Maytag A612 oil leak.....

[junker]

Hello everyone,

Can anyone tell me if I'm heading in the right direction? I have oil on the floor under my Maytag A612. I took off the front and there was a fine spray of oil around the sides about 12 inches high and oil pooled in some of the edges on of the exterior sheet metal, so at first it looking like it was being sprayed around from under the tub and dripping down to the floor. But then I noticed the sheet metal was dry in between these two areas, so I tipped the machine over to look underneath. I didn't really see much oil until I took off a black cap from the middle of the center pulley. That was filled with oil and as when I spun the pulley back and forth more oil seemed to come.

So after googling around and stumbling onto this awesome site I'm thinking I have a leak in the lower transmission O ring or lip seal. The O ring is found on the older models and is a bear to replace, maybe impossible for a mere mortal. The lip seal is on the newer models, relatively speaking, and looks doable if all goes as shown on the you tube clip I just watched. Am I close? Is there another source for an oil leak? The washer works just fine so far.

Is there anyway to tell if I have the O ring or lip seal transmission before taking the whole thing apart? I do not have the orbital transmission so I guess its the long stroke something? The serial # is 142688 PC.

Thanks

Junker

PS This washer came with the house and is the first maytag I ever looked at. I was totally impressed. Its like this is what a washing machine should look like on the inside instead of the illogical messes I've encountered on kenmore whirlpool etc.

 

[eronie]

Leak

This is a very good machine, easy to service. Wipe down inside of cabnet an snug up nuts an bolts on edge of transmishion an see if it stops ! Otherwise new seal or RTV sealant !

 

[combo52]

MT WASHER LEAKING OIL

Tilt the machine back again and you will probably find that the oil is sprayed inside around the bottom of the gray metal base pan. This is where MTs typically leak if the leak is enough to get on the floor. If this is the case clean it up as much as possible and put something absorbent under the washer and keep using it, it may well run for years this way. The main problem this may cause is the main drive belt gets oil on it and sometimes will not slip properly when the machine goes into the spin cycle. The main drive belt is easy to remove, inspect it carefully for cracking, burned or heavily worn spots etc. If it is in bad shape replace it and clean any oil off the pulleys with a light solvent and old rags. Don't worry about the smaller pump belt as these do very little work and normally will outlast the washer.

 

Maytags are deceptive as when you look inside they look simple and uncluttered, but as you may have heard repairing or even replacing a transmission is a big job and usually not worth it unless you like big challenges or are willing to drop $300-500 dollars into repairing this washer.

 

[junker]

maytag oil leak

Ok, thanks for the advice. I'll clean it up, inspect the belts, tighten the bolts and see how that works out.

Junker