Kenmore Belt drive portable burned up belt... Advice?

[dustin92]

I posted a while back that I'd picked up a Kenmore Belt Drive portable washer and matching dryer for friends, and aside from the dryer needing a new drum roller after the bearing wore out, they have been working flawlessly. Until tonight... I got a text saying they needed me to look at the washer, they thought they'd just burned it up. I had just got off work so ran home, had some dinner and drove out to their house. They said it had started smoking and smoked up the whole house. They asked me if I could smell it when I got there, and I said no (they smoke cigarettes and that's all I could smell!). Anyway, we got the washer moved out from it's corner (yes, it's on wheels, but has to be lifted over the toilet) and I got the back off to find the belt burned to a crisp (literally, crumbled when I pulled on it where it had been slipping on the motor pulley). My question here is *why* did the belt get burned to a crisp? Everything seemed to turn smoothly, no locked up pulleys. And *HOW in the WORLD* do I replace the belt? Looks like the transmission has to come out? It was in the spin cycle when it started smoking, but never spun the clothes out or emptied the tub, they bailed out the majority of the water before I got there, and conveniently enough they live next door to a laundromat so they were able to finish up the load. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[114jwh]

Check the pump again....

Seems like something has seized. The belt is attached to the motor, pump, transmission and basket drive. Doesn't sound like the motor if the belt is melted. BD pumps are known to seize or something could be caught inside it so that's where I'd start, especially since it sounds like it was pumping when it happened since there is still a tub full of water.

I haven't read about many (if any) instances of transmissions failing in these machines so that wouldn't be my guess

One way to change the belt involves dropping the transmission, not removing it. There is another method as well and you can read about both at the link attached. The last post is a photo of the back of a NOS belt package I posted awhile back that has both instructions. Note this is for a full size machine but concept is the same.

If the pump checks out then the next step I'd check would be the basket drive.

I have a portable BD that had seized like this and turned out to be the pump and the part is readily available.

Good luck

Replacing a Kenmore 1972 washer belt.

I have a Lady Kenmore 1972 Garagedoor Keyboard Washer with a broken "thin" style belt. I was talking to John (combo52) on Wednesday, and he says there's a way to get the belt on without doing the full transmission drop outlined in the manuals. John's been very generous with his time to me...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[revvinkevin]

I doubt it's the pump....

 

 

This happened to a friend of mine and their 1985 Whirlpool.  Wife went into the garage (where W&D are located) and the garage was filled with smoke.    I doubt the pump is the problem in your case.  

 

Long story short, the plunger that the wig-wag solenoid moves to move the cam bar to engage/disengage agitation failed and did not disengage it.  The timer kept going through the cycle and when it tried to spin, it locked up because it can't agitate and spin at the same time, locking up the transmission and burning the belt.

 

Hopefully you can see what I'm talking about in this video I shot while diagnosing the problem.

 

Kevin

 

 

[yogitunes]

Kevin is correct, this can happen, and possibly what is the problem in this case....also one of those ghost where is doesn't happen all the time, until you finally catch it acting up....

good and bad of a portable is the whole body comes off so you can view from all directions......and you sort of need that when putting on a new belt.....can be a bit tricky, but if you follow the directions, you can have the new one on in less than an hour......

the setup can throw your mind off track compared to a full size machine, as the spin pulley runs on the back of the belt, and there is a tensioner for the belt....

fun to watch this little machine in action....

keep us posted...

 

[alr2903]

Dustin, Is this an older portable with the lever for the casters or the later one with the springy wash basket? A

 

[kenmoreman]

Burn't belt

The fact that it had a back to take off tells me it is an old belt drive whirlpool design machine. Burn't to a crisp belts were not uncommon on these units. A after years of use and age the belts would loosen up just enough so that when a pump seized up the motor pulley would be able to continue spinning and would burn the belt from the friction. You need to change the pump and the belt.(95405). The instructions are on the bag the belt comes with so be careful not to tear it. Replacing the belt is not hard if you have good directions. I suggest going on utube and watching the video "whirlpool washing machine 95405 belt replacement" Even if the pump frees up replace it. It will only tail later. I hope this helps.

 

[turquoisedude]

It doesn't sound good...  A smoke-filled basement once upon a time got me thinking that my '66 Inglis pump had seized too.  There was a good amount of evidence to support that at the time (major debris in the pump from a rusted out drain port) but unfortunately, it turned out to be the transmission.  

 

[launderess]

Have to look but IIRC have WP belts and one pump

Lying about spare. Think the packages of belts tells how one is goes about replacing.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Dustin,

I remember the pictures of that machine, and yes, I think old style portable without the removable cabinet in white, is that correct?

You will need a 95405 belt as mentioned already. If the pump is indeed locked up or failing, tell us if the machine has a manual lint filter or not, but I suspect it does. If it does, things may get a little dicey finding a pump. Normally a manual filter machine of this era would use a 350367 four port pump, but the portables having the mechanicals so close to the floor have a modified four port pump with a redirected filter hose port to better fit the smaller space available. That pump is part number 350370.

Unfortunately it is NLA. They appear on ebay at times but can be twice the price of a standard four port.

You can try using a regular four port, I know one member who did and he says it works but if this is going back in a friends's bathroom, I would repair the machine with parts meant for it to help avoid anything unforeseen happening.

Gordon

 

[kenmoreguy64]

350370 pump....

Two are on ebay right now, $65 and $78 plus shipping.

Pricey !

 

[dustin92]

I picked up a belt today, and went over this evening to replace it- after bailing out the remaining water, it took me all of an hour to change the belt. It is the older style portable, no removable cabinet, rear access panel. Everything turned smoothly, and after installing the belt, seemed VERY tight, but as soon as power was applied, it freed up and ran perfectly. Ran a full cycle with some towels, and it seems 100% fine. No smoke, no slipping belt. I told them to catch up on laundry tomorrow and I would help move it back into it's home after it has been used a bit. Right now it's sitting in the corner of the kitchen, and has to be rolled to the bathroom door to hook up. Hopefully it was just an old belt and maybe slightly overloaded. We will find out tomorrow for sure!

 

[kenmoreman]

Pump

If in fact you do need a 350370 pump I believe the bottoms are interchangeable. You can pop the clips and swap the bottom with a 350367. What do you think Gorden?

 

[dustin92]

No, the pump seems absolutely fine, turned smooth and free, but I really don't know what's going on with it. It is back in place and did 3 loads before I left, but the motor seemed hot (uncomfortable to touch) after it finished a load, so the whole works may be running on borrowed time. I really don't want to do anymore repairs on it, seeing as it took me well over an hour just to change the belt- plus banged up knuckles. If it decides to break again, I'm going to read it's last rights. They are planning on putting in a proper drain for the washer anyway, so I think a not-too-wide standard size washer would fit- but as it stands would still need to be connected to the bathroom faucet. I guess I'm not a lover of belt drive Kenmores... As far as repairs go, give me a Direct Drive Whirlpool and if it's fixable, it will be washing in an hour or less. I replaced a clutch in a direct drive in less than 30 minutes, with no previous experience, and it worked 100% perfectly afterwards.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Dustin -

Direct-drive machines are supposed to be easier to work on, that was one of the main criteria in place during their design, that and cost cutting/reduction of the qty of parts.

Anyway, many belt-drive motors get uncomfortably hot, I would not worry about that too much. As the motor's bearings age, they can cause more heat. A tight belt will do that too. As long as the machine's cord and plug isn't overly hot, then the motor is not pulling too many amps, and you're probably fine.

My hunch is that the motor in this machine is GE made. They made a custom motor just for the portables that was more shallow. I say this because I formed an early opinion years ago that GE motors nearly always ran hotter than their Emerson counterparts. I had a couple that almost burned my finger tips, but they ran load after load.

Just keep an eye/ear on it.

Gordon

 

[jims]

Hey Admin, Thanks for the add. Just a FYI on this. Sometimes(Kenmore by Whirlpool)the pump bearing only seizes when it is hot. While removing belt etc the pulley can be jarred loose and pulley turns fine by hand when cold, until it heats up and seizes again. Look for a large amount of greasy belt residue on the top of the pump as an indicator of seizing when hot, and belt rubbing against seized pulley. It sounds like it may have just been a loose belt, but this may be something to look for if it happens again.

 

[combo52]

Burned Up Belts On WP Built BD Washers

THE ONLY reason a belt stalls and get burned through by the spinning motor pulley on a WP BD washer is the belt was too loose and probably worn as well. A sized water pump will cause this. The belt on a WP BD washer only touches 1/4 of the pump pulley so when the pump sizes the washer will run all day long with out running the belt.

 

But when the belt is worn and loose and the washer goes to shift from agitation to drain the extra strain of operating the cam bar causes the belt to stop moving and the motor keeps running and the belt gets burned through in just a few minutes with lots of smoke. Thousands of people called the fire dept over the years when this happened.

 

We probably changed at least TWO THOUSAND belts in WP BD washers over the years and seldom changed the pump at the same time unless it showed signs of leaking etc, and we did not get call backs on just replacing the belt.

 

I have also never seen a WP BD pump size when the bearing was hot, they usually size when they have gotten a little water in the bearing area and the shaft rusts and sizes when you are on vacation and you come home with 6 loads of laundry to do, or when the washer sat idle for a week or so [ I heard that story at least 100 times in my career]

 

The standard 350367 four port replaces these unusal pumps on these portable washers perfectly, all you do is unsnap the clips off the pump and use the plastic bottom from the old pump and snap it back together and away you go, I NEVER bothered ordering or stocking the special pump for these machines.

 

John L.

 

[Chetlaham]

Combo

Thanks you! While I have not worked on many belt drives, and this is not my thread, I just want to say that every time I read your posts I see pure gold. By far the most knowledge and advice I have ever seen.