Maytag Top Loader

[dishwashercrazy]

Question: Will Magtag TL machines be a desirable collectors item in the future?

I had the opportunity to buy one today from my local Maytag dealer. I saw the owner on Wednesday, and he told me he had one of these machines, and was holding it until he contacted me. He wanted $50 for it, and I said yes, and picked it up today. I had advance warning that it had issues, which is why they had not fixed it up already. Model FAV6800AWW, S/N: 10546199EA (January 2004).

I plugged it in, and selected a Spin Only option with the slowest spin speed. It tried and tried to get a spin going, but would back off, and attempt again. I believe that this is a bearing issue, as suggested by the store manager.

Although a Magtag TL has been on my unspoken wish list, I admit that I know nothing about them, yet. So I would like to find a Parts List, Use and Care Guide, Service Manual, etc. for this FAV6800 model to start my learning process. I will begin my search for those items likely this weekend, unless someone here can point me in a specific direction where I can find them more easily.

I have searched through a number of threads in the archives, looking for references to service of the Magtag TL, but I have found nothing.

I am open to any and all advice as to how to proceed from here.

Mike

Photo: Just off of the truck.

 

[dishwashercrazy]

Panel

 

[dishwashercrazy]

The cabinet is in very good condition.

 

[dishwashercrazy]

Inside. The rubber ring around the top of the tub had been damaged by excess wobble of the spin basket - in the back - out of view - in the area underneath the right hand half of the lid.

 

[dishwashercrazy]

Maytag Neptune TL

Oops - Nowhere in the above did I include the fact that this is a Maytag Neptune TL.

 

[cfz2882]

i'd say it will be a future collectible,might take a decade
or two though.
In any case it's a good looking and interesting machine and
i would gladly give $50 for that any day!-good luck getting
that up and running!

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Well...

If it is indeed a bearing issue where the tub bearing is frozen and won't spin, you are in for a ton of fun. The only way to find out is to open her up. Use a putty knife or the like to push in two spring clips on the left and right hand sides where the top meets the front cover. Lift the top like a car hood. There are two 5/16" screws right there holding the front panel in place. that will release the front cover to give you a view of what's inside. You can try turning the main drive pully by hand or at least try to get it to spin while you look at it. Hopefully, you won't be seeing evidence of rusty water stains from water being tossed from the center seal... Sometimes a no spin can be caused by a crappy clutch but you must make sure of the tub bearing's condition first!

Use and care guides can be downloaded from Maytag's web site in Adobe form...

Good luck!

RCD

 

[runematic]

I've had quite a few come through in the past couple of months that had bad bearings. You'll know it, it'll sound like a roller coaster. Another problem you may have will be a clutch issue on the tumblers. It wears out and allows the tumblers to keep moving backwards when they should be locked up for spin.

Even though these machines had their issues, when they worked my customers really liked the machine.

 

[dishwashercrazy]

Thanks so far for the information.

B. Danielson (cfz2882): Well, I am happy that the initial $50 does not sound too unreasonable. Sure would like to get this one going, and hopefully in 10 years or so, some young collector will be glad I rescued this one.

Drew (redcarpetdrew): Thanks for your advice on getting inside the cabinet. I have successfully gotten the top loose, and the front panel off. The belt from the motor turns freely, and I have seen the two tumbler disks turn in both directions. But the spin tub is locked in place – I cannot budge it. There is no visible rust that I can see underneath the tub. The lid has a little bit of rust on it.

I found the Service Manual, which includes the Installation Instructions and the Use & Care Guide, at www.servicematters.com

Todd (runematic): Since the tumblers move in both directions, and I am hearing what I believe to be the tumblers locking for spin, I am hoping I do not have a clutch issue.

Mike

 

[dishwashercrazy]

Strange as this may seem....

I was talking to my Appliance Repairman Friend in Tulsa, Daren, this afternoon about my TL machine. With everything mentioned above working, there did not seem to be any reason why this machine should not spin.

Therefore, I took matters into my own hands, so to speak - I braced my hands on the inside of the tub 180 degrees opposite, and gave the tub a twist, and sure enough is started to move, and almost immediately, I was able to spin it freely. So I put it in Spin Only mode, and it started to turn and went into a full spin.

Now, my curiosity was really up, so I hooked up a Y hose to the machine and to a hose from the laundry sink; grabbed some clean rag towels to throw in for a test, and started it up using the Quick Wash option. It seemed to fill, and begin washing just fine. It did have some difficulty distributing the towels evenly, so I gave it a hand, and was able to get the towels spread out and flattened down to the point where it went into the spin at the end of the Quick Wash cycle. I also had grabbed my video camera and I have some various shots of the action, which I will edit together and put up on YouTube later.

But I still was not totally convinced that the machine was fully functional. So I had a couple of blankets that needed washing, so I decided to give it another go using the Normal Wash cycle. Damn! It went through the whole cycle flawlessly. AND, I finally figured that I did not just have to peek in under the washer top, but I could stand the whole top upright and see more directly what was going on - plus better video.

I have put it to bed for the night, but I still need to clean it up a little. Needs some rust removed from the back lip of the lid, a new rubber splash guard around the lid opening, and with some luck, I have a fully functional Neptune TL. I do not know what a brand new one of these machines sounds like. And this one seems a bit noisy - so I still might have an impending bearing problem to research. Anyway, it has been a satisfying Saturday afternoon for certain.

 

[combo52]

MT NEPTUNE TL WASHER

I have four of these three like yours and one touch screen model with the heater. It happens that I was tearing one apart on Saturday the first one a got a few years ago was really banged up as it had been thrown off the back of a delivery truck when I found it. I managed to put it back together and have been using it for several years but I got one that wouldn't spin and was trying to make one good one. The one I am parting out has good bearings let me know if you need any thing. I think its diffidently collectable and the time to get one is now they barely made these two years grab one while pts are still somewhat available.

 

[tbolt25]

unusual washer

How could a washer like this possibly work? The discs would keep the clothes from properly being spun to the sides during the spin cycle. The discs also wouldn't allow you to put in enough laundry in the tub.

 

[DADoES]

 
It does work and can handle quite a large load. Spin, the clothes distribute around the basket pretty much the same as any other machine. Some items may span across the center (blankets) and depending on how much tangling is involved (jeans, towels, etc), but I've seen that happen with frontloaders.

Load of mixed kitchen & bath cottons I ran in mine couple days ago, it did have trouble balancing. Impacted the cabinet on several attempts. Apparently it ran a fill/tumble routine to help redistribute (the remaining time was at 12 mins, then backed up to 18 mins & it re-ran the final rinse including softener dispenser flush). Still had trouble, so it gave up trying and paused the cycle with a dc (distribute clothes) fault. The balance sensor seems quite sensitive, it won't get to full-speed spin if there's too much oscillation.