Maytag A208

[doityrselfguy]

Back in October, a few of you gave me the "nudge" I needed to go ahead and pick this machine up from my local Salvation Army (thanks Maytagbear, Robert, and the others).

After reading various parts of the repair master, I've begun to open up the machine. It's been a good learning experience so far. For the most part, everything is laid out just as illustrated in the manual. Luckily, the majority of parts are available on-line. Though the basic functions seemed to work (although very noisy) when I tested it, I'm looking forward to bringing this machine back into new working condition.

It needs a good cleaning inside and out, but if the rest of it cleans up like the short Powerfin, the results should be good - I washed it down, soaked it (and the filter/softener dispenser) in CLR, then ran all parts through a hot dishwasher. It came out looking factory new.

Some questions I have so far:

In the manual, and on the outer tub, there is a cautionary note about the spinning transmission. It's the helical type. After seeing this part close up, that's a scary thought. How fast does this part spin?

The manual shows a bleach dispenser system consisting of a resevoir and a series of tubes. Bleach is dispensed using a combination of the water fill, plus the pump action. When I removed the front panel of the A208, I was surprised to see a simple tube connecting the dispenser to the bottom of the outer tub. Is this model a more basic spin-off of earlier models?

Last but not least, I'm experiencing the inner basket mounting boot from hell!! I have the correct spanner wrench for this model, and have tried WD40 and a hammer, but cannot get the dang thing to budge (yes, I'm trying to move it clockwise due to the reversed threads). This was recently discussed for a Kenmore model, but I can't locate the dialogue. Can anyone point me there?

Thanks!

Pete

 

[westytoploader]

Maytag, cats, & other stories...

The transmission spins at the same speed as the tub, I think around 618 RPM. My Maytag uses the "orbital" transmission that spins as well, and I don't consider it to be that dangerous. It actually seems to make the machine better balanced on spin; the tub can be shimmying violently and you don't feel a thing; no vibration is transferred to the outer cabinet. However, on loads that are badly out-of-balance, you sometimes hear the water-level hose tapping against the cabinet. The BD Kenmore also spins smoothly, although that's mostly due to the fact that it weighs 250+ lbs and doesn't shake easily . What annoys me about the DD Kenmore and GE Portable is that since they're "lightweights" and have a different suspension, they're spin-sensitive. The GE's suspension is fairly soft; most of the vibration is due to the fact that it's on wheels and has a "cracker tin" cabinet. The DD Kenmore is the worst, rattling like an earthquake on all but the lightest loads, making a wild "Duhduhduhduhduhduhduhduhduhduhduhduhduh" sound!

However, since I took the round cover off for the drain hose because of noisy vibration, one of my younger cats, Slinky, likes to go inside the washer cabinet (something I do worry about because I usually don't know she's in there). What unnerves me even more is that she doesn't run out when agitation starts (cats don't like noise and the OrbiTag is a fairly loud machine), even though she just "sits there" away from the few parts moving during the wash cycle. I end up shutting off the machine and waiting for her to come out, then closing the laundry room door before resuming the cycle. I've only had this happen once so far...maybe Slinky's learned that the washer is not a good "warm spot" because I did scold her. You really have to watch cats around open washers; I had a kitten fall in the DD Kenmore once with a full tub of water (we kept the kittens' bed, food, litter box, etc. in the laundry room from when they were born up until around 4 months). Luckily it wasn't agitating, thank God (we had standpipe flow problems, and before we had the plumber "roto-root" it someone had to watch the washer to make sure it didn't back up onto the floor). I didn't actually see her fall in; I opened the door and found the top of the washer soaking wet, a semi-dry kitty, and a few pawprints on the floor.

So basically, unless the round drain hose cover is off and you have small animals that can fit inside the machine, I wouldn't worry about the spinning transmission.

--Austin

 

[swestoyz]

The part that spins is the housing and counter weight for the tranny -- and yes, it is quite scarry to see it spin! It spins at the normal rate the would basket spin, which I'm guessing is around 400-700 rpm on the normal cycle.

The bleach dispenser you speak of is the same resevoir on my A806S, which is a model mentioned in your Service Master. If you have the same book I do (the red one, which only list early models, with the 806 and 906 being the latest, and not the Ax08 models), it only shows the early system. I'm no expert (even though I'd like to be!) on the Maytags, but from what I have observed, the A606 and the A208 appear to be like, having the same functions. And yes the bleach simply drains from the little tube straight into the outer basket. Hope some of this helps ---

Ben

 

[goatfarmer]

Sometimes,you end up splitting the nut with a chisel,especially if you've been whacking at it,and it starts to strip out the part where the spanner sits.
Why are you wanting to remove the tub?

kennyGF

 

[gyrafoam]

Reply to Pete-----

It is possible the Kenmore dialogue you are referring to is in either thread#984 and/or #1040. I ended up drilling small holes in the spanner nut I was dealing with untill it just fell off in pieces. I was really careful though not to damage the threads on the block. Good luck!

 

[doityrselfguy]

Thanks for the replies. I was finally able to undo the bolt with the spanner! It's had WD40 on it for a few days. With the machine being almost 30 years old, I want to take it apart to clean it. Now, my challenge is the clamp around the tub cover. It's in good condition, but the screws and clamps holding it in place are rusted beyond recognition. I've sprayed them with WD40, and Lime-Away. This should work. Hopefully, I can just break them with a hammer, and replace the screws, which should be pretty inexpensive.

Gyrafoam - thanks for pointing me back to the discussion threads. I still have the outer tub seal to deal with.

As for cats and washers, I won't allow mine to get near a machine with an open panel. Since the transmission spins as fast as the tub, I'm just glad I have a buzz cut!! I can't imagine anyone with long hair getting near it.

Pete

 

[mrmaytag]

Hi Pete!

Congrats on your find. I too have an A208 which was given to me by a co-worker. After I got it, I decided to tear it down for cleaning and to check it for wear. That tub nut is a bear to get off. Mine took what seemed like a half can of WD40 and several days of soaking to shift it, but it finally gave up and came off (with a little bit of gentle "hammered persuasion" Ha! HA!). If it doesn't come off with the conventional method, you will have to resort to brute force with Goatfarmer's or Gyrafoam's methods. I have had to use these methods on other machines to get tub nuts off. It's a chore, and you have to be very careful and patient, otherwise, as they mentioned above, you will break something else.

When you finally get the nut off, be extremely careful when you lift that basket out. It is extremely heavy, (it has a ring of concrete around the top), and if you have a bad back, like I do, you might want to have someone help you with it.

Once you get down to the outer tub, you might find that your machine is in better shape than you thought. After getting rid of the lime and detergent build up with some CLR, the outer tub on mine, amazingly looked like it had never been used. There was no rust or chipping anywhere.

Good luck on your quest. Let us know how it goes!

Dennis

 

[doityrselfguy]

Thanks Dennis - Since I'm now getting into the machine and it's intricacies, I'll no doubt have more questions for all of you as I go. I didn't picture the inner basket as being heavy, but thanks for the heads-up!

Pete