My 'Lady' has betrayed me!!

[potatochips]

Hey Paul, I used the old spin tube seal to seat the two new spin tube seals I had to install on my machine. From post 53 it looks like your machine uses a single upper seal, and I think this upper seal is supposed to seat with its upper most lip being about 1-2mm above the centre post.

 

[turquoisedude]

I concur

That something somewhere is not sitting correctly - it makes sense that the bearing is a likely cause of the spin issues.

 

However, I really want a working washer in the house in St-Lib (where I don't have the choice of 9 mostly-working vintage washers like I do in Ogden!) so I think the Lady is going into 'dry dock' for a spell.   

 

John, if you do come visit, please let me know - I'd welcome your assistance at this point.  I think I may be getting too old and weak for this washer restoration stuff alone!! 

 

And full disclosure, why I need a working washer so badly in St-Lib:  as of November, I'm entering into a foray into the world of antiques, vintage and collectible items - as a potential store co-owner!   But more on that later.

In the meantime, I've got to take a run at a WC8 Frigidaire washer sitting in the garage in St-Lib next week.   

 

 

[this post was last edited: 10/13/2017-07:57]

 

[bendixmark]

poor spin

One surefire way to know if you have an alignment problem is try turning the agitator shaft with the agitator installed.There should be no drag at all it should turn freely you should be able to spin it with your hands.If it feels stiff or does not spin along with the basket during spin then you know for sure you have an alignment problem.

 

[strongenough78]

Hey Turquoisedude, any update on this? Were you able to get her running?

 

[turquoisedude]

No, I decided to take a break back in October - we were about to leave on vacation and a certain Hubby was voicing concerns about the two non-working vintage washers in the St-Lib house so I moved the '66 Blackstone in to fill in for the Lady K.  (Full disclosure, a 1978 Frigidaire Crown 1-18 is the other vintage washer giving me grief at this house)

 

I am going to get my sorry behind in gear on this after the Christmas season, though.  I've gotten a lot of great advice as to what could be wrong and I am confident I'll get my turquoise Lady back into service again!  If not, John Lefever will be getting a plane ticket in the New Year.... LOL    

 

[strongenough78]

Well I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Let us know how it goes!

 

[turquoisedude]

And we're back....

It's a New Year and most resolutions still apply at this point in January, so I thought I should take another peek at my stubborn Lady K.   The washer got more or less reassembled and shifted down to the basement back in October just before we left for a vacation in India.  November was not a good one for Chris (his mother passed away) and I was actually helping run an antique store for a friend.  Then came the holidaze...  So 'The Naughty Lady of St-Liboire' just sat in the basement until today.  

 

So on to today's findings....  When I tested the reassembled machine, I eventually got it to spin but as with previous tests, the spin was sluggish.  So I thought I'd see what happened when the washer tub was out of the machine.  This time, the spin tube began to turn immediately and it looks like it was running pretty fast.... 

 



 

So now I can't help but wonder if the drag I am seeing with the tub back in the machine could be due to a bad basket drive block...  That's my first thought.  I also wonder if there could be an issue with a misaligned centre post.  I say that because this washer has seemed prone to getting out of balance since I redid the bearings the first time around and it did so a couple of times last summer before the darn thing stopped spinning.    Am I off base here?   

 

John L, I've got guest rooms ready in both houses...  

 

[turquoisedude]

Update of sorts....

Just for the thrills of it, I put the tub back in the washer this afternoon.  The tub will start to spin right away now, but it's still slllllloooooooooowwwwww.   I will attempt to remove/reseat the gearcase tomorrow to see what that does. 

 

 

[turquoisedude]

Never give up...

Will probably be on my headstone...

 

So I figured I had nothing to lose by removing the gearcase from the Lady. The binding issue was still eating at me; examining the new basket drive and brake I was troubled by this new, thicker-looking brake pad.

 

[turquoisedude]

Now, one of the many suggestions which had been made was to adjust the height of the basket clutch shaft.  It took a few tries...

 

[turquoisedude]

Nothing to lose so....

Holy crow.... It seems to be spinning more or less normally!! 

 



 

I did 3 successive agitate and spin tests and all went well.  The belt did not get chewed up (any more at least...) and stayed at a normal temperature.   I think we're good to go here...  

 

Now, I do still have a couple of things to do before any serious testing.  I have to reinstall the three gearcase brackets and I have to make darned sure the pump hoses and drain sump trap have been firmly reattached.  I figure I will do a bucket test of the machine before I go nuts and haul the Lady back up to the bathroom alcove.  Of course I will have to haul the '66 Blackstone back down to the basement.  Sigh... I need more washer and dryer hookups in St-Lib.   But we won't tell Hubby.... 

 

So, I think I may be ready to swap drain pumps on the 56 Norge Timeline - and a brand new pump should be waiting for me in Vermont this weekend.  Stay tuned - turquoisedude may just have his groove back!

 

[ken]

Congratulations Paul. Glad you got it sorted out. So often the littlest thing can cause a big problem.

 

[DADoES]

 
Lotta rattling in that video ... !?

 

[turquoisedude]

Fear not - that was the timer panel which was balanced precariously on the machine top!

 

[toploader55]

OMDDBJ !!!!!!!!!

So glad that's sorted out.

Out of all the Kenmore Line, that model in that colour is my Favorite looking model.

My next would be the '59 Touch Tab auto rapid advance timer.

Last would be the 57 or 58 with the Prego RotoSwirl.

Love Kenmore/Whirlpool. Always a go to especially for the sound.

Do you still have the Electra coldspot66 and I got for ya ? I have dwindled so much I have a "Empty Nest " with only 5 machines. : )

 

[turquoisedude]

Eddie - I do indeed still have the Electra!  I didn't remember coldspot66 was in on that rescue mission - I do remember that I almost got away with conning Hubby into thinking "we always had that".... LOL