Leak on PA700

[bluejay]

I recently procured my first set of matching Maytags; I'm working on both concurrently, as the dryer should be fairly easy to get set up.

I did a fill test on the washer and all went well until it hit the spin cycle. It appears to be a leaky tub seal, I believe, as the arm underneath the drum is flinging off drops of water.

This is my first washer that I've worked on; what is the best way to go about replacing the seal, and am I correct in my assumption that it is the tub seal that's leaking?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bluejay]

Here's a more complete shot of the interior.

 

[d-jones]

Are my eyes playing tricks on me or is that a metal pump?

 

[bluejay]

It looks like it, but my lighting in there is pretty bad. Is that uncommon? I doubt anything on these was replaced; the washer interior was a little dusty, but I pretty much on removed the dust.

 

[d-jones]

This many years down the road just about all of the metal pumps have been replaced with the poly version. If that is a working metal pump that's survived all these years then I'm really impressed.

 

The interior of this machine in general looks remarkably corrosion free and well preserved. A simple wipe down with a mild solvent would have it looking nearly spotless. Great score on your part. Though in looking back towards the water valve it looks like someone removed the original thermostatic valve and installed a Horton 221 in its place. Bummer. Those darn things are hard to find.

 

As for the leak, I seem to recall reading several comments here about reviving seals in washers that have been sitting idle for a while by running an initial cycle with very hot water. But then again, I could be completely full of beans on that one. Hopefully someone else with more knowledge on the subject will chime in.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Sorry, but...

There is rust streaks coming off the trans cover. It is indeed the tub main seal. The bearing and seals MUST be replaced. It's not that scary but can be fun. The biggest thing you need to do is expose the tub top and sides. From there, follow my guide that I made which will walk you thru it. You only need one 'special' tool, the tub nut wrench but they can be found very cheaply and one of the types of this tool can actually double for the Whirlpool designed machines. That info is also in the guide near the end.

Rest assured, once the job is done, your machine will be much happier for it!

RCD

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?25520

 

[kenmore71]

Yup.  It needs a "Stem Seal" transplant.  RCD will guide you through it.  I did my first last fall and it wasn't nearly as daunting as it seemed at first.

 

[kenmore71]

Actually, the pump looks to be a very early version of the Poly-Pump where they used black plastic instead of translucent plastic.  Use it as long as it continues to work.  One of the beauties of the Maytag is that this pump is replaceable with the same pump they made up until 7 years ago.  Standard parts-house issue.  About $40-50 depending on how hard you look.

 

[d-jones]

Hi Mark

The reason I was thinking it might be a metal pump goes beyond the color, which does indeed look black in places. Have a look at the number and placement of fasteners you can see in the photo holding the upper and lower pump halves together. They seem to match the metal pump exactly. Of course the area where the fasteners go is also very dirty in the photo, so it's possible more of them are hidden from view.

 

[combo52]

Metal Pump in MT Helical Drive Washers

The pump in the picture is Metal, all HD MT Washers used a pot-metal pump till sometime around 1963?. The metal pumps did not generally last very long as they were pretty thin pot-metal. This one is still around because it is most unlikely that this washer has been in continuous use since it was made.

 

You are correct David that there are not enough screws holding the pump together for it to be plastic and I never saw a black plastic pump anyway, I dough they ever existed.

 

Once MT went to the plastic Poly-Pump it was quickly the MOST RELIABLE water pump EVER installed in a domestic clothes washer, this is one place that I will give MT top honers to this day. I always carry one on my service truck because they fit so many years of MT washers yet I go years without ever needing one.

 

[bluejay]

You guys are awesome! I can't wait to get started on this. I knew when I purchased them that they'd need a little work, so I'm not surprised that it needed this. Should be interesting, as this is my first repair.