Binding upper agitator shaft
You should be able to turn the pulley counterclockwise easily with one finger.
This is a common problem with Maytags due to age and use, particularly when overloaded (very common). This failure happens with one or more combination of circumstances.
How it works:
The upper transmission housing contains an agitator shaft with a pinion gear attached at the bottom via a tightly fitted groove pin which meshes with and is driven by the sector gear in the lower housing. This upper drive shaft is supported by 2 bronze sleeve bearings. The bottom sleeve bearing is constantly bathed in oil and is almost never a problem. The upper sleeve bearing is lubricated during the spin cycle via centrifugal force through a small passage drilled into the housing. In machines built before 1975, Maytag used a very thick oil that liked to churn itself to an almost grease like state after a few decades. This thicker viscosity prevents oil from entering the passageway and getting itself high enough into the upper sleeve bearing during the spin cycle. Overtime, lack of lubrication causes friction and heat, scoring both the upper bearing and the shaft. Eventually, the shaft will start seizing up and destroy itself and the bearing. Most people wait until agitation is sluggish or the transmission starts groaning. By this time it's too late. The shaft and sleeve bearings are scored up and no good. If one picks up one of these older machines and it still has quiet, brisk agitation, rebuild it ASAP and properly load thereafter.
This area can also fail from the top down if the center seal leaks and water enters the shaft, destroying the shaft and upper sleeve bearing. This failure can be detected by a rusty shaft and pin holes in the bearing side of the upper portion of the shaft. Water intrusion here will also contaminate the oil, eventually destroying everything within the transmission before catastrophic failure takes it out.
The third common failure is simply overloading. Remember that this little 3/4" shaft does extend all the way to the top of the agitator like other designs and it's is plowing through 20 gallons of water plus clothes/material. If one constantly overloads their washer, it places and incredible amount of strain on the bronze sleeve bearings, particularly the upper bearing. Keep this up, and the shaft will eventually seize up even with proper lubrication. I've taken apart transmissions from 12 series machine of the late 1980's where the oil still looked and flowed like new, the stem and seal were completely leak free and in perfect condition, yet the upper sleeve bearing was seized up and the shaft badly scored. Absolutely no trace of water entered the housing. With two of those machines, I happened to be in the know of the original owners and their destructive laundry habits..... persistently over stuffing them on a regularly basis from the moment they were installed.
With that said, my daily driver (1975 HA806 Series 02) of the past 11 years came from a lady who had a ginormous family and that machine saw 4-5 loads A DAY for decades. However, not only did she take excellent care of the washer, she just happen to mention she always slightly under loaded it at all times. When I decided to tear that machine down a year later, I expected thick oil in the transmission from heavy use along a with a scored upper shaft and upper sleeve bearing. The oil was clean with no traces of thickened viscosity or water intrusion. When I removed the upper shaft from the housing, both the sleeve bearings and shaft looked brand new like they just came off of the assembly line. My jaw dropped to the floor. How could a machine that saw an incredible amount of use for 4 decades indicate zero wear? That's when I made the connection to proper loading and long bearing life.
In pre 1966 washers, Maytag placed a piece of wicking material in the upper transmission housing which held oil against the upper bearing, helping extend its life. By 1966, Maytag quit installing that material in there with it's new generation of washers. Sometimes age and use deteriorates that wicking material and it comes out in pieces. Other times, it's fully intact. If it looks good, I'll clean it with solvent and soak overnight in Maytag trans oil before re-installing.
Maytag made every single part available, down to every nut a screw for many, many, decades EXCEPT those damn sleeve bearings in the upper transmission housing. Until Whirlpool bought out Maytag, one simply bought the entire upper housing from Maytag, bolted it on, and went on their merry way. Whirlpool kept producing the upper shaft and most of the other transmission parts until a few years ago. However, replacing the upper shaft does not fix scored bronze sleeve bearings. l see this type of repair going on in this forum and it's not correct way to fix it. It will work for a while, but agitation will be on the nosier side and the bearing will eventually chew itself up, develop slop, and self destruct. The bronze sleeve bearings MUST be replaced for a proper repair along with a new shaft.
Maytag Wringers:
Maytag EJN wringers started their production in 1939. The N and J wringers ceased production in the 1970's but the E's trudged on until November, 1983. These wringers used an almost identical agitator shaft as the automatics did through the 1989. About the only difference was the placement of the collar the hole for the groove pin where the pinion gear attached. Maytag did make a shaft and sleeve bearing kit for these machines. Out of curiosity, I purchased one of these NOS kits over a decade ago and noticed the lower sleeve bearing was identical to the automatics in every dimension. I sent off this NOS lower sleeve bearing along with a used but good condition upper sleeve bearing (for outer dimensional purposes) from an automatic washer to an outfit that makes custom bronze sleeve bearings and had a 50 piece run of each. I use and install these on all of my rebuilt machines but there is a HUGE learning curve on how to remove and install these properly without causing damage to the shaft or the bearings, therefore I refuse to give any out to the general public.
Oh, and we haven't even got into the subject of oils in regards to different applications, extreme temperature differences and other factors. I'll save that for another time.
