Maytag SAV2555AWW washer problem

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amanaguy

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Joined
May 11, 2013
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Hi, I'm new to this site and it seems allot of your posts are against Maytag SAV washers due to leaky tub seals and such. Unfortunately i know about that all to well as I have repaired the complete tub seal and bearing assembly 3 times in this washer and once in my similar Amana washer. I live in the same town where this washer was manufactured so I feel a need to keep fixing the machines as the plant that manufactured it is now closed. The washer just had the tub seal replaced (requires complete tear down of washer) 7 months ago so this newly developed issue is making me just the slightest bit aggravated! A few weeks after I replaced the tub seal in the washer i began hearing a loud knocking/clunking noise on the spin cycle which fades out as the washer reaches full speed spin. It has slowly progressed louder and louder, until recently i began hearing a ratcheting noise on the wash cycle as well. The the other day I happened to be getting something out of the freezer when the spin cycle started and i heard a splashing noise coming from the washer so I immediately stopped the washer because i though it might have been draining out onto the floor or something. I bypassed the lid switch and pulled out the knob to resume the spin cycle so i could see what was going on inside and it was making the clunking noise louder than i had ever heard it before then the agitator began turning counter clockwise which made the basket stop spinning for a few seconds then the basket seemed to free up again but it continued doing this until the washer had drained and stopped as the washer got up to full spin speed. I have been using it for small loads and it has continued doing the back stroke of the agitator until the washer gets up to full speed as it did the first time but it has not gotten any worse. I know when a washer completely stops spinning and just agitates back and forth slowly its usually a bad transmission but im not quite sure what the issue is with this, any suggestions would be much appreciated!

-Carl
 
MT SAV Washer Problems

Carl you must be pretty handy to have put so many repairs into this washer but I think I would pull the plug. If you have had this many seal problems you should be sure that you are using enough detergent, you can tell if there is any buildup of mineral deposits in the outer-tub of your current washer that you either need a water softener or better or more detergent.

 

If you want a machine similar to the Amana get a new Speed Queen Top Load washer while you still can or if you want to do something much less expensive [ and also since you are so handy ] Get a 5-15 year old WP or KM Direct Drive washer, one of the many good things about WP DD washers is that they are virtually unaffected by hard water when it comes to the main seals.
 
Patience, indeed!

One big reason you have had all the bearing issues could be that you have not changed the transmission itself, which it now sounds like needs done anyway. What has been said to be the problem is that the upper housing on the transmission isn't 'milled' correctly. Instead of spinning in a perfect circle, it spins kind of in a elliptical which keeps knocking the already fragile triple lip seal around and promote leaks. Maytag has always suggested replacing the transmission along with the bearings and seal for a better chance of a successful repair. Depending on age, the transmission may be under part wtty. I have had customers call and complain to the 1-800-who-cares line and gotten mixed results on factory assistance for this known issue.

RCD
 
So how do you tell if it isn't milled correctly?

If i buy a new transmission would there be any way of knowing that it was just going to add up to another bad tub seal in 2 or 3 years? if thats the case i would probably just start using my Amana again. I also have to ask, if Maytag SAV washers had such troubles with bad bearings and tub seals why didn't the Herrin made MAV, PAV, HAV, CAV, AAV and LNC model washers have issues with tub seals since they basically have the same transmissions, tub seals and bearing kits as the SAV and NAV model washers?
 
I don't understand the obligation to keep repairing a troublesome machine!? If it was a vintage Newton, Iowa Maytag okay, but a Herrin built?

You don't owe that washer anything, put your efforts into something more worthy.. my 2 cents.
 
You know, last night I was going to comment, but I thought I'd wait and see what other people had to say before I said it.

I think in this case, the OP is beating a dead horse with a stick. If it really is a transmission problem, the washer simply isn't worth fixing. Unless, perhaps they have a real attachment to it.

Combo52 is right, sometimes it is just better to consider buying a new machine which won't drive the OP nuts.
 
I don't think Carl was looking here for more negative messages on this type of machine, there are enough of it already on this site. I should think he expressed enough why he wants to keep fixing this machine. I say good for him!

And Carl, welcome to the club! We all have our own reasons to like our machines!
 
What keeps it from returning 2-3 years later?

Thanks for that, Louis. While I'm not a huge fan of the Searcy machines, that doesn't mean that someone else ISN'T. We all have our machines in our collections that other people say "What in heck are you working on THAT for". We're being asked for help and after the first dozen or so "What in heck are you working on THAT for's", the point has been made and now it's time to try to help...

The answer about the transmissions isn't that easy to say. It was just common practice to replace the transmission as part of the repair, ESP since at the time Maytag was concessioning the repair as a known issue. Just make sure you get the right one as there were two different ones depending on rpm. The problem is that the repair didn't always 'take' and the issue would return. That being said, the repair always seemed to have a better chance of holding if the trans was repaired. There are machines we had to do the whole thing, including transmission, all over again. Frustrating, yes. Once Whirlpool burned Searcy to the ground along with the other casualties of the takeover, the pressure to care was... Diminished?

The decision to proceed with the repair is most likely going to be chalked up to the chances one always takes when putting a huge repair into any older appliance. The transmissions for the Herrin machines may be somewhat similar but obviously are not. They have their own set of quirks but main seal failures are not one of them. Unfortunately, they are not retrofittable. When Maytag bought Amana, the people running the factory at Searcy were 'encouraged' to reduce the cost per unit of production. This brought about the changes that we see between the Speed Queens and their sister Amana laundry. These changes obviously did not do well.

Anyhoo, whatever we can do do provide advice and (mental) support is here for the asking. Good luck and welcome again to the family of machines and the people who love them beyond logic itself.

RCD
 
Well....

It broke today. I did a load of towels and noticed the washer wasn't clunking on the spin cycle and when i went to check it wasn't doing anything but draining.I called Maytag/Whirlpool and apparently the transmission is no longer under warranty. Guess this means it will have to be unhooked and sit in the corner until god knows when. But I still have my Maytag Herrin washer and my Amana washer so whatever one gets hooked up will have to do for now, maybe when one of them breaks I will buy a new transmission for the SAV but its just too expensive right now and i really don't feel like taking it apart again just to do it all over again in 2 or 3 years. The whole reason I have been fixing it is because 1.) I live in the city where it was manufactured so i feel some kind of obligation to keep it running and 2.) Because Maytag is now closed and is now just made by Whirlpool. Of course I know none of the washers I have are true Maytag's but they were still a part of Maytag's history and I believe that I should keep whatever i can to remember Maytag by because we will NEVER see anything that is an appliance designed by the Maytag corporation on the market ever again. I also have one other question, is there any way I could replace the tub seal with a Speed Queen tub seal? they seem to hold up very well since they are used in commercial grade washers, and this washer is basically a Speed Queen (other than the transmission).
 
I suggest humanely euthanizing that machine and then rescue a vintage Maytag in search of a home..
 
Retrofitting Speed Queen seals...

Evidently we need a few more "What in heck are you working on THAT for's "...

That's an interesting question but I'm not sure that they will. I'm hoping John (Combo52) will chime in to answer that question as he may have seen a bit more Speed Queen than I. I will still insist that just changing the seals repeatedly without doing the transmission will just lead to more frustration and business for your parts supplier.

I hear several things in your post. First off, a huge amount of patience for a machine that's having more than its fair share of issues. Also, a determination to either beat that washer into submission or go insane trying. Most obvious is a deep desire to keep that washer in service, if possible, since you like it. My Maytagman hat is off to you for this and I feel that no matter what machine you put your mind to, it could have a lot worse for an owner. I do agree that if you want to keep a machine around that is a product of Maytag engineering, think about a vintage Dependable Care. I'm not saying to give up on the Searcy washer but maybe it would do to work on something else deserving of your obvious patience and skill while giving yourself a rest from the SAV.

RCD
 
Herrin Maytag's

Herrin Maytag's have model numbers AAV, CAV, PAV, MAV and LNC. The herrin made machines are more dependable than the machines that were manufactured here simply because the tub seals seem to hold up better. These are usually very quiet machines that are known to have issues with the snubber balance ring because the whole suspension system was a very poor design in my opinion. The pumps also tend to go out ever 5-6 years in these machines (also because of poor design). I thought it was a big mistake when Maytag started labeling these machines SuperSize or OverSize capacity because then everybody who bought one would assume they could plug the washer full and it would continue working forever like a Newton, Iowa washer but this is not the case. I have a Herrin style machine and it worked pretty good until the thrust bearing started burning up because some house guests decided to do 3 stuffed- full loads of laundry without even giving the washer a break between cycles. I think if they had maybe printed some warning lables under the lid about overloading they wouldn't have had as many transmission problems as they did but who knows. The real reason they are called Herrin style washers is because they are built in Herrin, Illinois and the SAV and NAV models were made here in Searcy.
 
Now its clearer-the name of the site where the washer was built.So if you find one that is NAV,SAV it was made in Searcy.For other models of this series-then Herrin.Now as I understand it both of these sites are closed and no longer used?are they abandoned-as so many places are today.That is why there is so many "urban explorer" videos on YouTube.Also as I get it-these were former Norge machines?Sad that they have so many problems.And good to know Atlantis and Performa were Herrin machines.
 
Yes thats right

Your also right about both sites being closed, Whirlpool shut them down in 2006 and as far as i know the plant in Herrin was totally stripped because Whirlpool didn't want another washer/dryer plant starting up there again. I think Amana may still have the site here open to manufacture heating and air conditioning systems but im not sure. I'll have to go check sometime. I added a link to a page about Amana heating and ac . it also says something about goodman and Amana being partnered and if i remember correctly the Amana washer/dryer plant here in Searcy was owned by a company called Goodman before Maytag bought the manufacturing plant sometime in the early 2000's.

 
Goodman, owned by Hellman & Friedman then acquired by Daikin, bought Amana and sold it to Maytag which was acquired by Whirlpool.

Brand names mean absolutely nothing from one fiscal quarter to the next. But I think we all knew that already.
 

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