This post is a continuation of the 1956 Philco Washer thread, but concentrating on it's motor clutch issue <br
While most of us here have heard of a clutch, I thought it might be a good idea to describe what a clutch is for our younger members and show them what it does exactly. The dictionary describes a clutch as “a mechanism for engaging or disengaging one rotating part with or from another rotating part” <br
Many brands of vintage washers used a clutch of one sort or another. The one used by Philco is referred to as a “Friction Clutch”, that style was used in many brands such as Kelvinator, AMP style Maytag, Franklin, Hotpoint, General Electric to name just a few <br
Below is what the Philco clutch looks like assembled, it sits either on top of the motor in the 1956-1958 Agitator washers and was later changed to sit on the bottom of the motor in later Philco Automagic washers
<img src=http://www.automaticwasher.org/TEMP/c1.jpg <br
Below is the clutch with the Clutch Drum removed. You can see the clutch base, clutch shoes and clutch pads. Keep in mind that in Steve’s clutch there is one more part that is not in my example picture, that is the Locking Key. I’ll explain that part later, but for now here is how this friction clutch works
<img src=http://www.automaticwasher.org/TEMP/c2.jpg <br
On the outside of the clutch is the clutch drum which has a pulley mounted to it that drives spin belt which makes the wash tub spin. The Clutch drum floats over the motor shaft by using a floating bearing. The clutch base is attached directly to the motor shaft and sitting on the base are two clutch shoes. The motor turns on and starts to spin at the clutch base 1750 rpm, the base gets up to full speed in less than 1 second. Now that the clutch base is spinning at 1750rpm it also spins the clutch shoes that are attached to the clutch base. Since the shoes are spinning, centrifugal force pulls the clutch shoes outward (just like an agitator mounted fabric softener dispenser does to the softener solution). Attached to these shoes are clutch pads, these pads (made up of a soft, heat resistant material) are now pressed up tightly against the inner wall of the clutch drum. Friction between the soft clutch pad material and the steel clutch drum wall builds up and forces the clutch drum to start to slowly turn and within seconds it starts rotating faster and faster until eventually the clutch drum is rotating as fast as the motor as clutch pads are. The picture below shoes the shoes and pads with the motor off and on <br
<img src=http://www.automaticwasher.org/TEMP/c3.jpg <br
There is an extra part in the 1956-1958 Philco Agitator Washers and that is called the Locking Key. This key system is used with washers that have a reversing motor (clockwise rotation for wash and counter-clockwise rotation for spin) and have no brake to stop the tub from turning during agitation. When the washer is in agitation mode the clutch base is being rotated clockwise (counter-clockwise from the view in this picture since it was take upside-down) the key locks onto the tabs on the clutch shoes and prevents centrifugal force from moving the shoes outward. This prevents the wash tub from turning during agitation. For spin the motor is reversed and now turns counter-clockwise. In this direction the key cannot grab on the tabs on the shoes and the shoes fly outward pressing the pads up against the clutch drum causing friction and spinning the tub
<img src=http://www.automaticwasher.org/TEMP/c4.jpg <br <br
Now there could be a number of things wrong in Steve’s clutch, but most likely the soft clutch pads have simply worn down due to age. I had this same problem in my first Philco washer. Here is what I did to fix it <br
#1
I removed the motor and clutch and opened the clutch up and took off both shoes.
#2
I took a very sharp razor blade and working the blade underneath the pad I cut off the pad and sanded the shoe lightly to remove any of the last bits of glue
#3
I ordered two brand new General Electric Washer Clutch Shoes since the GE clutch shoes are similar in size.
#4
I took another sharp razor blade and very carefully worked the blade underneath the brand new pads on the GE Clutch Shoes and removed them
#5
I took the new GE pads and using JB Weld, very carefully bonded the new pads to the Philco clutch shoes. I used a clamp on each pad so the new pad would hold onto the contour of the round shoe as the JB weld was drying
#
I reassembled the clutch and the newly rebuilt clutch worked BEAUTIFULLY. I couldn’t believe the difference, what used to take almost 3 minutes to bring the wash tub up to full speed, now it took barely 60 seconds <br
Now my color pictures above show a 1959 Automagic style clutch meaning it did not need the Locking Key because the pads were meant to spin the clutch drum in either direction. The transmission has a spring brake inside it to keep the tub from moving during agitation <br
But the 1956 clutch has the locking bar so here is the challenge. You need to make sure what ever new pads you use, they are THICK enough to spin the tub properly, but THIN enough that when the shoes are locked in place by the key during agitation, the pads do not reach the side of the clutch drum. Otherwise the tub might spin during wash <br
Clear as mud
?
While most of us here have heard of a clutch, I thought it might be a good idea to describe what a clutch is for our younger members and show them what it does exactly. The dictionary describes a clutch as “a mechanism for engaging or disengaging one rotating part with or from another rotating part” <br
Many brands of vintage washers used a clutch of one sort or another. The one used by Philco is referred to as a “Friction Clutch”, that style was used in many brands such as Kelvinator, AMP style Maytag, Franklin, Hotpoint, General Electric to name just a few <br
Below is what the Philco clutch looks like assembled, it sits either on top of the motor in the 1956-1958 Agitator washers and was later changed to sit on the bottom of the motor in later Philco Automagic washers
<img src=http://www.automaticwasher.org/TEMP/c1.jpg <br
Below is the clutch with the Clutch Drum removed. You can see the clutch base, clutch shoes and clutch pads. Keep in mind that in Steve’s clutch there is one more part that is not in my example picture, that is the Locking Key. I’ll explain that part later, but for now here is how this friction clutch works
<img src=http://www.automaticwasher.org/TEMP/c2.jpg <br
On the outside of the clutch is the clutch drum which has a pulley mounted to it that drives spin belt which makes the wash tub spin. The Clutch drum floats over the motor shaft by using a floating bearing. The clutch base is attached directly to the motor shaft and sitting on the base are two clutch shoes. The motor turns on and starts to spin at the clutch base 1750 rpm, the base gets up to full speed in less than 1 second. Now that the clutch base is spinning at 1750rpm it also spins the clutch shoes that are attached to the clutch base. Since the shoes are spinning, centrifugal force pulls the clutch shoes outward (just like an agitator mounted fabric softener dispenser does to the softener solution). Attached to these shoes are clutch pads, these pads (made up of a soft, heat resistant material) are now pressed up tightly against the inner wall of the clutch drum. Friction between the soft clutch pad material and the steel clutch drum wall builds up and forces the clutch drum to start to slowly turn and within seconds it starts rotating faster and faster until eventually the clutch drum is rotating as fast as the motor as clutch pads are. The picture below shoes the shoes and pads with the motor off and on <br
<img src=http://www.automaticwasher.org/TEMP/c3.jpg <br
There is an extra part in the 1956-1958 Philco Agitator Washers and that is called the Locking Key. This key system is used with washers that have a reversing motor (clockwise rotation for wash and counter-clockwise rotation for spin) and have no brake to stop the tub from turning during agitation. When the washer is in agitation mode the clutch base is being rotated clockwise (counter-clockwise from the view in this picture since it was take upside-down) the key locks onto the tabs on the clutch shoes and prevents centrifugal force from moving the shoes outward. This prevents the wash tub from turning during agitation. For spin the motor is reversed and now turns counter-clockwise. In this direction the key cannot grab on the tabs on the shoes and the shoes fly outward pressing the pads up against the clutch drum causing friction and spinning the tub
<img src=http://www.automaticwasher.org/TEMP/c4.jpg <br <br
Now there could be a number of things wrong in Steve’s clutch, but most likely the soft clutch pads have simply worn down due to age. I had this same problem in my first Philco washer. Here is what I did to fix it <br
#1
I removed the motor and clutch and opened the clutch up and took off both shoes.
#2
I took a very sharp razor blade and working the blade underneath the pad I cut off the pad and sanded the shoe lightly to remove any of the last bits of glue
#3
I ordered two brand new General Electric Washer Clutch Shoes since the GE clutch shoes are similar in size.
#4
I took another sharp razor blade and very carefully worked the blade underneath the brand new pads on the GE Clutch Shoes and removed them
#5
I took the new GE pads and using JB Weld, very carefully bonded the new pads to the Philco clutch shoes. I used a clamp on each pad so the new pad would hold onto the contour of the round shoe as the JB weld was drying
#
I reassembled the clutch and the newly rebuilt clutch worked BEAUTIFULLY. I couldn’t believe the difference, what used to take almost 3 minutes to bring the wash tub up to full speed, now it took barely 60 seconds <br
Now my color pictures above show a 1959 Automagic style clutch meaning it did not need the Locking Key because the pads were meant to spin the clutch drum in either direction. The transmission has a spring brake inside it to keep the tub from moving during agitation <br
But the 1956 clutch has the locking bar so here is the challenge. You need to make sure what ever new pads you use, they are THICK enough to spin the tub properly, but THIN enough that when the shoes are locked in place by the key during agitation, the pads do not reach the side of the clutch drum. Otherwise the tub might spin during wash <br
Clear as mud
?
Or at least I don't think they do. Maybe they do. I dunno.
