Kenmore Special Edition Washer

[losangeles]

I now have in my possession a Kenmore Special Edition Washer MODEL # 100.82294800 from a fellow Aw member who is moving and wanted to make sure his collection was sent to a good home. Hot water test passed but washing the first load a small trickle of water was noted coming from under the machine. Probably no more that a 1/4 to 1/2 cup for the total cycle and the spin start up speed was very sluggish and needed a little push. Also agitation seemed a little sluggish like under a very heavy load or overloaded. After the cycle was completed, I turned the machine over face down to see if I could get a better look. The best I can say is see the pictures. My best guess is that the water is coming from just below the pulley with the rust, presumably from the leak. The question?? Is this an easy fix or a major tear down. If it is a major tear down who can help/guide me in getting this fixed. It a beautiful machine complete with lights and sound. Time I have, $$ I don't. so calling a repairman would delay me being able to play for a long time. Thank you in advance for any help/guidance/technical knowledge you can provide. BTW my mechanical expertise is very limited, but I am very motivated to learn. Losangeles

 

[neptunebob]

I remember the Limited Edition in black, my first thought was "Darth Vader, your laundry equipment is ready."

 

[appnut]

I see the original Dual Action agitator was replaced with a Whirlpool Surgilator. 

 

[losangeles]

kenmore special edition

I have the spiral agitator, just have not changed them out yet. Kind of like the surgilator

 

[gyrafoam]

You are going to have to add water and get under there with a flashlight and isolate the area where water coming from. Is it dripping down a hose? Is there a pin hole in a hose? Is it where a hose attaches to the outer tub? Bad clamp? Is it the pump?
Is it running down the tub shaft? Is there any area that appears rusted through?
This is the kind of thing you have to figure out. Then others can guide you.

 

[akronman]

and

Sometimes you have to run a load or two with the top open, to watch down the sides of the tub and from the baseplate, to see where the leak is from. And check the incoming water hoses, inlet-to-tub hose, the dispenser hoses, etc, from the top. Get a good flashlight! On more than one or two Kenmore's, I have found the problem to be dispensers and their hoses, NOT a full-fledged tub repair. Inspect carefully so you are SURE and don't fix something that ain't broke.

The machine is overall a strong beast, proper repairs and you'll have years of good service.

As for sluggish operation, tighten the belt, it works wonders.

 

[potatochips]

Such a beautiful machine too, I'd do what you could to keep it.

A rusty pulley on the basket drive is a tough one. If water was leaking from the top of the basket drive/agitator shaft/center post area and down to the bottom of the basket drive, I have a hard time believing it would wick its way on to a spinning pulley and getting in to the groove, I feel like it would fling off the pulley and find its way to the cabinet and form a rust line there. I would suspect it may have come from a damp basement. But I could be wrong as stranger things have happened. And it could explain why spin and agitate are slow as the bearings and seals could be ruined from the water leak. A bad tub grommet seal or structure in that area could also be an issue too.

Another common spot for these to leak is the drain seal. The outter tub sits on top of the baseplate, and there is a rubber seal that fits on to the baseplate that the outer tub mates with. Even after the washer drains and spins, a little bit of water will pool at the entrance to the sediment trap/seal area, and can, over thirty years, cause corrosion. This happened to both machines I bought, and caused small half cup leak on the left front side of the machine after a wash.

It really could be any number of things, and since the machine is slow to do its work and needs help, a tightened belt, a new belt, bearing kit, or basket drive could be on order.And while youre down there tearing the entire machine apart, you may as well replace that drain seal, tub grommet, tub screws, and any other accessible parts. This will be a heavy job, its not easy. Cost wise, I rebuilt one machine with all new parts for about $70 Canadian, and parts are very easy to find.

Mark has a point, try running the machine with the top up, thats how I discovered my leak. Mark and Steven are right too, try running the machine and comb it all over to find the leak.

The good news is, lots of us, including me, have posted tutorials and videos on how to rebuild these machines. We also have lots of parts to help you out too if need be.

Its worth it, give this bad boy a new lease on life. The link is to my rebuild.

From the ground up: a complete and total belt drive rebuild

Before I get in to the actual rebuild, a MAJOR thank you to Paul (turqoisedude), Robert (Unimatic1140), and James (114jwwh) for their belt drive Inglis rebuild posts. I also want to thank Paul for trouble shooting with me about something we'll talk about in a few posts. The story is, I found...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[losangeles]

kenmore special edition

Thanks akronman (mark) and potatochips (kevin) Tomorrow is Sunday and nothing but laundry to do, my favorite thing to do. I will hose her up and give her a workout (nothing to heavy, just average mixed loads) and I will pop the lid and give her a good look see. Thank you for the encouragement, advice and approval of my new arrival. Also got advice to look up kenmoreguy 64 as another resource of information. Will keep you apprised of my findings. Tommy (Losangeles)

 

[toploadloyalist]

Cycle differences

How was the TOWELS cycle different from COTTON/STURDY, as well as KNIT from DELICATE?

 

[stan]

I'm no expert

But I've repaired 3 different kenmores, but they were all motor driven.
One (about 3 years ago) had both a leaky pump (very easy fix) and also needed a new tub seal.
The tub seal leak showed up more so with a hot water wash. I was able to get the cabnet off and run the machine and get a good look see for proper diagnosis.
I also got some good advice here when I did the tub seal repair.
let us know what you find.
Would love to see a pic of the control panel and inner tub.
Good luck

 

[losangeles]

Kenmore Special Edition

Cycle Differences

The towels cycle has an additional second rinse added, best I can tell.  Cotton/Sturdy is one rinse only but with a second rinse selection optional.  All rinses are cold with a warm rinse selection optional.  Knits/Delicates differ only by slow agitation and spin.  You can also adjust the wash time in all cycles with a short or extra short wash time.  I will try to send a pic of the instructions printed on the inside of the lid.

 

I'm No Expert

Compared to me, you guys are the king of experts.  I am quite literally in the dark and doing things trial and error style, mostly error, and trying not to break things as I go.  Thanks for the advice and encouragement.

 

 

 

[kenmoreguy64]

I believe I remember this particular machine...

If I remember correctly, it was acquired by a member in Florida in the last year or two. He was anxious to use a Roto-Swirl and the Surgilator in it, but had kept the Dual-Action.

The leak had shown up when he was using the machine as well. We evaluated the washer via descriptions and photos, but I do not recall if this was done via a thread here or in personal e-mails.

We concluded that the machine was leaking down the centerpost, instead of through the pump, or outer tub, etc. Repairing the centerpost leak, unless it is caused by a simple agitator cap seal, is a major repair, but can certainly be done. I'll try to look up the history, either in my e-mail or a thread here if there is one.

Gordon

 

[bendixmark]

Leak

I have repaired many of those machines.From the picture I can see 2 things,the transmission oil has water in it and this is from the outer tub center seal leaking.The clip that holds the wigwag wires looks rusty which was always a dead giveaway that water is leaking thru that hole.Whenever I used to rebuid these machines they always needed a tub reseal with a new centerseal and lots of nonflowing clear silicone around the drainhole gasket and new tub bolt seals.This is also assuming the outer tub isn't rusted out.They can often be patched up.It is possible there is water coming down the agitator shaft but that does not happen all that often.It also sounds like the belt is loose or needs replacing.The transmission may be no good also if it slips during agitation.The transmission should be replaced anyway by the look of that muddy oil on top.I have seen this dozens of times.All this is not that hard to do if you want to put the work in .I would reseal the tub,replace the transmission and maybe the basket drive as well and the pump.I would use the dual action agitator having a whirlpool agitator on there makes it a mongrel, nothing worse.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

kenmore limited edition

What is the layout of the control panel and dispenser arrangement? I've never seen these in person before. What are all the cycles? What if I wanted to use the longest wash time on cotton/sturdy with cold water for very dirty darks? I know I'm asking stupid or pressing questions. I'm just interested in these machines. How many strokes per minute for agitation?

 

[jons1077]

My guess would be...

You probably will need to simply dismantle this machine and replace the seals for both the outer tub and center post. It’s also entirely possible that water has made its way into your transmission. My understanding is the 80’s built machines did not hold up nearly as well as older models because of seal problems. My 74’ model Lady K definitely had transmission issues and required a full test-down and rebuild.

 

[maytag85]

My new ‘63 Whirlpool washer doesn’t leak at all from any of the tub or center post seals at all and I think had to have been rebuilt at some point since it it has a newer pump and belt that is on it. There was a small leak coming from the hose that goes from the pump to the lint filter but that shouldn’t be difficult to fix since it’s a hose.

 

[combo52]

1963 Whirlpool Washer

Hi Sean, It is unlikely that your washer was rebuilt at some point, almost every WP-KM got a new pump and belt at some point, this was by far the most common repair.

 

If you post some detailed pictures of the guts of your washer I can probably tell what may have been done. The first thing is the date that is stamped on back of the transmission, see if it matches the production serial # of the washer or see if it is much newer or has been changed to the HD gear case that came out in 1964.

 

John L.

 

[maytag85]

Reply #8

Hi John, I will get pictures of the under side of my 1963 Whirlpool washer. Interesting thing Strictlybojack told me is they were used all the way up until 2005 and they were in service from 1963 to 2005. I imagine the elderly lady who owned my 1963 Whirlpool Imperial Mark XII set didn’t use them very much before they were stopped being used in 2005. Yes there is some surface rust but that will be taken care of before anything else on this washer and I have POR15 on order so I will take care of that later this week.

 

[jons1077]

Combo52

I was actually quite surprised to find my ‘64 Kenmore appeared to be all-original underneath. It really just needed new bearings and seals but the old drive-block tranny, pump and motor were all in great shape and continue to function smoothly.