Maytag A608

[kelder]

My wife and I still have the Maytag A608 we bought in 1977. Never had problem I could not repair myself. Now having what I believe to be a transmission problems. I live in Dublin,CA and looking for a repairman who specializes in vintage Maytags and wanting to restore the washer and dryer. Called a local "expert" who laughed at my wife for having such an old machine. Kinda pissed me off...so any help on names of maytag repairmen who appreciate these great machines would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Keith

 

[stan]

Hi Keith

There are lots of Maytag experts here. And in your area. Unfortunately I'm not one of them, however I'm sure that if you describe the symptoms, and provide photos, someone here will be able to guide you through the repair, or assist you with changing the tranny
( locate parts ect)
Many here have done this, and posted pics during the repair/restoration process, and I've seen some amazing accomplishments done with vintage machines here. So you came to the right place.
The repair manuals are are here as well.

The Maytag guys will be along soon, so hang in there.

 

[d-jones]

Hi Keith. To get past the snarky atitude you'll want to find an outfit that's been around for a while. I'm down in the Los angeles area and could steer you towards several such places if you were down here. The guys I'm thinking of love to work on the older machines. According to the map, it looks like you aren't that far from Oakland, and being a larger metropolitan area, with any luck you should be able to find someone. There are several active members of this board up in the bay area, so hopefully one of them will see this and chime in with some advice on contacts. But if you're interested, there are also some excellent write ups in the archives of this forum that cover the tear down of machines like yours in great detail. Here's one such write up that covers the removal of the agitator and inner and outer tubs for bearing and seal replacement. That gets you all the way down to the transmission. And even if you're not planning to do the work youself, it's always nice to know how your machine's put together. Anyways, good luck to you.

Changing a Maytag tub bearing and seal: A how to...

Recently, Dan wanted me to show him the steps on changing a Maytag Dependable Care platform tub bearing and seal on his HA806 that I gave him. What we here at the shop call a 'stem and boot job'. There has been interest expressed on my possibly sharing that with all of you. In the interests of...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[DigAPony]

so any help on names of maytag repairmen

Member "Redcarpetdrew" is the guy you want to contact. He is in Reno, Nevada.

Looks like a reasonable drive, at least on the map.

[email protected]

http://redcarpetdrew's Profile

 

[kelder]

Thanks

Thanks to all for your feedback and suggestions. Verified the transmission is bad...so going to do a complete rebuild of the A608. I've done 2 complete restorations on muscle cars and figure if I take my time, read the manuals and have this site as my resource. Will keep you posted. Actually looking forward to the project and Linda too.

Thanks again,
Keith

 

[stan]

Good for you Keith!

You can do it!
If you can, take pics of the process. We love pics !

 

[DigAPony]

Verified the transmission is bad

What is the issue with the transmission?

Typically with a Maytag Helical the problem is not the trans per se but failed seals that allow water to seep in and/or oil to leak out.

 

[rp2813]

(qsd) Dan

Is the man! 

 

Dan, you and Keith are practically neighbors.  If you're reading this and are inclined to help, I'm sure he could use your expert advice on how to keep such a worthy machine running for another 40 years.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

That How To thread just keeps giving and giving. awesome!

I'm also interested in what actually failed on that transmission. Still, it's fun to fix them and I'll gladly offer any advice I can. Just ask! I might even have parts you might need and I AM relatively close. Gets kinda lonely being the only AW member in Northern Nevada.

Dan would also be a good choice for advice but for reasons that he doesn't care to share has gone dark. Hurts too since I thought we got along well and kinda feels like I'm missing a finger not being able to talk. Rumor mill has it that he lurks but otherwise is content to not have any contact... Pity...

RCD

 

[whirlcool]

I just love it when members come to the air of non members. They end up being very happy in the end! And it gives this site a great reputation.

 

[rp2813]

Hey Allen --

 

Just to clarify, Keith is a member.  He couldn't post here otherwise.

 

If he likes it here, he might hang around so he can figure out what to do should Linda's mixer someday produce the magic smoke.

 

[paganinia]

retired a207

We just last week retired a Maytag A207 with at least a bad timer...I just came on here to see how best to get rid of it and this thread was near the top. Since it's a Maytag of the same era, let me know if there are any parts shared with yours you want, I'm up in Walnut Creek.

 

[rp2813]

Keith,  it might not be a bad idea to buzz on up and snag the A207 -- providing the experts here advise that the transmissions are interchangeable.  You could slap the 207's tranny in there to  keep your washer functioning while you take your time with the rebuild (locating necessary parts, etc.), and there are likely other usable components on the 207 that would be worth harvesting.

 

[swestoyz]

The standard capacity 207 transmission is not a direct interchange to the large capacity 608.  If the top plate of the 608 is having issues, the 207's top plate will interchange (as well as the gear sets), but the lower housing and center shaft are longer on the 608.

 

Keith - do you have an idea of what the symptoms are with your transmission?  Is it leaking oil out into the wash?  Leaking oil below the machine? Slow to agitate?  No agitation at all?

 

Ben

 

[kelder]

A608

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions. Will check and describe symptoms with more details. First task is to get the washer out to the garage for more room to work on it. Question. I noticed this model does not have a set screw keeping the agitator on the shaft...how do I remove the agitator. Saw something on the Internet where a guy used a bike inner tube under the agitator and inflated it to push the agitator off of the shaft. Seems pretty involved. ANY ideas welcome...tough to get started on the project without removing the agitator.

 

[paganinia]

I'll move my question to new thread, sorry for the hijack!

Good luck on your project!

 

[DigAPony]

How do I remove the agitator

The agitator pulls right up, no set screw on that model just a stop ring. Sometimes they come off easy, other times it can be a major battle.

Once that is off you'll also need the spanner wrench to remove the stem seal nut (reverse threaded).
See Link:

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[kelder]

Thanks to DigaPony. good advice before jumping into this. Hoping for easy removal, but will eat some Wheaties before I attempt! Stay tuned and will let you know what happens.

 

[kelder]

Tried the bike inner tube method twice...tube popped each time and agitator is still in the machine. Have looked for a agi tamer but can't find one. Any other ideas? Or who sells the agi tamer.