Norgetag Squeak.

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support :

volvoguy87

Well-known member
Platinum Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
2,571
Location
Cincinnati, OH
I live in a house with a Norgetag washer and aside from its lackluster performance it has a new problem. It has developed a rythmic squeak. It squeaks with each turn of the agitator in both wash and rinse. It does not squeak durning drain and spin. The squeaking is getting worse and I want to know what kind of trouble I am facing. Should I run the machine until it is completely dead than chuck it, or is it repairable. I do not own the machine, my landlord does, but if it is on the brink of death (please, oh please, oh please), I would like to replace it with my newly acquired A208.

Maytag (yeah, right!) model: sav515deww
Serial number: 14894425gn

Don't send an illegitimate preschooler to do a man's work,
Dave
 
The SAV models have been notorious for leaky tub seals. They also chew through belts. The squeaking could be a bad belt; not the easiest to replace. Run it until it starts to leak, which is why they ceased production of them. Very problematic design since Maytag bought Amana. They were produced in Searcy Arkansas. I think Whirlpool has sold the plant, since all laundry will be produced in a W/P facilty.
 
Bad belts?

Anyone know how old my washer is? I think it's relatively new and I can't believe it could chew through a belt this soon. Well, I do believe it, but I am absolutely disgusted by it. Maytag fell from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, and possibly Lowe's.

Squeaky, but not clean,
Dave
 
If it was a Norgetag, it would look and feel cheap but still do the job. Your machine, however, isn't a Norgetag but an SAV-series Amanatag which is even WORSE! These will definitely go down in appliance history as the biggest pieces of s**t ever made. I wouldn't be surprised if one day the seal gives out and it decides to dump all of its water on the floor during a cycle.

Horrible machines, just horrible!

--Austin
 
So it's an Amanatag?

I'm sure there are worse performing washers, like the GEs of the last decade or so. Is the squeaking caused by belts if it's an Amanatag, or hopefully something worse? Could the squeaking be the sign of an impending flood? I think the machine is still covered by some kind of warranty, so Maytag isn't off of the trainwreck yet. It just keeps going and going and going...

It's like watching an endless pileup forming in the fog on the Interstate,
Dave
 
Oh no, not an Amanatag!

Since you have a Maytag A208 at the ready, I would ask the landlord to allow you to replace your Amanatag. Knowing how landlords think, he probably already has a place in mind for it.
Maybe he could use it in his own place and have the water come pouring out of it all over his floors! Maybe it would just decide to dump stinky oil all over his floors. Hmph!
 
Still, the problem is unknown.

I do not know how the Amanatags differ, mechanicaly, from the Norgetags. Apparently the Norgetags are known for eating belts which are difficult to replace. Are Amanatags known for the same thing? My Amanatag is squeaking with each stroke of the agitator, and if anyone out there knows why, I would love to pass it on to my landlord. If the squeaking is a sign of an impending tsunami, I would like to let my landlord know before it happens so I am not held responsible. I have been treated quite well by my landlord and would like to head off a disaster so my 100 year old rented home is not damaged, and I can continue to have a good landlord-tennant relationship with the man who owns my home.

Thanks for all of your input, it has been really helpful,
Dave
 
Your SAV model is an Amanatag....known for tub seal failure and eating belts. The water leak will start slow, you may not notice right away, but will get worse. You can take off the lower half panel to have a look. It is held by 2 5/16 screws. The squeaking belt could be because it is getting wet or just stretched out. Slow spinning is also a sign of a stretched belt.
 
Landlord...

There is one problem I can foresee with your plan to use tha A208. As long as you're using the Norgetag that belongs to him, he is ultimately responsible for whatever it does to his property, unless he can prove neglect or abuse of the machine on your part. If you're using your own machine, then you will have some responsibility if it misbehaves and damages the place.

I'm not trying to throw cold water on your plans (Lord knows I'm enjoying my LA108), but it's something to consider.
 
What is less likely to dump its water?

Whatever happens, I would just like to know what is going on and if I should plan for the worst. I am washing in the Amanatag right now and I can hear it squeaking all the way across the house. As I said before, the house is about 100 years old. It has wood floors and the laundry room is on the second floor. If the machine dumps its water, the water will travel down through the house and flood my roommate's bedroom below it. A flood would cause major damage to the house and my roommate's things. If my A208, even though it is older, is less likely to cause disaster, I would rather use it and prevent a huge mess and lots of damage.

Squeak, squeak, squeak,
Dave
 
The Maytag (the real one)

Is safer...these Amanananatags always fail catastrophically.
Always. Just a question of time.
I would do the following.
Go to homo depot and get three things.
One, a big square pan to put under the machine. They usually have them in the appliance department, but if not they are always somewhere in the store. Will catch and hold nearly a tub full.
Two, pick up two braided steel neoprene washer hoses. Don't cost the world and won't burst or flood. The ones with the built in pressure stop are a pain in the neck - but in your situation a very good idea. Between the pan for slow drips and the pressure stop for bursts or big leaks...you have the worst covered.
Three.
While you are there, pick up a water alarm. Battery powered, they are cheap and scream bloody hell at the first 1/8 inch of water in the pan. Not the first drops or the occasional puddle, but only when there is a real problem - just when it is beginning.
With these three things, I do believe you can wait out the Amananantag until it dies (should only be a few weeks tops, from the sound of it...) and then when you put in your beautiful real Maytag, you can feel comfortable knowing if something happens, the house won't suffer for it.
 
I Agree

I absolutely agree that a real Maytag is less likely to fail catastrophically than an Amanatag- it was only the question of responsibility that I wanted to point out. Panthera's suggestions are good ones. I've mulled over the possibility of a drip pan myself, but like almost everything, they have a downside. The lip around the top edge of the pan prevents you from placing the washer right up against the dryer- they have to be about an inch or so apart. Not good in tight spaces. If anyone knows of a drip pan designed to allow the washer to be placed jam up against the dryer, I'd love to know about it.
 
An update.

Danemodsandy,
You are absolutely right in bringing up liability and I think that any one of us in a similar situation would be wise to get permission from their landlord BEFORE changing appliances that belong to them. Also, renter's insurance is relatively inexpensive and can come in quite handy if the worst does happen.
I met with my landlord this afternoon and discussed the washing machine. Awhile ago I found an extended warranty form for the machine and I gave it to him today. It is a GE service contract (what fun!) and it was filled out to a former tennant. We'll see what happens when my landlord calls for service this coming week. If it can be fixed for free, I will be sad because my A208 will continue to sit in storage without exercise or love. If they offer money toward a replacement machine, I will ask my landlord to keep the money and allow me to use my real Maytag. If my landlord insists on buying a new machine, I will do my best to encourage him to buy a Maytag Dependable Care while he still can. He bought the Amanatag thinking it was a real Maytag and thought it would be best for a rental so he wouldn't have to worry about servicing it too often.

The death of Maytag is like watching a wise and highly respected family member dying painfully in a hospital. You see them open their mouth to speak their last words and, expecting something eloquent and profound, they instead let out a monsterous belch before expiring.

Oh Maytag, What have you done!?
Dave
 
Dave:

"The death of Maytag is like watching a wise and highly respected family member dying painfully in a hospital. You see them open their mouth to speak their last words and, expecting something eloquent and profound, they instead let out a monsterous belch before expiring."

What I heard was the wrong end for a belch....
 
Re: Volvoguy87

I have a friend that has an Amanatag washer and it developed a squeak during the wash and rinse agitation it turned out to be a finishing nail in the pump. Do you do a lot of construction or things with finishing or paneling nails and put them into your pockets and forget there in there and one may have fallen out and through the wholes in the wash basket and got lodged in the pump? Please check this out as it would be a very inexpensive repair. Good luck and thanks for listening. Danf.
 
Pump?

Thanks for the tip and, although I work in historic preservation, I am an office jockey and do no physical work on the jobsite. I think I will contact my landlord and ask permission to open up the front kick panel though and see what's going on inside. If it is something simple, that would be great but that still does not help the reputation of my machine. Dumping water from a second-floor laundry room in a historic house is just a whole world of bad.
The squeak started quite some time ago and it would only squeak every once in a while. Over time the squeaking has become regular, becoming especially bad in the past 2 weeks or so.

Thanks a bunch,
Dave
 
This model of washer is known for a broken weld on the milkstool. The milkstool is that big silver piece that the bearing, tranny, etc are mounted in & that the tub "rides" atop of. We've run into quite a few of these that would act as you describe. It also could be a belt pulley or idler pulley, but I'd definitely check the milkstool.
 
That is exactly what the Division appliance people said(form

They were fabulous when I asked them about this.They know their stuff. It is the milk stool design, and possbly the worst piece ot Sh** that Maytag ever made. She also said that they did chew through the belts quite frequently and leak. She called them a disaster and another nail in the coffin.
 
Maytag was circling the drain (Ha! A Whirlpool ;-) for a long time but all in all, Whirlpool won't have a long-term headache with the washers. Norge/Tragic Chef/Admiral/Amana parts sales won't even be able to support volume production numbers within a few short years especially since most of the unfortunate victims of these ghastly washers will chuck them and buy new. Since the odds are about two out of three that they'll end up with a Whirlpool made washer, guess who wins?
 
Back
Top