Neptune - The adventure begins!

[neptunebob]

Hi all, glad I joined this group here and hope this is the right place. I am going to start an adventure with our Neptune washer (4000 series, about 5 years old). Ohhhhh, Lately, the smell has been awful!. What I want to do is clean out the mold growing in there.

Tonight, I tried to remove the front of the drum and didn't make it but I found a creature from the black lagoon growing in the detergent dispenser (a lot of rust too, so much that there is metal missing - is this a Rustune?). Anyway, I removed the top plate, found the "slime monster" removed the unit and ran it through our extra dishwasher, the only way to get it clean. I also cleaned what I could with Clorox Clean up. Hopefully, I put it back right! I will soon have pictures to share.

Anyway, I want to remove the front of the drum which is full of lint in the bristles. So here is what I wonder:

1. The "boot" appears to be held to the drum by a wire which is held taut by a spring. I tried pulling on the spring, it won't budge. How should I do this (Is there a special tool)?

2. There are several screws that hold the front of the machine, including the door, onto the rest of the cabinet. I think I can unscrew them but are there any surprises I should know about?

3. Once I remove the front of the drum (appears to be held on by clips), will I find another "slime monster".

Look forward to hearing from you and might do more work tomorrow. Nep

 

[super32]

Please read before disassembly

Your on the right track. There are no surprises behind the "front" of the machine. I take it you have the front panel off? you can see the insides? If so, there are several 5/16 screws holding the door shroud on. If you have the front panel off the door will lift/unhook from the shroud. You may have to wiggle/jiggle it to get the hinges to unhook. The door boot is press fitted in the front of the door shroud. (this is the part of the boot that seals against the door when its closed) To remove it, roll it towards the inside of the tub. Once you get it started it pulls out easy. The door lock is held with a 2 5/16 screws. Un screw it and lay it on top of the tub or let it hang over the side of the machine, no need to unwire it. Once the boot, the door and the 5/16 screws are removed, the shroud can be removed from the front of the machine. You already see the clips holding the tub cover, use a flat blade screw drive and pop them off. You can still leave the boot and spring attached unless you are replacing the boot. If you are then simply/gently roll the spring and cable/strap off. (We will get to putting it back on later) If the boot is black and moldy you will have to replace it, Some have claimed to lay a bleach soaked rag on the infected area but I have not seen it done. May be worth a try. Once the tub cover is removed you will probably see black and brown sludge in the outer tub and the inside of the tub cover. This is where alot of the problem lies. The catch is you can wipe the sludge from the front edge of the outer tub but if you see sludge in the front you can be sure there is more of it behind the clothes basket (stainless tub). Unfortunattly this area you can not get to unless you remove the clothes basket. Since you have come this far, there are 3 baffles in the back of the clothes basket that have 2 screws each. The screws may either be torx or phillips, cant remember when they changed. Remove the 3 baffles. Now you will see 3 7/16 or 1/2 bolts holding the tub in. Remove the bolts and now the clothes basket will slide out. You will now see more of the sludge.

If you removed the spring that holds the boot on, reassemble everything except the door shroud. Reattach the boot to the tub cover. This can be tricky. You start one end while the other end tries to come off, I use my knee to hold one end until I get it seated on the tub cover. This part may take a few tries. Once you get the boot on, put the cable/strap in its grove around the boot. It usally will lay still while you reach for you spring and tools. Now comes the fun part. I use 2 craftmen robo grip pleirs. I hook one end of the spring in the cable and grab the other end of the spring with 1 of the pliers and use the other pliers to grab the other end of the cable. Grunt and pull! This may take a few tries. If you see a different way that works for you then try it. Just be care full not to snag or tare the boot.

One other note, when you reinstall the clips that hold the tub cover on, sometimes I use pliers to "squeeze" the tub and tub cover. They can be tight.

Also make sure you get the clothes basket and bolts nice and snug. If you dont they can work there way loose and chew up the threads on the clothes basket support and/or drag on the outer tub and tub cover.

Hope this helps?

Scott

 

[neptunebob]

Oh, you mean there ARE surprises.

Yes, Scott, it is a lot of help. Last night I put the nep back together after cleaning up the detergent dispenser. When I asked about "surprises" I meant what might be lurking/growing in the front of the tub - what you refer to as the "tub cover". I hope to not have to replace any parts, just clean them (and gag doing it). I am concerned that bearing replacement may be in my future and if the bearing fails, I think I may replace the Neptune and I just don't want to put in a whole lot of parts in if the bearing goes.

If the bearing starts to fail, what are the symptoms? Noise, vibration, refusal to spin? It has become noisier since we first had it.

Neptune replaced a belt driven Kenmore from 1985 that was still washing but leaking and noisy. I wanted the Neptune beause I wanted to wash comforters and bedding for an elderly uncle who went throught a lot of bedding and I was fed up with using coin laundries. Now I wonder if we will reach the five year mark.

Scott, do you have a Neptune? Thank you so much, Bob, er Nep.

 

[super32]

Aging neptune

If the bearing is going bad it will sound like it ready to take off. It roars very loudly. Eventually the bearing will usally lock up and the unit wont wash or spin. Sometimes they dont make much noise before they go out.

I use to have 2 neptunes. I had the original 3000 and then the 7500. I bought the 3000 in January/98, it lasted about 1 1/2 years before it developed electrical problems. After several atempts to repair it, maytag bought it back. I turned and bought the 7500 washer and gas dryer. I had no problems with the 7500 set. What a difference the heater made. I sold the 7500 set in April/04 because I bought a bosch nexxt. Bosch had an offer I could not refuse. I got it for a song and dance by the time I sold the 7500 and received all the rebates and discounts from bosch. This is the price I pay for being in the field. Almost 2 yrs and the bosch is still running with out a hitch. (knock on wood)

Scott

 

[neptunebob]

Thanks Scott, It wasn't that bad.

Took the door and the drum cover off last night and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, no real buildup of mold but A LOT of lint! especially in the "bristles" toward the front. I wonder what the purpose of them is. Just be careful with the tub clips, one went flying!. There was just some black coating at the very bottom of the outter tub that I scrubbed with dishwasher detergent, it wasn't as bad as what I found in the detergent dispenser. Thannks again for the advice.

I don't think the neptune will last longer than 5 or 6 years, as it seems like all the parts are wearing out at the same time. The boot seems to be turning stiff like White Westinghouse does so it will eventually crack. The rust on the top is starting to show near the door frame. I had to undo a lot of screws and since they just screw into sheet metal I better not unscrew too many times. I told my mother all this (her machine) and the bearing might give out and when it finally stops, she wants Kenmore top loader. Nep

 

[sudsmaster]

Neptune boots

Something I noticed about my Neptune 7500 boot.

When I wore a hole in it by cramming the washer full of car floor mats with hard plastic backing (the plastic abraded the boot and inner door panel), I noticed that the replacement boot the warranty service person brought out had a different look and feel to it. Basiclaly, it was shinier and seemed to be stronger. I also bought a spare boot ($50), and it was more like the original boot, with a more matt finish. Now, four years later, the warranty boot is still shinier than the replacement I bought. So I'm wondering if perhaps the warranty repair people got an upgraded boot somewhere along the line. Hopefully it will be a long time before I need to "break out) the replacement I bought.