stuftrock1
Well-known member
After a few weeks of searching for a nice old washer I could fix up and hopefully make a decent profit off of, I came across a nice looking A512. Bought it a couple weeks ago with a newer Kenmore dryer for $200.
Overall, it is in pretty good condition. Needs some typical maintenance and a good cleaning, but there are no visible scratches, dents, or rust at all. It was kind of funny because I think the previous owner used the bleach dispenser to pour the detergent in, and when I removed the front panel, I noticed the bleach dispenser tube had popped off the cup at the top and there was a blue detergent stain on the plastic motor shield and a dried pool of detergent around the motor mount. I also do not think she knew the agitator had a lint filter in it, because that thing was disgusting.
When I was loading this thing onto the truck with my dad, I noticed that the drive pulley underneath was covered in oil. I know these brake assemblies require a little bit of oil so I don't know if this oil came from the brake or the transmission.
After I got it home, I hooked it up to the garden hose and ran a quick test wash to see how well it ran. I washed a regular sized blanket that the dogs use that was full of dog hair. I have never used one of these Pitman Maytags and it's been well over 10 years since I've even seen one, so I had no idea how effective this lint filter would be. My only basis for comparison was my 1986 Filter-Flo. I was not expecting much from this filter, and holy crap this thing really blew my expectations out of the water. I'll even go as far as to say this filter removed even more hair than my Filter-Flo! (see picture 3) Even with regular clothes that aren't full of dog hair, I think it still removes more lint than my FF.
On that first load, it was quite slow to get up to speed when agitating. According to the seller, it hasn't been used since January. It seems to do just fine on the spin cycle, so I don't think the belts or motor rollers are to blame. It has struggled a bit to get up to full agitation speed on every load I've done, so I'm thinking the transmission needs new oil. I have never cracked open any washer transmission before, so any advice you have on what to do and what not to do would be very much appreciated.
It also has been having some problems with the brake which I have talked about in detail in a separate thread.
Last Saturday I finally starting taking this thing apart. I was hoping I could get the tub nut off without cutting it because of how clean that area looked, but after hours of soaking it in penetrating fluid and beating it to death with my 4 lb BFH and only getting around three quarters of a rotation out of it, I decided to throw in the white towel and broke out the Dremel and chisel.
The outer tub was much cleaner than I expected, and thankfully there was very little rust. Yesterday I cleaned it out with oven cleaner and removed the outer tub. Everything went well but removing the air dome tube was a massive pain in the rear because all I had was standard pliers to remove that spring hose clamp. After I finally got it off, I was able to inspect the tub bearing. It appeared to be in good condition and the metal sleeve can easily turn freely on the transmission housing and inside the black bearing housing. I don't think I need to replace it, but the rubber on the bearing housing is dried and cracked so maybe it does need to be replaced.
I can only work on this thing on the weekends because of college, so I will update you guys next week. So far, I have only bought new belts and a new tub seal kit.
Overall, it is in pretty good condition. Needs some typical maintenance and a good cleaning, but there are no visible scratches, dents, or rust at all. It was kind of funny because I think the previous owner used the bleach dispenser to pour the detergent in, and when I removed the front panel, I noticed the bleach dispenser tube had popped off the cup at the top and there was a blue detergent stain on the plastic motor shield and a dried pool of detergent around the motor mount. I also do not think she knew the agitator had a lint filter in it, because that thing was disgusting.
When I was loading this thing onto the truck with my dad, I noticed that the drive pulley underneath was covered in oil. I know these brake assemblies require a little bit of oil so I don't know if this oil came from the brake or the transmission.
After I got it home, I hooked it up to the garden hose and ran a quick test wash to see how well it ran. I washed a regular sized blanket that the dogs use that was full of dog hair. I have never used one of these Pitman Maytags and it's been well over 10 years since I've even seen one, so I had no idea how effective this lint filter would be. My only basis for comparison was my 1986 Filter-Flo. I was not expecting much from this filter, and holy crap this thing really blew my expectations out of the water. I'll even go as far as to say this filter removed even more hair than my Filter-Flo! (see picture 3) Even with regular clothes that aren't full of dog hair, I think it still removes more lint than my FF.
On that first load, it was quite slow to get up to speed when agitating. According to the seller, it hasn't been used since January. It seems to do just fine on the spin cycle, so I don't think the belts or motor rollers are to blame. It has struggled a bit to get up to full agitation speed on every load I've done, so I'm thinking the transmission needs new oil. I have never cracked open any washer transmission before, so any advice you have on what to do and what not to do would be very much appreciated.
It also has been having some problems with the brake which I have talked about in detail in a separate thread.
Last Saturday I finally starting taking this thing apart. I was hoping I could get the tub nut off without cutting it because of how clean that area looked, but after hours of soaking it in penetrating fluid and beating it to death with my 4 lb BFH and only getting around three quarters of a rotation out of it, I decided to throw in the white towel and broke out the Dremel and chisel.
The outer tub was much cleaner than I expected, and thankfully there was very little rust. Yesterday I cleaned it out with oven cleaner and removed the outer tub. Everything went well but removing the air dome tube was a massive pain in the rear because all I had was standard pliers to remove that spring hose clamp. After I finally got it off, I was able to inspect the tub bearing. It appeared to be in good condition and the metal sleeve can easily turn freely on the transmission housing and inside the black bearing housing. I don't think I need to replace it, but the rubber on the bearing housing is dried and cracked so maybe it does need to be replaced.
I can only work on this thing on the weekends because of college, so I will update you guys next week. So far, I have only bought new belts and a new tub seal kit.
