get various parts orders together. Then I can have everything ready to go for an excellent holiday/winter project.

Thanks again to everyone commenting here. I really like this machine. I've always had a thing for the "commercial" versions of various appliances.
 
Here's where I'm at so far. Top came off with ease as well as the top splash guard.
No major rust on the tub rim, and the seal is in excellent shape.
The basket nut came off with ease with the proper spanner.
The basket is putting up a bit of a fight. I ran out of time for the day and will let some penetrant soak in and give it another shot tomorrow.
The underside of the top is in excellent shape with very little rust. A nice plus!
Note the mercury lid switch. Really cool. Not sure how common that is on old washers, I just wasn't expecting to see one here.

Any tips on gently freeing the stuck basket before I give it another go tomorrow? I'm very familiar with getting old, stuck fragile things apart without damage. Just want to be as careful as possible to not damage the coating or knock it off balance.

More pics of course. Cheers!

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Yay, I’m glad it’s coming apart easily

It’s super simple to loosen the basket just stand in the basket and rock your weight from side to side once or twice the basket will be loose at this point.

All whirlpool belt drive machines from about 1965 through 70. Used a mercury lid switch. The switch itself was very durable the little spring clip bracket that holds it with sometimes rust and break or get this lodged. Other than that they were no problems with these, of course they wouldn’t use mercury in an appliance anymore, so I don’t know if that was part of the thinking of getting rid of them.

If you need transmission braces, I have plenty of them. I could send you when you get to doing the final rebuilding.

John
 
Those Mercury switches were banned for environmental reasons.
Called a "wetted contact" they would basically last the life of the machines they were in.
Anything new has a dry set of contact and unfortunately they don't last as long

Now for something important!!!!!!!

If you have a mercury spill because you broke a switch do not sweep brush or vacuum it up
Do not touch or spread it around until you are ready to clean up.
You will need some rubber gloves and an air tight container to put all this waste in when your done
If you can squeegee or rubber spatula scrap it into a poodle collect it with an eye dropper or something like that.
You don't want to spread it around!
If you plan ahead because you know you are going to work with this stuff or your a gardener you may have some powdered Sulphur around.
This will bind with the metal and make it easier clean up
Open windows and ventilate area for as long as you can to get rid of any vapours.

Call your local waste disposal aka the toxic taxi in your area for waste oil and old CFL bulbs ect.
Tell them what you have neatly label it and see if you have anything else you want to get rid of too like old insecticide, waste oil, paint, solvents.
label all these things clearly and do not mix them with anything else
Keep in original containers for easier identification.
Make an appointment or collection, or drop it off at their disposal site but don't throw it in the garbage

Google this stuff
learn the right things to do.
Have a plan in place if you break anything containing mercury or toxic materials.
 
John-
I just tried standing in basket and shifting weight around, changing positions for around 30 mins. Not budging yet. It's a stubborn one, But I'll keep trying. May try heating up the baskets center post carefully with my heat gun later on. WD-40 soaked in overnight too. It's a tough one.

Ragnboneman-
I am always careful with anything containing mercury. Makes for the best switches ever. thanks for the cleanup tips if I ever have a spill in the future. My hobbies and doing my own oil changes have me visiting the hazwaste depot often lol

Cheers everyone. Will report back after more basket removal attempts.
 
Gearcase removal

An update on progress. I wanted to remove the transmission to try another method for removing the basket. Came out pretty easy. As soon as I tipped the unit on its front a brown slurry began to dribble out at the agitator shaft.

The transmission is doused in oil and filth. I bet its the worst some here will see in a long time...

What a mess lol. This units pretty beat.
See pics.

Agitator shaft is pooched. I expected that. deep groove in seal area. Worn shaft in bearing area. There is also around 3/8" of side to side "slop" in the agitator shaft. Normal? I'm assuming the bearings in the tubes deal with the lateral load.

Also check out the pump. looks like a newer aftermarket unit. Look how the covers popping off.. unit somehow held water for over 20hrs with no leaks.

Everything under here is drenched in oil.

Update on basket removal shortly. Thanks for reading about my adventures with this clunker. We are only just getting started.

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Basket removal success!

Got the basket off. :D
My method was to first remove the transmission per my previous post.
I then spun the nut back on the drive block loose, perched a short piece of 2X4 atop it, and while lifting the wash basket off the bottom of the tub- gave it a good whack with a 3lb hammer. That popped it loose.

What's underneath is not great... Although very little rust on any parts of the tub, The center post is not too happy. Chunks of scale came off just with a scraper and what I'm left with can be seen in the pics.

Bottom of basket has a bit of rust too, but not too bad.

Would anyone here consider this center post salvageable? Or am I rebuilding this base plate too. It didnt break apart with me bouncing around in the basket for a half hour trying to remove it hah

Original belt eh? thats cool! It's still quite flexible and not in too bad of shape.

Cheers everyone. thanks for reading!

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The center post definitely looks rough. That is one of the reasons these machines get scrapped these days. You’ll have to remove the rust from it to see what’s left as to whether it can be repaired or will need to be replaced.
 
Commercial belt drive washer rebuild

Yay glad you got it apart, I’ve never had standing in the basket not work in 30 seconds you simply shift your entire weight from one side to the other about once or twice and it comes loose and I only weigh 150 pounds.

I would clean up the rusty center post unless it’s nearly rusted through I like to get a thin stainless steel sleeve and sleeve the outside of it. It’s much easier than replacing the center post and then you don’t have any risk of having a misaligned center post if it’s off just slightly from the base plate the machine won’t spin properly other people have done this, and had problems with misalignment.

That blue water pump is an aftermarket pump that was made in Israel. They were junk. I would look for a real pump. We bought some of those and they didn’t last worth a damn.

You definitely need a new agitator shaft. The transmission may be damaged as well. I normally throw out ones that have water in them because I have so many that never had water in them and start with a better one, it appears all three transmission braces are missing and that really causes problems, it’ll cause the machine to walk and vibrate more and put a lot of stress on the center post and bearings, etc. to be run without the transmission braces.

John
 
Melvin And John-

In the next day or two I plan to get all the rust off that post and see what I have to work with.
I assume that either way to do this properly, I will need to remove the outer tub. So that will be my next move.

I really like the idea of a stainless sleeve. Tried to find some posts about that but turned up nothing yet. More research needed. I want these repairs to last!

About the transmission, I need to crack that open and make sure its salvageable. Was likely ran a long time wet. Dropping in another transmission is out of the question sadly, as BD machines just dont seem to exist around here any longer. Even If one did pop up on ebay, It would end up being over $300 to my door because I'm Canadian. Agitator shafts gonna cost me around $200 alone from what I can tell.
But like I said, It was running just fine, and actually sounded really nice when agitating. Hopefully the shaft is the only damaged part.

I think a full disassembly, cleaning, replacement of seals, agitator shaft and spring and new gear oil will keep this transmission happy. Might be high hopes though.

The agitator shaft has alot of side to side play as it sits protruding from the transmission. fingers crossed thats normal and not caused by wear in the transmission case/bearings.

I will not be running this machine again until I find some of those braces (among the many other issues lol). Boggles my mind someone was probably paid to fix this thing and decided they where not needed. Sadly, seems pretty normal for the quality of work done in my city.

The pump has a "B" and a checkmark on it. and looks newer than the rest of the components under there. Still spins silky smooth too. Hoping to someday procure an OEM one but will make this work if I have to, or keep it as a spare. Around what years where these blue aftermarket pumps common?

Guy-
I am located in North Bay, ON a couple hrs drive from you it sounds like. Glad you are enjoying this journey! Although the parts list is piling up, This machine will live again!

I will say, that corrosion on the center post makes me wonder how my 1989 direct drive machine is holding up in that area... I'm lucky enough to still have one of my childhood washers and its used every few days. but thats a topic for another day.

Thanks all! trans will be popped open tomorrow afternoon after I pull the wigwag off so I can pressure wash it first! lol. More pics will follow.
 
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