My 'Lady' has betrayed me!!

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Well now....

So The Lovely Lady of St-Liboire has been running normally for nearly 2 months since the June spin hissy fit but today, after washing a bedspread, the poor dear went out of balance on the rinse spin, then as the spin came to an end, locked up on me again.   

 

I'm puzzled as to what did this a second time.  I have a gut feeling the tub brake is 'sticking' somehow; I am not ruling out bearings but darn it, I redid them just 5 years ago (unless I did a really, really bad job of it...).  

 

Is there something I am missing or overlooking??  Should I start picking a replacement washer for St-Lib??  LOL

(There is a rebuilt '56 Whirlpool washer with matching dryer that is currently sitting idle in Ogden...) 
 
Awsome Terquiose Kenmore!

I love vintage appliances! They simply last forever, and are simple, compared to the appliances of today! I have a Lady Kenmore Portable Washer and Dryer I bought earlier this summer for $45.00 of of Craigslist. I did not spin or agitate when I tested it out, had a bad transmission? No. All I had to do was to add oil, and it began to agitate and spin again. One day I did a load of laundry in the Lady Kenmore Portable, and it still had water in the tub, and I was confused. Turns out the water pump went out The plastic pulley that screws in the water pump spindle stripped, and was free-spinning on the water pump spindle. I got a new water pump for the Lady Kenmore Portable, and installed it, but when I did a load of laundry in it, it began to leak water from the side of the tub, and the air dome is cracked:(, but at least it is fixable. I also need a new timer motor for the dryer, you can turn on the dryer, but you have remember to turn it off.
 
Lady Kenmore is still in the operating theatre....

In other words, I have taken over the upstairs guest bedroom in St-Lib to work on the non-spinning Lady Kenmore washer (no visitors until further notice, please)....

 

OK, so I was stumped by how this washer spun again for a short time, then quit.  Unlike last time, I was unable to somehow trip the brake mechanism to get the tub to spin again.  My theories were a badly damaged or broken plunger on the spin cam bar, a stuck or damaged basket drive, or...a bad transmission.  

 

I figured I had to drop the transmission out in all cases, so I managed to move the Lady K from the bathroom into the bedroom and take her apart.   This took me two days... I managed to hurt myself really badly tipping the machine on Tuesday.  I need an assistant, daggnabit... LOL 

 

The good news is that the transmission seems OK and I was able to make the spin cam bar plunger engage as it is supposed to.  

 

However....

turquoisedude-2017082414591505664_1.jpg
 
When I pulled out the transmission, the basket drive mechanism remained very convincingly in place...  

 

Further, I could not budge that basket drive pulley.  My guess is that when I did the re-bearing job, I did not seal or grease something properly and the subsequent abuse caused the basket drive tube to seize.  I repeatedly kept saying a word that rhymes with 'duck' this afternoon.  A lot...  

 

I'll probably wind up replacing the basket drive tube (and I am guessing I'll need to redo the bearings...) but in the meantime, I am drawing a blank as to how remove the drive tube.  I recall that Robert's '57 Lady K transmission had to be pounded out, taking drive tube and bearings with it, but I am wondering if this tube could somehow be salvaged if I can drive out carefully. 

 

Any thoughts or suggestions? 

turquoisedude-2017082415074206899_1.jpg
 
Hey Paul - hope you are having a great summer besides this!

Mine was really stuck too when I replaced the bearings. What I ended up doing was removing the tranny from the basket drive and standing the machine upright. Then I got a socket the size of the spin tube and banged it out with a hammer. It didn't want to budge at all but finally gave in and to my surprise the bearings came out with it. Needless to say the spin tube was toast.

At the time, Gordon mentioned that twisting it out while you pull usually works but my spin tube was so rusted and fused to the bearings I'm not sure it would have budged. But yours should be in better shape so I would try that.

When you replaced the bearings 5 years ago did you fill the upper chamber with turbine oil before you put the top seal in place?

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?54743_31~1
 
I thought I put in 'enough' oil, but I'm going to guess I didn't...  I'll be letting the spin tube marinate in PB Blaster as soon as I can get some more, then I'll try Gordon's twist and pull technique.  

 

The good news is I found a new bearing kit among my parts hoard in Ogden - like anyone will be surprised at that...  

 

SO, who thinks I should bring the Blackstone to St-Lib as my 'backup' washer?  LOL 
 
That time I texted you with the same issue back in May, twisting while pulling the basket drive out worked. I don't know why the spin tube would seize as I filled all areas with the correct oil as per the shop manuals recommendation!?
 
An update on m'Lady's condition....

Last Thursday, before I vanished down to Ogden for the long weekend, Phil came over to visit.  With his help, we got the danged basket drive tube out of the Lady Kenmore washer.     Getting old and weak sucks - I am grateful to have a friend like Phil!! 

turquoisedude-2017090516525003936_1.jpg
 
The good news - we didn't pound the bearings out along with the drive tube.  

 

Having a fresh pair of eyes helped here - Phil noted the scarring on the upper section of the tube.  

 

I did not document the re-bearing process of this washer when I did it, so I cannot be sure that the tube was not already scarred or discoloured when I re-installed it.  

 

But what really caught Phil's eye was the 'ring o rust' on the center post.  Funnily enough, it looks like it is about the same height as the discolouration on the basket drive tube...   I am going to guess that this is where the sticking occured causing the lack of spin.  However, I recall that the Inglis tube had a dark spot on it at about the same height.

 

So, I have to wonder why this happened.   Is it possible there is some sort of a leak in the center post that got into the bearing and the drive tube?     I'm going to give it a good cleaning tomorrow and I have some POR15 if needed.  

 

Now the $64,000 question - is the bearing still OK?  I will guess that I did not lubricate it properly...  Also, I am thinking I should replace the basket drive tube - or can I just clean up the old one?  

 

At least I know the LK can be repaired now.  And I am starting to miss having at least 1 working washer in St-Lib.... LOL 

turquoisedude-2017090516561804488_1.jpg

turquoisedude-2017090516561804488_2.jpg
 
That is a very nice Lady Kenmore! I have a Lady Kenmore portable belt drive washer and dryer. My lady Kenmore portable dryer betrayed me too! All I need is a timer wich should arrive soon, and I need to order new casters for the Lady Kenmore portable washer and dryer.
 
A further update on M'Lady's condition....

Good news first!  I got a new spin tube assembly  (with drive pulley and brake yoke - bonus!!) and a new set of bearings.

Thanks John!!

 

 

turquoisedude-2017092217025306453_1.jpg
 
Wait for it....

However... I don't have the bearing extractor tool.  I know a service technician  in Stanstead who had one - he says he can't find it (and I believe him - his shop makes the expression "a dog's breakfast" sound neat and tidy).

 

Ffffffffffiddlesticks.

 

The search continues. Until then the laundry is being done in Ogden.  Impromtu wash-in this weekend anyone??

turquoisedude-2017092217074005706_1.jpg
 
bearing

Hey Paul,Looking at your bearing I don't see anything wrong with it.I think you have an alignment problem there either that or something is hanging up.I have done hundreds of bearing jobs the bearings don't cause the machine not to spin at all in general.When they fail they get worn and have play. Thank you again for posting that boltdown westy its on its way.
 
No spin

I would also check to make sure the clutch shaft on the transmission is lubricated and is dropping properly when the camber pulls out.If you replace the centerpost bearings I would use the larger mandrel for the top bearing for the lower depth so you can put in 2 seals.When it comes to removing a stuck basket drive shaft get some plumbers emery cloth in a roll and emery cloth the tpop of the shaft where that rust ridge is and then spray wd 40 in.The shaft should be much easier to remove after doing this I have done it many times.
 
Mark, the upper bearing was scored leading me to believe that I made 2 big boo-boos: not replacing the spin tube and likely not applying enough lubricant...

But some good news at last: I picked up the bearing extractor tool from a fellow who's father used to be in the appliance business! Better still I am probably going to be able to buy those tools at some point!!

 

So next week, Lady K will be under the knife.  

Lastly, I recall that the bearing installation process requires turbine oil and grease. I cannot for the life of me recall what kind of grease it was.... 
 
Lady K is resting after this morning's bearing extraction procedure.  It was a success...

 

And for once, take note of this,  I made the decision to replace BOTH bearings as I had the means to do so, even though the lower bearing did not seem to be so bad. 

 

It's not a good picture, but look at how badly scored the upper bearing was!  Lesson learned about not replacing the spin tube when one rebuilds a belt-drive Whirlpool/Kenmore/Inglis washer....  

 

New bearings should be in shortly.  

turquoisedude-2017100309513009251_1.jpg

turquoisedude-2017100309513009251_2.jpg
 
Lady K is out of surgery and has regained her bearings....  

 

I figured while the tub is out, it would be wise to clean up the center post and give it a coat of POR15.  While that's drying, I'll see if I can muster up the strength to at least get the new spin tube and brake assembly onto the gearcase (thank you again, John!!!).  

 

I just may be doing laundry in St-Lib again this week - good timing, too. Hubby arrives back from a conference in Japan tonight.  

turquoisedude-2017100313080905863_1.jpg
 
Oooookay......

So I got the washer reassembled yesterday and when I tried it today....wait for it.... the dang-blasted thing wouldn't spin.

 

I have run into this before (about 3 times with the Inglis....) - so I tried previous 'remedies'. I made sure the clutch yoke spring was in the right place, made sure the drive belt was sufficiently tensioned, and loosened the gearcase mounts ever so slightly to realign the spin tube.  None of the above seemed to do it. 

 

I took the entire gearcase out to make sure it was seated correctly.  That resulted in a weak, stuttery spin that is shown in the video attached:

 

 
It seems as if something is just not 'catching' as evidenced by the video taken of the basket drive slipping...  

 

So, the $64,000 question is 'why'...  Something that is bugging me is the fibre plate (shown on a newer basket drive assembly here but not the drive installed in the machine).   The old basket drive brake plate was securely riveted to the brake plate (and forgive me, I am presuming the fibre disc is a brake) and I seem to hear something turning with a very slight scraping noise when I try to engage spin.   Other observation, the basket drive pulley got fairly warm during the brief attempts I've made to get the washer to spin.  

 

What could be going wrong here?  Is some kind of adjustment to the brake assembly needed?  

 

Should I bring the Blackstone back from Ogden so I have a working washer for the winter months??

turquoisedude-2017100411403307415_1.jpg
 
Hey Paul

Did you check the tee-bearing? If I recall, my old tee-bearing (the bronze type) fit too snugly when I replaced my spin tube. I had to lightly sand the inside of the spin tube with a dremel until it just fit without binding. It only took a couple passes with the dremel.

I also recall that if you have the white one it has a steel ball that holds it in place and sometimes there are issues with it (the steel ball) falling out.
 
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi Paul,  just a thought, have you checked the clearance of the clutch lining and the pulley?  When the machine is not in spin the clearance should be 1/16'' .  If the clearance is too high the yoke will not drop down far enough for the pulley to engage the clutch lining.  It is adjusted with the nut next to the yoke spring (adjust in small increments to get the right clearance).</span>

 

<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">DADoes is correct, Whirlpool removed the rivets in the early 60's, allowing the brake lining to float and improve braking  performance.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The other thought I had was to check the spring clip on the opposite side of the yoke.  Sometimes this clip can sit in the wrong position on the locating shaft.  If it is not positioned properly it will also affect the movement of the yoke downward.  </span>

 

<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Hope this helps.  It's such a nice looking machine, I hope you can get it running soon.  :)</span>

 

<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Good luck!</span>
 

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