Has anyone ever changed the two centerpost bearings on a Kenmore belt drive washer without the bearing installation tool? If so, I was wondering how you did it and what used to insert the bearings. I need to change the bearings on my Kenmore washer I am rebuilding but don't have the tool.
Kenmore Centerpost Bearing Replacement
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Installing center post bearings in a whirlpool built washer
You can definitely drive the center post bearings and seals in without the tool if you’re careful. I used to know one repair man that just used a wooden dowel. That was just small enough to go inside the center post and would drive the bearings in with it, you could also use a plastic tube, we have pieces of aluminum tubing that whirlpool supplied for doing this when they added an extra bearing to the top bearing on the compact belt drive machines in the 70s and it worked quite well.
John
You can definitely drive the center post bearings and seals in without the tool if you’re careful. I used to know one repair man that just used a wooden dowel. That was just small enough to go inside the center post and would drive the bearings in with it, you could also use a plastic tube, we have pieces of aluminum tubing that whirlpool supplied for doing this when they added an extra bearing to the top bearing on the compact belt drive machines in the 70s and it worked quite well.
John
1956 Kenmore Centerpost bearing replacement
I removed the old upper and lower bearings from my 1956 Kenmore Cycla Fabric washer that I am rebuilding and noticed the lower bearing was not what I was expecting to see like on the later models. In the first pic the cracked piece is a thin metal bearing with an outer rubber covering. My question is, in the second picture where I have the yellow line pointing, in the bottom of the centerpost it looks like there is another 'thin' metal bearing and I am not sure if that should come out or is it permanent. If it doesn't come out I'm not sure that the newer style bearing would fit. Anybody familiar with this? Thanks!!!
I removed the old upper and lower bearings from my 1956 Kenmore Cycla Fabric washer that I am rebuilding and noticed the lower bearing was not what I was expecting to see like on the later models. In the first pic the cracked piece is a thin metal bearing with an outer rubber covering. My question is, in the second picture where I have the yellow line pointing, in the bottom of the centerpost it looks like there is another 'thin' metal bearing and I am not sure if that should come out or is it permanent. If it doesn't come out I'm not sure that the newer style bearing would fit. Anybody familiar with this? Thanks!!!
Rubber cushioned center post bearings
For a short time, whirlpool had a bearing that had a rubber ring between bearing material and a steel sleeve, the bearing you got is completely interchangeable, but you must get that steel sleeve out of the center post for the bearing to fit.
I have a whole box of brand new rubber Isolated bearings for belt drive washers, I think they might improve alignment problems, and they also might make the machine slightly quieter, but I’ve never release experimented with them.
I would post a picture of them if you’re curious but I’m away from my shop. I’m out in the Midwest still visiting a lot of the washer people.
For a short time, whirlpool had a bearing that had a rubber ring between bearing material and a steel sleeve, the bearing you got is completely interchangeable, but you must get that steel sleeve out of the center post for the bearing to fit.
I have a whole box of brand new rubber Isolated bearings for belt drive washers, I think they might improve alignment problems, and they also might make the machine slightly quieter, but I’ve never release experimented with them.
I would post a picture of them if you’re curious but I’m away from my shop. I’m out in the Midwest still visiting a lot of the washer people.
Thanks John, I will get that steel sleeve out of the center post.
New center post bearings and seals
So today I installed new upper and lower bearings and seals on this 1956 cycla fabric washer. I don’t have a bearing tool so I used a socket and a fender washer and lots of turbine oil and they went in fairly smoothly. The only thing is for the top bearing I couldn’t get it to go down anymore than it is in the pic, the old one was down about a 1/4 inch more, I don’t think that should make a difference though. Also on the transmission I found in a repair manual how to get the agitate cam bar on without to
much effort. It worked pretty well, not sure if anyone has tried it, see picture 5. Using a flat blade screwdriver you stick it in the hole in the agitator shaft and use the spin cam bar as a pivot to pry up the agitator shaft and then you can slide in the agitate cam bar.
So today I installed new upper and lower bearings and seals on this 1956 cycla fabric washer. I don’t have a bearing tool so I used a socket and a fender washer and lots of turbine oil and they went in fairly smoothly. The only thing is for the top bearing I couldn’t get it to go down anymore than it is in the pic, the old one was down about a 1/4 inch more, I don’t think that should make a difference though. Also on the transmission I found in a repair manual how to get the agitate cam bar on without to
much effort. It worked pretty well, not sure if anyone has tried it, see picture 5. Using a flat blade screwdriver you stick it in the hole in the agitator shaft and use the spin cam bar as a pivot to pry up the agitator shaft and then you can slide in the agitate cam bar.
Center post bearings installed
Looking good, Tom it shouldn’t hurt anything that the bearing didn’t go in quite as far as the old one.
There are several ways to put those agitator cam bars in one of the easiest is to set the transmission on the floor and with a helper, put your feet on the transmission and take both hands and pull the agitator shaft up real hard while someone else slips the cam bar in place, Robin air also sold a tool to do that where one person can easily do it we have One of the tools it just simply grabs the shift post pulls it up while you slip the camp bar in place.
Anxious to see you getting this done keep us posted, John
Looking good, Tom it shouldn’t hurt anything that the bearing didn’t go in quite as far as the old one.
There are several ways to put those agitator cam bars in one of the easiest is to set the transmission on the floor and with a helper, put your feet on the transmission and take both hands and pull the agitator shaft up real hard while someone else slips the cam bar in place, Robin air also sold a tool to do that where one person can easily do it we have One of the tools it just simply grabs the shift post pulls it up while you slip the camp bar in place.
Anxious to see you getting this done keep us posted, John
