Maytag Wringer Washer

[tarantulae]

Thanks Stan.

This one had some oil running down the back leg. The main thing I wanted to fix was to remove the tub and clean up all the rust and get it painted so it wouldn't rust in the future. Unfortunately removing the tub is where I encountered those annoying bolts. Advice for anyone dealing with them in the future: get the wrench, if you can't, make sure you are using quality bolt extractors. Use a center punch to ensure you're centered on the bolt too. Very easy to wander off when drilling.

As for what I'm looking at tomorrow, all I know is "it works and the tub is clean". I don't even know what make it is. I'll make sure to check the agitator, grease/oil leaks, and wringer. I'll let you know how it turns out.

For now I plan to hold onto this one too. On the off chance I decide to drill out and retap the tub mounts, I could still get a new center plate and have a functional washer from it. Last sale I saw a center plate was for $125, and that is what this new washer is asking for. I figure, why get 1 piece that I need when I can get an entire machine that already is working.

 

[e2l-arry]

Hi Duncan,

Looks like I'm a little late to this party! I haven't seen someone have so much trouble since - - - - - ME!

Your center plate is hopeless. I have one but it needs new bearings. It was leaking into the power unit which caused me to tear everything down many times before I figured that out. I replaced mine with a cheap but good used one I found on Ebay. You can have my old one if you want. Maybe get Phil to quote rebuilding it for you? Also I bought a gulmite wrench. You can borrow that too since you live close by.

Don't give up! I almost did but now, almost 5 years later, I'm glad I stuck it out. I had no idea mine was as sorry shape as it was when I bought it for $25.00. The lady I bought it from said she used it for diapers until 1983. They're great for that. Too bad that I think the last time she used it in '83 she forgot to drain it and it corroded right through!

 

[tarantulae]

Good to hear from you larry! Oh man, I wish I knew you had a wrench before!

No good to me now, the remaining 2 bolts heads broke off anyway.

Good news, I picked up another wringer today off craigslist. No rust inside the tub (some on the wringer) and it has a pump that seems to be frozen. Other than that, its in pretty good shape.

Its a Thor wringer. Never heard of that in the last week of searching I've been doing. It has a knob on top of the agitator but when I loosen that I still can't easily remove the agitator. Anyone know the process for a thor wringer?

Here's some pictures, maybe you guys can give me some Thor tips too?

Since it has a pump, I think I may steal the hose from my maytag and put it on, because it has the threaded connection to put a hose on and drain farther from the house. I'm going to keep the maytag around for the time being, not sure if its worth it for parts or what though. I wonder if I could pull my bearings out of my center plate and put it in yours Larry. Isn't that basically what rebuilding one would do? Even still, I'll have to drill out and retap all the bolts, and that may be a project for the future.

 

[tarantulae]

It works. Looks like the pump wheel has flat spots from it rubbing on the drive wheel. Any idea where I can get replacements? Takes forever to gravity drain.

 

[abcomatic]

It says, Meadows Division. The first Meadows washers were made in Pontiac, Il in the early 20th Cent. on north Main street. They had 2 wooden tubs and the wringer was on a sort of track that traveled to each tub and not between them. Each tub was equipped with a dolly sort of affair that washed the clothes.
Thor was originally from Chicago and the washing machine division was made in Bloomington, Il including the merger with Meadows. My aunt's father was one of the foremen in Bloomington,IL that made Thor washing machines.
Eureka vacuums were made in Bloomington too in the Eureka-Williams plant on the south side of Bloomington.

 

[tarantulae]

Thanks for the info. I was able to do one load of laundry as a test, and then a load of cloth diapers. I also got the pump working by boiling a pot of water and letting it sit, then turning the pump wheel until it was free.

The pump works, but makes a racket because of all the flat spots worn into it. Any ideas how to repair/replace that wheel?

As for the washer/wringer. The wringer often gets jammed up. It seems like the Thor has a different mechanism than the maytag, as I don't see the big springs to keep a consistent pressure. Instead it seems like the drive roller slips when it encounters something too thick. Unfortunately that seems to be jeans, or even a diaper that doesn't go in perfectly flat. I'll probably try to pull apart the wringer section tomorrow and see what I can find.

Good news, the Thor power unit has an oil drain plug and takes 1 1/4 pints of SAE 40 auto oil. Easy oil changes! (Information from this ebay picture)

I also found this blow out diagram of the gearbox. Does anyone know how to identify which years my model might be? If this ebay auction is for my service manual it'd probably be worth grabbing.

 

[stan]

If the manual

Is for your washer, I'd grab it, as info, parts, ect may be a little harder to get than the Maytag.
I'm not fimiler with Thor Wringers but I would think it would handle the jeans, diapers ect as good as the Maytag would? My Maytag handles a thick terry bathrobe without hesitation.
It might be that Maytags had the best wringers for that time?
Someone will come by that knows Thors
Keep us up to date.

 

[stan]

Try

Some Bar Keppers Friend on that wringer.. works well for minor rust.

 

[tarantulae]

That's the thing, I don't know what model my washer is.

I would expect the same. I think I'll open the wringer up and give it a good cleaning/lubing/examination to see what the cause is. I wonder if the Thor's had some kind of slipper clutch for the wringer to avoid crushing fingers. I can stop the powered wringer by pressing on it with my hand (I tested with the tension released at first, but it is also easily stoppable with tension on). My maytag wringer I never put clothes through, but it turned very strongly, so I wonder if its a manufacturer difference or something I should look into fixing. Hopefully someone who knows more about the Thor machines can give me some insight.

 

[stan]

You might try

Reposting with a title of "Thor Wringer Washer" maybe catch the attention of someone here that knows about, or possibly has one.
I'll go head and ask..just curious, what did you pay for the Thor

 

[tarantulae]

I paid 125. Less than what I was looking at for fixing up the maytag.

 

[stan]

That's not bad

Keep us updated with how the wringer works out.

 

[bradross]

Shame about the Maytag - but nice you found a Thor...

Duncan, if you lived closer, I'd sell you one of my wringer washers! I'm "overflowing" with 5 currently in my collection! And that's in an apartment! Can you imagine if I had a house - I'd start a wringer washer restoration business!

Best of success in rejuvenating the Thor. My mother and grandmother both had Thor machines from the late '30s. I've attached a couple of pics in case you'd like to see some older models. From what I know, they were very reliable machines. As you can see in the photos, the wringer assembly had two options for tension control - a screw or an automatic tension set/on-off lever (the type my mom had).