Maytag A612 Washer-Injector Assembly Leaking

[frannella]

Help! I am a DIY newbie and a first-time poster to this site. My beloved 30-year-old Maytag is leaking from the injector (aka air gap) assembly consisting of a black rubber valve (sleeve), a clear or gold-colored slotted plastic insert (the injector or air gap gizmo--technical term) threaded through a slotted clear plastic cylinder that screws into the left side of the washer to secure and support the two sections of hose running from the water valve to the inner tub rim which the injector/air gap gizmo connects.

I bought a new rubber valve or sleeve this weekend from my appliance dealer and have spent hours trying to insert and reinsert the gizmo into the valve/sleeve and the valve/sleeve into the water hose but no combination of efforts appears to have any effect.

Newbie that I am, it strikes me that the rubber valve/sleeve isn't long enough to thread through the two sections of hose, both of which have a bulb-like widening to accommodate the injector assembly before reducing down. My logic is if the sleeve doesn't extend from the widened part of the hose (this is where the clamps are located) to where the hose narrows, there isn't any chance of clamping the "bulbs" to secure a leak-free cinching of the rubber sleeve. I also don't know if I am inserting the injector/air gap gizmo into the rubber valve/sleeve properly--I have tried 2 different ways--with the lip of the sleeve pulled up and over the flange of the injector, and with the lip of the sleeve flush with the flange of the injector.

Can anyone suggest things to test or point out what I might be doing wrong?

Many thanks,
Fran

 

[laundromat]

Because they're not too expensive yet,I always buy the pastic cone along with the sleave and it goes on(the sleave)like a condom.You just peal it right onto the cone then you use the clamp to give it a good tight fit. I change mine along with the belts and inlet hoses every 5 years or as needed within that period. I hope this info helps.Wish I was there,I can do it in my sleep! lol

 

[qsd-dan]

My beloved 30-year-old Maytag......

It isn't that old yet 1985 was when the 12 series debuted, so it isn't much older than 24......25 at the most.

"with the lip of the sleeve pulled up and over the flange of the injector"

That is the correct method.

What often happens is that the sleeve isn't properly lubricated before inserting it into the hose. Most repair guys simply use saliva around the sleeve before inserting injector into the hose, but I had problems with the lip of the sleeve being pulled back while inserting it, causing a leak. One trick that I found worked was applying Petroleum Jelly around the rubber sleeve which allowed it to glide into place without peeling back. Petroleum Jelly will also act as a sealant, preventing any water from escaping between the hose and sleeve. Hopefully this all makes sense.

Lots of sexual innuendo in my post above. I didn't purposely write it like that; it's how these parts function. If I wasn't at work, I'd shoot a clip how this is done (I need to replace one in my 1975 HA806) and post it on youtube.

 

[frannella]

Thank you but....

Gosh, I wish you were here, too. ;-) But what if the plastic cone thingey and rubber sleeve aren't long enough to reach from one section of hose--specifically the clamp-bulb area to the other section? Could that cause the leak? The replacement rubber valve/sleeve I bought looks shorter than the original. I am considering admitting defeat and going out to buy the entire hose assembly, including a pre-assembled injector assembly...I have never had to replace anything on this hard-working (3 kids, endless laundry) old beauty--just the belts and those only twice. I have maybe had 3 services visits in 30 years--twice when baby socks somehow got sucked into the inner tub and got caught up in the inner works. About 8 years ago, I did clean out and reinstall the water inlet valve, but that's about it. (KNOCK WOOD) Thanks again and aloha

 

[frannella]

Petroeum Jelly in hand....

Could have sworn we bought this washer and its companion dryer when I was pregnant with #1 son (b. 1979), but guess it must have been during my pregnancy with #3 son (born 1985). Time flies and I can't remember anything.

Thanks for the suggestions--I am going to go out and give it another go with petroleum jelly. I did lubricate the rubber sleeve with liquid detergent and also the section of hose into which I was trying to insert it in my 800 previous attempts, but PJ does have sealing properties so I am off to test it. If you do post anything to YouTube, please let me know. Thanks again.

 

[qsd-dan]

Do you still have the original packaging and part # of the injector? I can cross reference and see if you got the correct part. I happen to have my microfiche reader and slides with me today.

 

[frannella]

Injector Valve/Sleeve Part Number 216201

Thank you so much--I will hold off on the PJ-assisted attempt until I hear back from you on the part number...I still say the replacement sleeve is shorter than the original piece--but can't swear to it because the original sleeve is pulled and streched out of shape. You are a prince!

 

[qsd-dan]

According to Card 58, slide C-2......

Valve for injector: 213016

I did a little checking and 216201 is the alternative (updated) part for 213016, so you do have the correct part.

Where is your leak coming from? In some older houses, if there isn't enough water pressure, the injector sleeve can leak. There's an updated sleeve that is used in low water pressure applications which is part # 22213057. I'm wondering if this updated 216201 (shorter) valve requires the updated 22213057 sleeve? I bet it does.

 

[yogitunes]

Simplelest solution....

take a 3 inch piece of 3/4 inch plastic pipe. connect both hoses to this with new clamps, secure in place with a cable tie....throw away the air injector assembly......problem permanently fixed.........

I do this to all my maytags and GE's....I have such high water pressure that they whistle while filling, and can't stand the noise....this solves it

the air gap only serves to prevent water from being sucked back into the water lines should the water being turned off at the main, and causing a suction....like that has ever happened!...I don't know of any machine filling up past the water inlet flume, maybe I'm wrong but never seen it happen...

 

[frannella]

Closer to Functional--Thank U so Much

Dear, dear qsd-Dan and yogitunes--the petroleum jelly actually worked in that as soon as I used it as a lubricant--and after about 45 tries to get the rim, now insanely slippery, to stay in a more or less straight horizontal position long enough for me to tighten the clamp, the stream of water leaking from the sleeve slowed to a bare trickle. Thank you, thank you!! I am slipping in a couple of loads of laundry tonight before I revisit my mess tomorrow night. I think I will have to redo it all because I crossed the two sections of hose where I shouldn't have and reconnected them so that they are not quite kinked but close enough to kinked that it probably will prove problematic in the longer run--rank amateur collateral grief...Still,am so delighted I can use my machine again. Yea!

Meanwhile, I think I love the work around suggested by yogitunes ( I also have 3 fish tanks and appreciate the simple elegance of his proposed solution from long experience with hoses). I was going to make a 7:30 am dash to the outstanding local appliance parts dealer tomorrow before work, but now i think I will simply buy new clamps at a hardware store before coming home.

I do have to deal with a loud whine as my tub fills with water, said problem probably being co-coincidental with the injector assembly leak, rather than related. I am going to dismantle it and try to clean it out and reinstall unless you experts suggest otherwise.

Meanwhile, thank you, thank you, thank you.

PS--I don't have great water pressure because of where my house falls at the end of a run on a downward sloping street (this per EBUD, the local water supplier) but we did replumb the entire house transitioning from cast iron to copper about 6 years ago. A 1000% improvement for our 100-year old bungalow, but our pipes are hardly whistling.

Thanks again.