MAYTAG TWO-BELT TRANSMISSION QUESTION

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For a first attempt, you are out shining some techs I've known. The only thing I'm not certain about is replacing the lower o ring seal on the lower transmission shaft. I've not seen anyone use the newer lip seal in place of the o ring as I thought the lower shafts were slightly different between the o ring using helical and the lip seal using orbital. I by no means claim to be the authority, since when I do it ends up spanking me, and will love to see the results of experimentation.

That is the best example of saving a rusted outer tub ever! You, my friend, have the touch. Keep going!

RCD
 
With the tub out for coating, I am just about dead in the water anyway to I went after the hardware bits today. I know I will not have done them all, but this is the lions share. They appear to have been zinc plated in their first life, and that has given about all the protection it is able to. Most are rusted, but not badly pitted.

So I spent the morning bead blasting these items and then re-plating them but this time in nickel.

The adjusting bolts also got new hard rubber feet.

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I just wasn't very clear Drew, in that posting about the lip seal. I am not using it in place of the O-ring, for my transmission never had the O-ring. I was simply replacing the lip seal which came on the washer from new.

The special tool, seen below, is really a fine thread tap, which cuts through the covering and into the steel sleeve which is inside the lip seal. By first removing the brake assembly it is thus possible to change this type seal without pulling the transmission out. It is removed by getting a bite on the seal sleeve and then using the bolt of the tool against the helix end to pull the seal out around the central shaft. It is replaced by using that red protector in the earlier photo and driving it home using the pulley on the helix threads.

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And the UPS truck just dropped off a new transmission nylon pinion gear. Thanks again DigAPony for that lead to appliancejungle. I have the gasket for the transmission too, but will hold off closing it up because it does seem that the two new clutch washers have been located, thanks to fellow forum member Brian.

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There we go.

As I said, not the all seeing!

Forgot that during a short period when they were phasing the orbital in, both styles got the lip seal. Good show! Done that lip seal surgery a few times. Not bad to do but sometimes is annoying as it doesn't last (very seldom, tho...)

I am just loving the picture I have in my head of what she's going to look like when you're done! Can't wait for the inaugural wash (with accompanying hi def video of course!). Almost worth the roadie to Vegas to watch her rebirth.

RCD
 
Cool Rebuilding Job

I know you are having fun with it. A Few Thoughts that might help.

Powder coating the outer-tub should be very sufficient, I have never found a company that will actually re-coat porcelain on metal as thin as an outer tub. Most companies want to sandblast off the old coating first and doing so on thin metal can literally leave holes.

As a technician for over 40 years I have never seen a nylon pinion gear or the thrust washers wear to the point that they caused any problem with the operation of the washer, and I suspect that if you wanted to disassemble your rebuilt MT transmission after about two years of use you will see the same scoring and very slight wear on the nylon pinion gear that the transmission you are rebuilding now shows.

The brake lining of the brake assembly looks completely normal as it is for all practical purposes as good as new.

The orignal MT center pull hose clamps are a very good type of clamp, and you are correct that the typical worm gear clamps are not a great hose clamp, overall the best type of clamp you can have are the flat spring clamps, but unfortunately you must have the exact size for the job, so the SS band clamps you are using are as good as the orignal MT clamps and should work great for this purpose.

John L.
 
re-plating them but this time in nickel.

I was going to suggest checking Craigslist, late model Dependable Care Maytag washers are good source for major and miscellaneous donor parts that can interchange with MT washers going back to the '60's.

But since you've already re-plated the hardware in nickle, um, never mind...
This resto is obviously on whole other level.
 
Well thank each of you for the encouragement. Believe me fellows it is appreciated, as is the advice and information.

Yes, I bought this washer new from the MAYTAG dealer in New Orleans. It would have been '86 or '87. We have been in Southern Nevada now for the past 15 years. Here, just about all of us use salt-brime water softeners, for the water is seriously hard without it. It does have a toll on appliances however. I am on my third water heater now, and I do believe the greater part of my sheet metal rust is related to that.

Several weeks back, while a load was washing, I got a report that "we need a new washer, that old one is screeching and burning up!" The fault turned out to be a heavy fabric item, which had found its way into the gap between the inner tub top and the outer tub cover just as the spin cycle was starting - and jammed things up. The smell was burning rubber from the drive belt of course. After clearing the cause, the machine seemed to return to normal operation, but there were other reports that it also hadn't been getting enough water out of spin loads.

So I went into this with the expectation that a set of new belts would be in order. After taking off the front cover though, and looking in there at the dust, rust and neglect, a sense of guilt began to take over. Almost thirty years now of faithful service, and this sad view of utter neglect seemed to point a finger directly at me with the words shame, shame on you. This is why it has now evolved into a general overhaul. My attitude is that anything made of rubber or plastic, whether leaking or not, has already performed its duty and deserves an honorable retirement. As john points, this will undoubtably lead to some over-kill, such as the brake assembly, clutch washers, and pinion gear. But in those cases I shall just save the old items as good used parts for the future. And I plan to keep this MAYTAG A112 going in full service for as long as I am able.

Going in, it was necessary to understand the helix drive operation, and members of this forum made that possible. Now I even have a service manual. And, the reading has given me a great respect for the clever design as well as the high build quality of the old MAYTAG washers.

On re-plating the small hardware items, that is fairly routine for me as a spill-over from my old car interest. It is just faster and easier to do it yourself on plating parts small enough to fit into my five gal. plating buckets. I would have done them in zinc if close tolerance was an issue, but with parts such as this I prefer nickel for it has performed better for me protecting steel items in high humidity conditions.

No, neither nickel nor zinc are especially dangerous to work with. Cadmium most certainly is though, and for all practical purposes it is also illegal in small operations.

Yes Drew, I have made that drive from Reno to Vegas a few times, and Brother, it's a long and lonesome road!

James
 
I took a quick look Brian, and there is a lot of information there. After the washer fun is over I plan to do a detailed study of your water heater thread.

For now, I did count the threads on a couple of the eye bolts. They averaged 19 threads, and so I have marked these for use as a starting point when things go back together. There are four in the photo, because I did order one new bolt to replace a pitted one. Actually they all cleaned up ok for reuse, and I did nickel plate the new one right along with the other three. That is the new bolt on the right side. The interesting thing is that they are different lengths. Originally, there would have been two of the short ones and one longer one (the new one is also longer). I doubt there is anything to it more than different bolt lots at the factory. Interesting though.

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The washer lid was also showing rust spots along the sheet metal edge on the bottom and sides. There was already a black section in the corners, and I just continued it along the bottom and sides. It is only POR15 paint, but should last a good while, and this location is easy to keep a watch on.

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Here at the control panel I didn't do more than clean the electrical contacts. I wondered whether those gear wheels inside the timer switch might benefit from lubrication.......but decided to leave well enough alone and simply blew out the dust.

Very interesting though, looking at the backing panel with all the provisions for additional switches and push buttons. Lucky for me, this machine is the simple model.

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The old order and the new. This is the anti-syphon valve, which positions just before used wash water leaves the machine for the drain hose. I suspect this is included to satisfy some federal reg.
Anyway, the hose clamp is interesting, and one scratches the head while wondering how did they get the thing on there? I have some similar pinch clamps they were all either too large or too small, so we go with the worm clamp as planned.

Used Dow Corning 111 inside the hose and on the sealing washer.

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Naturally, I waited until the top was on the cabinet before fitting the drain stem and anti-syphon valve. That way it was as awkward as I could make it.

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Anti-Siphon Device in The Drain Line

This was not required by the Feds or even plumbing codes, but rather allowed the washer to be used with a floor drain, It also eliminated many other service calls such as an overflowing washer when the end of the drain hose becomes submersed in a sink that is backing up and the washer starts agitating for rinse and sucks all the backed up water in sink back into the washer and causes the washer to overflow. This type of event often cost the appliance maker money on warranty calls. MT did eliminate this feature later on.
 
That is very interesting to learn the true reasons for that anti-syphon device. It is simple enough that probably it didn't often become the source itself of leaks.
 
It looks like you have a late model Mallory timer in that machine. I usually see Kingston timers in that age of machine, but it can vary. The timer can be cleaned and lubricated if you want. With neoprene gloves on, I submerge the timer in kerosene and operate it while submerged. Then I let it dry overnight in a ventilated area and after it's dry I spray the timer down with Tri-flow spray or silicone spray, shake out the excess and let set for awhile. The escapement on your timer is very simple compared to the early model ones.

You might want to wait until you get the rest of your rebuild done before messing with the timer, if you choose to at all. That timer can be pulled out of there any time to be worked on. And don't forget to remove the motor before maintenance.

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?38712
 
Yes, that is quite interesting, and I just may have a go at that timer in the next few days. Otherwise running out of things to do while waiting for the tub.

For this morning, I turned my attention to the main washer motor and its spring plates.

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Not a pretty sight is it, and the underside looks even worse. Still I was wondering about reusing those plates, after cleaning them up and re-plating in zinc.

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But I most certainly wanted to put in new springs, and at the time (two weeks ago) the springs were not available from Repair Clinic. I have many more sources for parts now, thanks to this forum, but I did order a kit which includes the springs. So I plan to use it.

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First step was to take off the drive pulleys, and that went without a problem. But the pulley which drives the transmission (larger one) was seriously coated with rubber. That burning rubber smell which started this exercise was evident here, where the rubber was vulcanized to the steel. I was getting nowhere with wire brushes, steel wool and acetone. Eventually I got it off with an x-acto knife followed by bead blasting.

I expect the pro's carry a few of these things around with them. I would!

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The motor mount kit, which MAYTAG offers these days, comes with square sliders instead of the original style round rollers. Now, actually the round ones didn't really roll either. They too slid along rather than turning on their mounting shafts. Still, after all these years the round wheels look good as new, and are the same dimensions as seen on the stacked-up specimen. And, while it seems to me that the round sliders are less likely to ever bind up, they are coming up on thirty years old. So, and on good advice from this forum I have fitted the new square sliders.

[this post was last edited: 2/1/2014-14:53]

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The kit comes with a small tube of what MAYTAG labels as POLY-LUBE GREASE, and that tube is just about the right amount to lube the wheels and slide surfaces. I don't have any more of it though, and just may need to re-lube those slides one day. So I also tossed the grease tube and have used the MOLYKOTE from that larger tube in its place.

Notice the springs. The new ones on the right side are longer than the originals with slightly thicker wire size.

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I did conduct a crude testing of the springs, and found that a one-inch extension required just about two pounds in both the old and the new. The new required just slightly more poundage I thought, but likely to have been within the margin of error.

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When refitting the pulley to motor shaft notice that the shaft is NOT flush with the pulley face. The service manual calls for a 1/32 inch recess. Here I just peered down the setscrew hole and lined up with the old tightening marks on the shaft flat.

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And there we have it. I of course thought about what would be appropriate to refurbish the motor itself. New bearings for example. But, since they are not offered as spare parts, it would be a very time consuming effort, requiring first getting out the old bearings then finding replacements which are not made in China. I decided to leave well enough alone.

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I would use the square 'rollers' on the carriage. The round ones will eventually break/fall apart just due to age. The new ones will work just fine if not a little better. Just trying to save you a possible headache later down the road...

Otherwise, just keep on going the way you are. You're doing awesome!

RCD
 
One other change has been thrust upon us. The old hard rubber drain hose with its molded top curve is no longer offered.

The new drain hose is this corrugated affair, which seems to be plastic with rubber ends. Looks like it will be OK, but I do miss the molded top curve. Here I have used wire ties to form the needed curve.

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The wire ties form a sufficient curve to fit it in there well enough. But I do wonder if there is somewhere available some sort of double-ring plastic affair to make a better job of it.

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