Its a Kenmore Christmas

[mickeyd]

Flowmax

What a great shot of a beautiful machine. I would love to have one of these, Mark. Good for you. I took care of one of these for two years, and few machines have afforded more pleasure, were more fun or more versatile.

We have many machines that have been owned by 4 or 5 members since I've been around. The original founders and members probably know of even greater passings through the hands of fellow Aworgers.

 

[bendixmark]

Belt tightening

Anybody do it like this?Very easy.

 

[combo52]

Kenmore 800

Yes this is the washer that Jon and I pulled out of a basement in the north Boston suburbs not far from where Jon lives.  It is ironic that it has now come home to the Boston area again, we also got the Coppertone KA front loading portable DW from the same house that Jon is using in one of his rental properties.

 

These were cool washers, the narrow quite-pac belt that this washer used did need to be very tight and this washer had the later cloth and rubber belt. When WP first used this type belt they used a better nylon and rubber belt that was much more durable. In the early 1980s they were no longer using this style belt, but thankfully they went back to the better nylon and rubber belt for replacement purposes. I would diffidently replace this original belt with this better style belt when you give this washer a good going over.

 

When the belt is tightened on any BD WP washer it is very important to loosen the 9/16" motor mounting bracket bolt on the front as well as the rear motor bracket. If you try to do it all from the rear you risk breaking one or more of the motor mounting studs and you will diffidently stress the rubber motor mounts and probably make the washer noisier in operation.

 

[bendixmark]

belts

Hey John,I totally agree on loosening the other bolt on the bracket I didnt happen to include that part,stupidly.I didnt know they went back to the good belt the replacement belt was a real joke.Yes this isnt it ironic that the Kenmore 800(why is it called that?) came all the way back my way.I am just ten minutes away from Jon who I havent met yet but looking forward to it.I plan on giving this machine a complete going over I think I am going to need an outer tub as the machine is leaving rust chips in the sink!I hope I can still find a new one.I also didnt know you had been down this way before if you ever are please let me know.Would be great if you were going to the party at Chuck and Richs house this weekend.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

The Kenmore 800 name, and rust chips, etc...

Mark -

Here's how we came up with the 800 name:

First, the model number if I recall is 110.700480x, where the x could be anything from a 0 to 3. This last digit is just an engineering revision when a part number somewhere in the machine changed during the model run. This required a change in the part schematics, and thus an alteration to the model number.

In this model number, the first two digits to the right of the decimal indicate the model year (1970), the next two digits, the 04, are non-suds (05 for suds), the next 8 is the series, or 80 or 800, and the last digit is the engineering revision.

Many of the Kenmore models from the early 70s into the mid-seventies did not indicate their series on the panels, including yours, though they sometimes did mention this under the lid in the operating instructions.

About the rust chunks - I think the most likely culprit for these is the centerpost or the centerpost of the basket. If you are going to seal the outer tub leak, you'll see right away when you remove the basket. I wish you luck with that!

Gordon

 

[bendixmark]

rust chunks

Hey Gordon,that thought had not occured to me I tend to think the worst.Would be nice if that is all it is but I am afraid to look.I am going to try and find a new tub if one is still lying around collecting dust somewhere.Just love the machine watched it go through a cycle tonight,cant get enough of that vari-flex action!

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Mark -

Hopefully you'll be able to re-use the current tub!!

I can help you with part numbers to look for a new one if you'd like, as WP / FSP maintained most tub configurations well into the 1990s for the belt-drive machines, but most original tub numbers subbed over to other kits of tubs which came with cork pads, sometimes a new airdome, etc. and thus the part number changed. They're all going to come up NLA in most computer systems.

Excluding the fast-spin portables, there were five different outer tub sizes in belt drives, and in each size there were three to five or six different configurations with an without holes for bleach hoses, side check valves, various lint filters, etc. I think there were close to 25 different tub configurations in my 1992 WP catalog.

These unfortunately now are very hard to find. I am sure just as you said there are a few hanging around collecting dust in some parts house's stock, but they are 'off the grid' with WP and with most of the big companies. Googling these numbers online not long ago didn't yield much. I recently looked for some time for a tub for a 1982 24-inch machine, and wound up patching the original with 2-part epoxy.

These tubs were quite costly anyway...I bought at least 3 in the 1990s when I was doing a lot of service, and I paid over $80 wholesale for the least expensive one twenty years ago.

We'll keep our fingers crossed!

Gordon

 

[bendixmark]

Outer Tub

Hey Gordon,That would be great if you could provide some numbers I have two parts guys who are great at finding me obscure parts, most recently a centerpost bearing puller.Yes I know these arte pricey I too bought one last in the 90s and it cost me around $80 then but price is no object for my 1970 kenmore 800.Thats the thing,this machine is in the configuration of a Lady Kenmore minus the third speed.Maybe they made this model for po folks or for those who were too dum to know the difference?

 

[bendixmark]

timer

This machine has a replacement timer.The original timers on these kenmores were terrible they would jam and get stiff but I used to love to replace them back in the day as it was a nice little money job that folks would go for.What I havent been able to figure out is why the soap dispenser doesnt run during rinse as I believe it should.