It's Timeline time!!

[turquoisedude]

Norge Timeline, that is!!  

 

So, I managed to get back from the UK visit in one piece and still slightly sane but we're in the middle of bathroom renovations down in Ogden and it seems like winter decided to start  in earnest (we had a good foot of snow and the temperature dropped to a record low today).  But I knew there were two 'new' goodies waiting for me in the garage.  And a little cold weather was NOT going to stop me from playing with at least one of the new toys.   

 

I picked the Norge, thinking it may have been in need of less TLC than the ABC.  As usual, I was wrong... LOL

I tried to power up the machine and nothing seemed to happen until I remembered that pop-up out of balance switch, so I pressed it.... 

 

Well, still nothing happened... The motor buzzed and no motion was observed in the machine.  The Timeline had been set to the 'Wash' part of the cycle.  I pulled the plug and tried to move the control to 'Spin'.  It wouldn't budge.   Pulling the control out seemed to cut the power to the motor and pushing it back in again sent power but that was it.  

 

So, I figured this was a good place to start!

 

[turquoisedude]

Yes, in my usual 'Never Think Things Through' approach, I took the Timeline cycle control unit off and took it apart.  Of course it was only AFTER I had removed all the wiring that I thought about looking for a wiring diagram...  Fortunately I have one still on the machine tub and I obtained the 1957 Norge washer manual from the manuals library.  

 

It's a fascinating unit - even I could figure out what it was supposed to do!   But, note that evidence of high heat melting on the back cover.  And note the evidence of arcing on the contact 'fingers'.... Methinks there has been a short somewhere and perhaps this was what caused the machine to be taken out of service.

 

[turquoisedude]

But I was still troubled by the lack of movement of the selector knob...  After reading the doctrine, I figured out there was something wrong with this bar that moved an engagement gear on or off of the screw that the timer rides during operation.   My apologies for the poor picture quality - this was the best close-up I could get... 

 

[turquoisedude]

And I noticed a lot of dried up goop on and around the spring-action mechanism, too.   Again, apologies for the awful picture... 

 

[turquoisedude]

A good cleaning was in order... HINT: a bit of PB Blaster on a Q-Tip is a great way to remove gunk from sliding parts!

 

[turquoisedude]

So, after adding some fresh lithium grease, I put the unit back together again... 

 

Miraculously, it worked!  I could now pull the control lever out and move the Timeline to wherever I wanted to on the control. 

 

 

 

[turquoisedude]

Better still, the timer motor is still OK!   Note the date on the motor case... 

 

[turquoisedude]

And here's another clue as to the age of the Norge (I know....awful picture)....

 

So, if the timer was made December 19th, 1955, I'm going to hazard a guess this Norge of mine is a 1956 model.  

 

Now, if the weather warms up next weekend, I'm going to have to try the motor again but after removing the drive belts.   I'm guessing I may have a 'stuck' pump.  Let's just hope it's not the transmission!

 

[toploader55]

Welcome Back.

Paul, Our neighbor on the Cape had a TimeLine. I don't know if you know this, but on the one I saw when you pulled out the Control, it would start filling before you set the "Time on the Line".

When are you coming down ??? Hmmmmmm ?????? John's not back yet, but you could always come down here for a overnight. Or we could just break a window at his house. LOL Then we could eat and drink everything in site like we always do !!!

 

[washerlover]

Anticipation

Paul, this is a very exciting project! Norge is my all-time favorite and the Timelines are to die for. Great find, and looking forward to more pics. Hopefully the restoration will be an easy one.

 

[jetcone]

Edwinnah!!

You'll be eaten and drunk- missy!

 

Nice detective work Paul, you're coming up to speed swiftly my young padawan!

 

 

[hippiedoll]

great post

And pictures. I look forward to following up with this thread to see your progress!

Keep up the good work!
Keeping my fingers crossed for you...
;o)

 

[turquoisedude]

Update on the Timeline

So, I spent the past the week down in Ogden to help move the bathroom renovation project forward... It's probably going to be a few more weeks (or months... sigh) until that gets done and after a week without a fully functional bathroom, I felt a touch of the plague coming on so I bugged out to the more 'urban' setting of St-Lib this evening...  

 

But I had enough spare time to do some more tinkering with the Norge and the news is most encouraging!

 

Now, when I first tested the machine,  all I could make the motor do was buzz.  I knew something was stuck or seized, so I figured I'd try removing the belt.   

 

Eesh!  I could use this to rack up billiard balls.... 

 

[turquoisedude]

I was able to access the main components and try to give them a spin manually...  

 

The transmission pulley turned smoothly.  The motor pulley turned smoothly.   The pump.... er.....

 

 

 

[turquoisedude]

Well, as I suspected, it was frozen up but good.   Now, this is a first - I actually diagnosed a vintage washer issue correctly on the first go round!  LOL

 

I figured I had nothing to lose by removing it and inspecting it.

 

 

[turquoisedude]

I didn't document each step here, but once I took the pump apart, I shot some PB Blaster into the shaft and I managed to loosen it.  

 

[turquoisedude]

I knocked out the pump shaft... This is where I am not so sure I was doing the right thing - that washer or gasket and sleeve looked nothing like the pump bearing/bushing/sleeve components that I was able to reference in the Norge washer doctrine.   EEP!

 

 

[turquoisedude]

I wasn't sure if there had been a leak that had caused the pump shaft to gum up or not.  I again figured I had nothing to lose by testing the pump casing with some water in it. 

 

[turquoisedude]

Well, I was thrilled to observe that it 'held vater' and there were no apparent leaks from the pump shaft!  Looks like I might be ready for a test soon... 

 

I do still need to get a new belt (one that is actually flexible would help, I'm sure...).   

 

Almost forgot, I did try reconnecting the timer that I tinkered with.   This time, with no stuck belt or pump, the motor ran smoothly and the Timeline advanced smoothly through fill, wash, spin, rinse, and dry phases of the cycle.  I heard the fill solenoids buzzing and no fuses (or neighbourhood transformers) blew so I think I'm in good shape here... 

 

I'll have to pull the fill valve and give it a good cleaning still, but I'm getting closer!

 

[jetcone]

Yay!!

Nice progress, you're learning for sure!

 

[philr]

Almost ready for a load of clothes!

 

[brucelucenta]

My parents had a TOL '57 Norge timeline set. Nice looking machines that the panel would light up. The Washer had two cycles, normal and short. One speed machine, the two speed one came out the next year. I remember my father changing the pump out on more than one occasion. They were bad about pumps going out. After several years of use, he had quit fixing it himself and was busy with work and such. Our service man, he was a regular by then, told my mom she should think about getting a new machine. So the next time the pump went out, they bought a GE V12 in about '63. I always hated that machine and shortly after, the Norge gas dryer caught some lint on fire and was replaced by a Premier gas dryer, GE's matching dryer that was gas. I guess GE did not put their name on gas appliances. That dryer took forever to dry a load of clothes in comparison to the Norge and developed a problem with the motor heat switch. Sometimes you would not even make it through one load of clothes before it kicked out. You had to wait until the motor cooled down enough to start again. I equally hated that dryer too. Anyway, I think the Norge set was probably a better set in the long run. I think they improved their pump later on down the line. Was a good machine other than that. Certainly a nice looking set. My favorite Norge set would be the models that came out the very next year. The TOL 1958 Norge set. Those were magnificent looking machines will lots of chrome and knobs. Full light up panels and the washer was two speed instead of one. That was also the last year they made the Timeline washers.

 

[combo52]

56 Norge Time-Line Washer

Wow Paul, it looks like this washer saw little use, hopefully it will not give you too many problems.

 

The melted timer backs were a common problem on TLTs, Norge didn't really have a clutch so they would accelerate into spin quickly like a Frigidaire Unimatic. The problem was if something like the pump was stuck the motor stayed in the start winding too long and the timer was not over-built to withstand this.

 

As Bruce mentioned the pumps were diffidently a weak area, and your pump looks to be in almost new condition.

 

CRs gave Norge washers a best buy rating in the 50s for their good performance and lower price but the durably was terrible, many of these Norges only lasted a few years before people got tired of repairing them. I had a customer just a few months ago that still remembered her first AW  [ A Norge ] that she bought because of CRs rating, and she said she still distrusts CRs to this day because the washer lasted such a short period of time.

 

John L.

 

[brucelucenta]

Oh yeah, that was how my folks ended up getting both the Norge set and the GE set. My father was a firm believer in what consumer reports said. LOL Norge was supposed to be head and shoulders over ALL others back then.

 

[turquoisedude]

Some progress...

Just before heading down to Boston for the Great Big Story recording at Jon's, I found myself all alone in Ogden for a couple of days.  So, like any naughty boy I decided to do something that would get me in trouble later - I moved the Norge washer from the garage into the basement.  

 

I wanted to reinstall the pump and put on a new belt...  then this happened...  

 

Grumble....

 

[turquoisedude]

Yes, Mr. Know-It-All here struck again...  I managed to strip the threads of one of the orignal nuts that were used to secure the pump to the sliding mechanism it lives on.  

 

However, before I managed that feat, I did get the belt back on long enough to test the washer - I was thrilled to see the machine agitate and spin!!  However, during those brief tests I very quickly realized that the belt was way too loose.  The funny thing about the Norge washer is that belt tension is adjusted by moving the pump on the sliding mounting plate I mentioned above.  I'm used to the GE and Whirlpool machines where moving the motor is how you slack or tighten the belt, I guess.  Well anyway, for someone who can't open a jar of mayonnaise I managed to strip the danged bolt and then had to saw it off to remove it...  

 

Further grumble...

 

[turquoisedude]

It had been a pretty hectic weekend and I didn't feel much like driving all the way up to Magog to try and find a replacement bolt (both hardware stores in Stanstead are actually closed on Sunday!).  So, I figured this would be a good chance to inspect the water valve.

 

It was a good move... That valve was good and scaled up!

 

[turquoisedude]

I also got to try out my new 'water valve reconditioning centre' in the basement.  What a difference having an extra set of taps makes.

 

After a good soaking in CLR, the valve seems to be doing just fine now.  Yay!

 

So with any luck, this coming weekend I'll be able to reinstall the pump and belt.  I may just get around to a water test, too... Stay tuned!!

 

[stricklybojack]

.
Stripping bolts, me thinks T-Dude doesn't know his own strength!

 

[turquoisedude]

I must have been channeling Bullwinkle.... LOL