Maytag A106 Project

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>> Ebay had two, yesterday. I bought one, and then shortly after someone else bought the other. Thanks for the paint color thread, I'll get a can!

That was my parents on the second one!! NOS agitator shafts are extremely hard to come by, so you (and us) got very lucky that those showed up! I'd been keeping an eye out, but somehow missed that one, so thanks for posting that you found one. It made me do another search, and that's when I found the auction.

Glad the paint thread was useful. I saved the link a long time ago, back when I thought I would need it. Now, however, I somehow ended up with two "sunglow" gold panel machines. So if a blue machine came my way, I'd have a dilemma on which one to repaint to match!
 
>> The paint recommended by LowEfficiency (Dave) is a perfect choice! I used it on my A407 rebuild and it worked out perfectly.

That's great!

Since you've done it, perhaps you can answer a question I've had... Would you consider the Avignon Blue Metallic to be a good match for the original Maytag color? Or is it just "close" and a pleasant color? That's something I've had a hard time discerning from other posts. It wouldn't be a problem if you repainted two machines, but I haven't seen a side-by-side of original vs repainted...
 
>> I still say they should have matched the control panel's lower color to the actual color of the machine....
>> the blue compliments a white body, as it sort of has a bluish/gray hint to it...
>> I think if I had any other color than white, I would change that to match, just for a different look....especially on a matched set....

That's an interesting thought.
Some of the color combinations Maytag produced worked really well, but (in my opinion) not all of them.

For example, the Almond machines look really sharp with the sunglow gold panels. The late-production unshaded Harvest Wheat and Fresh Avocado machines also look good with the gold panels, in a much more subtle and refined way than the earlier shaded machines with the blue panels...

I'd gladly trade any of those for a turquoise/blue combo though. And there are of course combinations never before seen, such as a blue panel on an almond machine, or a gold panel on a turquoise machine.
 
@ LowEfficeincy

The color is a little deeper, but very nice.  It definitely works.  I wonder if paint like that will fade over time and that's why the new paint looks richer. 
 
Just a quick update! Parts are arriving almost daily. I found the spray paint at O'Reilly, too. I am also going with the older style seal that uses the spring clip, and washer to hold in the agitator seal. Does it look like I have everything covered? Any other lube/grease I should purchase? I sure appreciate all the advice!

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Does it look like I have everything covered?

Transmission gasket, Zoom spout Tubine oil.

Too bad you can't find a more upscale Maytag to refurb, seems like such a waste to put all those nice parts in a lowly BOL unit.
 
A106 Ready For A Rebuild

It looks like you have most of what you need, to use the older style agitator shaft seal you have to use the older style mounting stem and seal kit, the newer style triple lip seal is a superior seal especially with a new agitator shaft, but either will work quite well.

Rebuilding a basic A106 makes perfect sense, the smaller tub MT washers have superior turn over and rinsing, it all the washer you would ever really need.

Keep us posted

John L.
 
>> Too bad you can't find a more upscale Maytag to refurb, seems like such a waste to put all those nice parts in a lowly BOL unit.

I've been through similar thought processes, but in the end, other than your time, there's really not a lot of downsides since so many parts can be transferred over, or your restored machine could be used as the basis for an upgrade down the line (control panel swap, 2-speed conversion, etc).

At worst, you've fixed up a nice machine that could either be sold to finance the purchase of a higher-spec model, or retained as a standby backup machine.
 
good-shepherd, got them both, just forgot to include in the picture! Actually the zoom spout is in the tool bag sitting in the chair to the right of the tables. The gasket is between two large books, to keep it flat.

As far as why would I refurbish a BOL Maytag A106? I may not have mentioned this before, but it's because my Aunt bought this machine brand new, and was so proud of it. They didn't have a lot of money, but they got a Maytag! It has served our family almost flawlessly for 40 years now, with minimal maintenance, no breakdowns major enough to be put out of service! It's purely for sentimental reasons, and is cool to have the actual machine I grew up around.

I guess the only upgrade I'd like to do with this one, is get a control panel face with bright trim. I think it would make it look way nicer.

Sure, more features would be cool, but this one gets the job done, day in, day out!

I spent this morning replacing the rollers and springs kit on the motor, and made sure to use the two pouches of included polylube. The pump belt needed to be readjusted as the gap, when squeezed together was more than 1/4 inch, it's spot on now. I immediately noticed it runs quieter after this service. The slight knocking upon agitation start is almost completely gone!

While it was tilted back, I could see the damper pads are still in place, but are on the list to be replaced. Just out of curiosity, I spun the pulley to see how tight the agitator shaft is, and I was able to spin it easily with one finger.

I figure since the original seal is still good after 40 years, it must be pretty darn good!

Thanks everybody for all the comments, and feedback!
 
served our family almost flawlessly for 40 years now,

Wow, you got your monies worth out of that machine for sure.

What residential washer built today will be running 40 years from now AND rebuildable with easily available factory parts?
 
good-shepherd Heck yeah we got our moneys worth! No way those electronic controls on the modern stuff will still be around in 40 years. That's the impression I got about the newer seal, after reading all the threads possible about these machines.

Thank you wayupnorth! I hope yours continue working well for many years.

Here is what I worked on this evening, the control panel!
I completely disassembled, and gave it a bath. After it dried, it careully got masked off. Then used some plastic prep, followed by adhesion promoter, base coat, and finally clear coat. Not perfect, but looks much better. I'd like to find a button set for the temperature control, a new "MAYTAG" emblem decal, and a new dial face.

79maytaga106-2019012720384807299_1.jpg
 
Reply # 29 Triple lip Agitator shaft seals

Hi Douglas, I have never seen the newer TLS fail except in cases where one was installed on a machine with a rusted pitted agitator shaft.

 

There are LOTS of MT DC washers with leaks in the main seal area from the 80s on to the end of these great machines in 2006, but they are leaking in the main seal area. We still buy the mounting stem and seal kits by the dozen and repair several leaking MT DC washers every month.

 

A triple lip seal is a superior type of water seal to the crude seal that MT used on their older machines, almost every type of washer, automobile,  airplane and on and on uses a lip type seal, you almost never see any type of seal like these older type seals used by MT used on anything any longer.

 

MT changed to these TLSs because they believed they were better and I have seen no problems with them.

 

John L.
 
LOTS of MT DC washers with leaks in the main seal area

Interesting, what is the flaw with the main seal causing the leaks in that era?

Also, would less than perfect agitator shafts be better off repaired with the older style seal if possible?
 
Maytag DC Main Seal Problems

The two common reasons that the main bellow part of the seal leaks are the outer top edge of the spin bearing housing gets rusty or has excessive rubber flashing on it and the bellow part of the seal cannot move freely up and down and therefore can not maintain pressure against the bottom of the mounting stems sealing surface.

The other big problem with the mounting stem hub is MT cheapened it by replacing the SS insert with a plastic one and the plastic sealing surface wears out and can no longer seal properly.

It is possible that the older seal may work a little better with a less than perfect agitator shaft, but I sure can't tell why if you look at how its designed.

John L.
 
Ok today I spent the evening dissembling the Maytag washer. Everything went smoothly, and there were no surprises. I am cleaning, and painting at this point. There are some minor rust areas on the inside of the outer tub, and they will be coated with POR 15. Is it recommended to coat the concrete looking area of the wash basket with POR 15 as well? I swear I read about someone doing that on one of these threads, but can't find it at the moment.

I re oiled the old tub bearing, because it is still in great condition. I peeled back the rubber, and filled it with turbine oil until the wicking material could absorb no more oil. It took quite a bit! I cleaned up the rubber with 303, and it's still flexible.

The last item of the day was going to be damper pads, but unfortunately the adhesive has gone bad. Is there an equivalent off the shelf adhesive available? I also have a partial tube of FSP 279368 adhesive, left over from when I replaced the rear drum seal on my Kenmore dryer, and it is still liquid. Would this be an appropriate adhesive to use? Thanks.

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Welcome to the group. I have seen your videos several times, and still enjoy them. I agree with John (Combo52), the smaller tub Maytags had great rollover, and were all you really needed. We had an A206 growing up, and what John said echos my parents reasoning behind buying the smaller basic model as opposed to the bells and whistles of a glitzier larger one. As my mother put it: "They all have the same motor".

Good luck on the refurb, and I look forward to more videos.
James
 
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