Introducing: 1982 Kenmore 70 Series Belt Drive In Harvest Gold!!!!

[ddfan92]

Indeed, here she is! Just brought her home this evening. Model# 110.82270620, Serial# C31101688 (11th week/March of 1983)

Overall looks pristine on the outside, save for some dirt & filth here and there. Owner said barely used and had been in the family since new. Paid $100.

Will test her out later and see if she runs.

 

[repairguy]

Congrats!

 

[ddfan92]

Thanks Mel, first belt-drive for me to ever even see in-person, let alone it be the first one for me to own myself! Super stoked!

 

[repairguy]

I’m glad you were able to save it. They are a dying breed for sure. I very seldom see them in this area. They are my favorite. Hope it works well for you. It does look to be in great condition.

 

[ddfan92]

Indeed, same here, not often I come across one in my general area. I remember I was super bummed when I lost out on the 1964 70 series suds-saver that popped up in my area a few years ago, but then found out that at least that one went to jons1077, so that one is in good hands in any case.

This one looks very good all around, I may have scored on this one.

 

[maytag85]

Wow! Now I know what to expect on your channel in the future . Not sure what it’ll need, but you may want to take it apart to see what condition the outer tub is in. The outer tub on my ‘63 appeared to be in good shape when I first got it, but the more and more I started to take the machine apart, the more and more issues I began to discover. Ended up being a pinhole that was clogged with dirt, took it apart, cleaned everything as best as I could, used the JB Weld Steel-Stik which worked for awhile, but began to leak again in December of ‘21. Then it was decided I should jaunt have it welded for insurance purposes, so far it held up for ‘22 without a problem. Unfortunately, it’s been out of service due to timer issues and John mentioned he has one somewhere but it’s not too much of a priority but definitely plan on arranging something in the future.

Nice thing about these belt drives is there’s no pesky neutral drain pack to fail, also rinse a little better than the direct drives when careful with the detergent.

If you find the matching dryer, you’d have a matching belt drive set. If it’s just a single temperature machine, would just put a low heat thermostat in it to be gentle on the machine itself.

 

[ddfan92]

Underside pics

Besides needing vacuumed and wiped down good, not much rust anywhere that at least I can see. We'll see when I get a little further into it what it all needs. I appreciate your concern about the tub Sean. Will definitely keep that in consideration if and when the time comes necessary to do that.

 

[maytag85]

Don’t know if this makes any difference or not, but I suspect lower end detergents tend to gum up which leads to build up on the outer tub surfaces, since detergent residue with the combination of dirt holds moisture in, it’ll eventually rot the metal tub out if it gets bad enough. The direct drives you made videos of have that very buildup I described. Since I dealt with rust issues on my Whirlpool, will only use Tide for now on as a precaution.

 

[ddfan92]

Good to know on the detergent Sean.

Upon closer inspection of the transmission, there is a little bit of oil on the bottom of the housing. Could be a bad oil seal, maybe?

 

[ddfan92]

I couldn't resist myself.....

Dry test video:

 

[maytag85]

All belt drives have a tendency to have oil at the bottom of the housing after awhile. Even after I rebuilt the transmission on mine after thoroughly going through everything, has a little at the bottom of the houses well. Just how they are.

If you do decide to change the oil, you’ll need 75-90 gear oil. Technically the oil that came in these originally was 60 weight non detergent oil which is basically a gear oil but at the same time, a motor oil. Or the oil you used in your last direct drive transmission rebuild will work as well.

 

[blockeight88]

Stunning

Congrats on the new machine. It's absolutely stunning. I love that color.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Steve, congrats on your find!

 

Features:

Seems to have four water levels and three wash temperatures each with a cold rinse...

 

Does it then have two speeds and maybe a self-cleaning lint filter?

 

What might the matching dryer for it also be like?

 

 

 

-- Dave

 

[peteski50]

Kenmore!

Congrats this is a great washer

 

[ddfan92]

Thanks guys! Thanks Sean for the oil info, I have 75W-90 gear oil, but it has that pesky limited-slip additive that causes it to absolutely REEK of gear oil when it runs!

Dave: I'd be willing to bet it does have two speeds and a self-cleaning filter. Not sure exactly on the matching dryer, just have the washer at the moment.

 

[repairguy]

Yes it is a 2 speed machine with a basket mounted self cleaning lint filter under the agitator.

 

[ddfan92]

Here some shots of it now as I'm cleaning the top of it.

 

[ddfan92]

Will this gasket still work?

 

[maytag85]

Should work. Though, you may want to put a little 3M sealant or some sort of silicone sealant on it to help seal it. What I’ve happened on my Whirlpool is that gasket (different on mine, but serves the same purpose) wasn’t seated all the way and what happened is some water sloshed over the side of the tub and noticed some water on the floor, thought “here we go again with leaks from the outer tub”. Removed the inner tub, filled it with water and let it sit for a day. Didn’t notice any water on the floor, was stumped and thought “what in the heck is causing it to leak despite it not coming from the outer tub or any of the seals?”. Looked into it some more and realized it was the tub ring gasket that wasn’t sealed all the way. Re-seated it, and never had a problem after that. Belt drives are good machines, but certainly can have a mind of their own at times.

Btw, if you notice it’s not draining the water despite the control magnet assembly aka wig wag functioning properly and drain hose not kinked, it’s the water pump. The bearing has a tendency to seize and lock up, causing the pulley to free wheel on the pump shaft making it look like everything is working correctly. If you manage to remove the pulley, there should be a wick to add a few drops of oil. The older 4 port pump for sure has the wick you can add a few drops of oil to, along with being able to be rebuilt.

If the tub gives you difficulty, you can do what John is doing in reply #6. That’s what I did on my Whirlpool a few times, used the spanner wrench, rocked the tub and used my foot to help hold the tub in place so it won’t move making to easier to remove the inner tub.

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?36662

 

[washerlover]

Congrats on a wonderful find!

 

[ddfan92]

Thanks Sean, once again for the info.

Thanks Todd!

 

[ddfan92]

Water test:

 

[ddfan92]

[No message]

 

[ddfan92]

It leaks....

Looks like from the center-post perhaps? I'm letting it sit with water as Sean suggested to see if it is otherwise just a tub ring gasket issue. Based on the fact that it's coming from under the tub down the baseplate in the back though? Don't know about that one....

 

[ddfan92]

Pump leak?

 

[ddfan92]

BTW, the other leak definitely is a tub leak of some sort, not just tub ring gasket related. Having sat with water for about 20-30 minutes, it still leaks from the bottom of the tub onto the baseplate.

 

[blockeight88]

Leak

Man I’m sorry to hear this. I’m sure you’ll fix it. Do you feel comfortable replacing the tub seal? I’m sure it’s not hard. Only thing is, YouTube doesn’t seem to have many of these DIY videos on the old belt drives like they do for DD’s.

 

[repairguy]

Those issues are definitely common for one of these machines of this age. To be put into regular service the center post seals, spin tube seal, tub seal, tub bolt seals, the manifold trap to tub seal, and water pump needs to be replaced. If the gearcase doesn’t have water in it it’s probably ok. If it was mid seventies and older I also at least change the oil in the gearcase. This machine has the potential to give many more years of service if properly rebuilt now.

 

[maytag85]

If it’s leaking above the base plate it could be: the tub seal, center post seals, rubber gaskets on the screws that hold the tub down to the base plate, air dome gasket or a crack in the air dome itself, last but not least is there could be pinholes in the outer tub.

If it’s leaking below the base plate it could be: the pump, rubber hoses, pump guard, drain hose. If the rubber hoses are leaking, you can use hose clams that you tighten with a nut driver or screw driver since the hose clamps that these originally came with have a mind of their own once they have been disturbed after many years. That’s what I did to mine 3 years ago.

 

[maytag85]

Forgot to post this in reply #28. Did you fill it up with the garden hose or did you let it fill up from the inlet valve? Another possibility is the fill flume could be leaking. Not common to leak from there, but it is possible. Would even check the hose that goes from the inlet valve to the fill flume as well while you are checking over everything.