Lubing Maytag damper pads - great fun. Any tips?

[dnastrau]

Greetings:

My clean-up/tune-up of my '61 Maytag A700 is going well - albeit more slowly than I'd like. Anyhow, I have the console off, the springs disconnected and am trying to relube the damper pads...

The original felt pads look fine from what I can see - just dry. The original grease on this one was definitely petroleum based (looks like dried up wheel bearing grease.) Based on what the early books call for on the felt-type pads I am going to use a molybdenum-graphite type automotive grease on them. The trouble is - how the &*^%$@#@ do I get the grease up in there? I have the whole cabinet elevated off the floor and I have raised up the main pulley with a wood block and floor jack just until the brake package touches the base. This is what the book says to do. With this I can just see about 1/4 of the bottom of the pads if I rock the tub back in the opposite direction. There is probably about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch of clearance between the damper cone and pads at best.

I really don't want to remove the brake package at this point. It works fine and I even added some oil to it and adjusted the stop lug as per the book. All I can think of is to use a small nylon paint brush to push the grease up in there and hope it gets to where it needs to go on the pads. What fun...

Thanks for any suggestions!

Andrew S.

 

[maytagmike]

damper pads

Hi Andrew, when I worked for Maytag to grease damper pads is quite simple. unscrew all three tub springs, tilt the machine back and set a 2 x 4 right under the pulley set the machine back down and you will have enough of a gap to lube them up. Hope this helps you. Mike

 

[dnastrau]

Did that - not enough room

Hi Mike:

I have done exactly that. What happens though is that the transmission raises up until the brake package hits the base and raises the whole machine up; this leaves me with maybe 1/4 - 1/8 of an inch of space between the damper pads and the damper cone. I can't even get my pinky in there to wipe any fresh grease on the pads. I tried to get a small brush in there and that was a no-go as well. It is an awkward spot.

My thought is that the pre '66 machines like mine may have a smaller damper cone and slightly different cone angle than the later machinnes. I know that the pads have a different part number on the older machines.

Has anyone done this on a pre '66 Maytag without completely removing the transmission?

 

[swestoyz]

have a smaller damper cone and slightly different cone angle

Andy -

I've never had to lube the pads on a pre 66 machine, but I've torn down many of both and agree that the angle and depth of the early base is almost prohibitive to the non tear down procedure that Maytag came out with in the 70's.

You wouldn't necessarily need to completely tear the machine apart. My suggestion would be to leave the tub/transmission assembly complete. Remove the cabinet, remove the brake package, remove the suspension springs, then to lift the damper off the base. You then should be able to take care of the damper pads.

Ben

 

[qsd-dan]

Yeah, pre '66 machines have a steep cone so I can see this being a problem.

What it probably happening is the brake package is bottoming out on the base, restricting the amount of height needed. If you remove brake and use a tall and narrow piece of wood under the transmission stalk, you should be able to clear enough space to re-grease the damper pads. Just a thought.

 

[dnastrau]

Thanks Ben

That will be a last resort since I don't have the wrench to remove the brake package. However, I should probably get one while they are still available (along with the parts to do a stem and boot job.)

My next try is going to be to use spray moly grease (basically moly chain lube) to lube the felt pads as moly grease is what was originally on there. I should be able to get the plastic straw of one of those cans up there to lube the pads. If not, then the brake package will have to come off.

 

[dnastrau]

Thanks Dan

Yep - that is exactly what is happening. We shall see what solves this one...