Olive green Maytag model ADG608

[karendiego]

Hello,

We are new to the neighborhood and proud owners of an olive green Maytag ADG608. We found this site when a thread dealing with a vintage Maytag washer/dryer set - Thread Number: 42387 - popped up in a search. Our machine looks very similar to the ones pictured there. Hope to add pictures of ours soon. The last two digits of the serial number on our machine are AR.

We purchased the dryer 4 years ago and she has served us faithfully until a few days ago when we suddenly heard an intermittent screeching sound, stopped the machine to move it away from the wall and have a better listen, and she wouldn't start up again. There was a humming sound when the button was depressed but the machine did not come on.

We took a look around by removing the front of the machine and a small panel in the back, but when we could not locate anything that was clearly broken called the local Maytag dealer. The technician came, popped of the front, and declared that the motor was "gone." He charged us $78 for 5 minutes of his time, gave us an estimate of $325 to repair our dryer, and offered us $35 toward a new machine.

We want to appeal to the experts on Vintage Maytag dryers on this site for help: Does our local technicians assessment sound reasonable? Would he not need to look at the back of the machine to diagnose the motor failure (or could he have diagnosed by process of elimination)? Is there a reputable source you can recommend for new or used vintage Maytag parts and, if it is the motor, what is the likelihood of finding one that would work on this machine and that is reasonably priced?

We were not both able to be present when the technician came to take a look and hope to have an opportunity to speak with him directly and ask a few questions.

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated as we hope to be able to keep this faithful machine going!

Karen and Diego

 

[d-jones]

I'd be a bit suspicious of this technicians assessment until I had a second opinion. The part number for this motor is 303358 and they can be found at any number of online parts venders. A-1 Appliance has them listed for $173.00, but they can also be found on eBay for 80 to 100 dollars. I've never changed a motor on a DG608, so I don't know how labor intensive the job is or isn't. If it's difficult to access the motor that could account for the high estimate. Still, I'd want confirmation that the motor is actually the problem. Here's a link to A-1 Appliance so you can see how the dryer is put together and find any part numbers you might need. This sort of knowledge is very useful when trying to track down parts.

 

http://www.a-1appliance.com/lookup/51959/294061
 

And this link will take you to an older thread here on this blog where a DE808 was rebuilt. The DE808 was the top of the line electric machine, and yours is gas, but it's still an 08 series dryer so there'll be a great deal in common with yours.

 

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?33488
 

By the way, if you're handy with tools you can save a lot of money by tackling this problem yourselves.

 

 

 

[rp2813]

I have a feeling it may be a bearing issue and not the motor, but give the experts some time to check in here and provide their opinions.

 

We had a DG806 that did the same thing as yours, but that was before I had discovered this site.  It was deemed unfixable, but in hindsight I'll bet it could have been repaired.

 

That was the best, fastest, quietest, most efficient and easiest to use dryer I've ever owned.   Its electronic control worked flawlessly.  If your 608 has electronic control (just a dial and no buttons), it is worth saving.  Well, even if it doesn't, it's still worth saving.

 

If it turns out to be the motor, that's probably a quicker and easier fix than the bearings, although more costly if you go with brand new/NOS.  You might start keeping an eye out for similar dryers on Craigslist that could have the right motor for harvesting.  That would make it a cheap fix.

 

Stick with it.  I'm confident you'll find the help you need here. 

 

[goatfarmer]

If it is the motor, the job to change it isn't too bad. The worst part is the pulley is held on with a setscrew, and sometimes that screw can be problematic.

 Used motors can be found, and that might be one option.

 

[kenmore71]

To my knowledge, there are no bearings in this dryer except for the ones IN the motor.  If it was screeching and now the motor is seized that would be one of the motor bearings (there are 2).  I doubt it would be economical to try to get the motor repaired (if that model motor can even be repaired).  If you are at all handy you should be able to swap that motor out in a couple of hours time.  If you need the service manual let me know.  Mark

 

[beekeyknee]

How could the repair man decide that the motor was bad just by taking the front off. As you face the back of the dryer take the grey motor access cover off. Take note of the convoluted way the belt threads around the pulleys. Take the belt off. Turn the motor shaft. Then go to the front of the dryer, reach in the door and try and turn the tumbler. Which one doesn't want to turn? That should be a clue. I would say turn the machine on for a second, but w/o the belt on, the motor could jerk start and break the fan. And taking the fan off is a whole 'nother ball of wax. You can only run the machine with the fan off for just a second because there's no air flowing through the machine and it will get way too hot in a just a few seconds. Could be dangerous. If you had some alligator clips and knew which terminals to clip on to the motor switch, you could apply 120 to the motor to check it.

The best way to check the motor is to isolate it from the machine and apply power correctly.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

About service diagnosis, dryer motors, and replacement parts

Karen and Diego, This thread touches a chord of great interst for me, and I've experienced much of the same, so I'd like to share what I experienced in case you can get any useful insight.

I first found this site through a google search in early January 2008 when my mother's then 3.5 year old GE dishwasher was diagnosed by GE factory service as needing a new motor. The machine was intermittently growling and vibrating, and sounded terrible, but at times it would be fine. The repair price quote was much the same, and my parents went out an purchased a new Kitchenaid model vs. buying a $300 motor for a 3 year old dishwasher.

I was skeptical, and simply did not believe the diagnosis was correct, and I put a post out on the board here much like you did. Some knowledgeable people came to the rescue, had heard of the growling dishwasher problem, and had a remedy that needed nothing more than a plastic zip-tie to secure the conduit for the upper wash arm. New motor indeed...the dishwasher has worked fine since, and when we hear that growl again, we know its time to install a new tie. Of course the old motor is still in the machine.

My point is that there may be other avenues to try with your dryer vs a three hundred dollar motor, and this service diagnosis may leave something to be desired?

As to dryer motors, I have a 1977 built Kenmore dryer that, if it had a car's odometer, would seem to read something like 350,000 miles. It is very well used, but has been in my family for a long time, and with good memories. So, when it has needed things, instead of putting it out at the curb as was suggested, I have made repairs. The most recent was a replacement motor. The old one, which was originally very quiet, got overall louder over the course of a year or so, just a louder hum, louder overall operation. Then it started to make occasional or intermittent scraping sounds, which grew louder and more frequent. I got to the point that I would not go more than a room away from the dryer when it was running. The motor finally locked-up, and would only hum after that, no operation at all.

I found a replacment motor, the EXACT duplicate in fact, on ebay. Even though there are lots of Whirlpool substitute motors that would work fine, I was able to find the identical motor for $14.95 used. It took about two or 2.5 hours to make the replacement, I de-linted the dryer again while I was in there, and it returned the dryer to its old quiet self. Plus I'm getting more service from a part that would otherwise have been scrapped with the rest of the machine it was in originally.

I don't want to suggest that all used parts and all sellers on ebay are perfect, but I was happier to put a nice low use but used part in my otherwise very used dryer for $15 than spend close to $100 on something brand new.

If you feel you can do this repair, and you do indeed need a motor, I would recommend at least looking around on ebay to see what you can find.

Good luck!

Gordon

 

[karendiego]

Thank you all for the tips and for relating your experiences. This is a great community and we're happy to have found it!

I did find a match for the motor on eBay and may go this route after investigating further. The A-1 appliance website is impressive! They have just about every part one could ever need.

The link to thread number 33488 (Maytag DE808 Restoration 11/10-12/10) is really appreciated. Many parts do look similar and the clear pictures and descriptions will be a great resource.

I spoke with the technician and he reported that to diagnose the motor he removed the outlet duct cover to access the motor (maybe he meant the outlet wheel) and was unable to turn it by hand. He also indicated that the motor bearings are integrated and cannot be replaced independent of the motor. I spoke with the store clerk later that day, was informed that they were unable to locate a new or used replacement motor, and was again offered $35 for our machine. Quite generous.

Mark, we would very much appreciate having access to the service manual. How and where do we access this?

I have not had a chance to inspect the machine further but will report what I find using the resources above as a guide.

Thank you all again!

Diego

 

[combo52]

Squealing MT Dryer

The technician was correct and with your good description of the problem I could have diagnosed this over the phone.

This dryer also has 5 other significant bearings that can and often do produce a squealing sound when they are wearing out, Two rear rollers, Two front bearing slides and an idler pulley, but when you said the machine would no longer starts that quickly narrows it down to a bad main motor.

The repair estimate is not bad although a dryer this old may also need some of the other parts I mentioned as well as a new belt, new blower and on a gas dryer while there is no heating element to worry about these do need an igniter or new gas valve coils sometimes. I good way to fix this dryer would using a used motor assembly taken from either a newer dryer dryer or a lower mileage machine.

 

[karendiego]

Hello again!

I performed an exploratory procedure using the photos from thread number 33488 (Maytag DE808 Restoration 11/10-12/10) as a guide. I'll post photos of what I found and hope to get some advice about what may need to be replaced.

By the way, we always refer to the color as avocado green, but for some reason the night we started this thread typed olive green.

First, the front of the machine:

 

[karendiego]

I found this oil stain under where the motor sits on the base of the machine. Could this be, as some were suggesting, from the motor bearings?

 

[rp2813]

A very pretty dryer and well worth repairing.  Personally, I think avocado is making a comeback.

 

Once you have it fixed, you can start hunting for a companion extra-large capacity avocado Maytag washer!

 

[karendiego]

This is what I found when I opened up the outlet duct:

 

[karendiego]

I cleaned out the bulk of the debris as removed each part. I was able to turn the outlet wheel and the tumbler without removing the belt. When I got to this point I reconnected the door switch while keeping the front panel off, plugged the machine in, and when I pushed the knob it turned on.

 

[karendiego]

Vacuumed this up from inside the machine. Could anyone tell us whether this is a part on this machine?

 

[karendiego]

Tumbler front and bearings. Is it recommended to replace these?

 

[karendiego]

Rollers and belt:

 

[karendiego]

Inlet, valve, and burner:

 

[karendiego]

Motor and pulley:

 

[karendiego]

After the machine turned on I replaced the few parts I removed and connected the exhaust duct and gas line. The machine turned on and heated normally, although, since it was empty, it only remained on for 20 seconds or so. While it was on it made a faint grinding sound and seemed like the motor was struggling to keep turning. The next day it would not come back on.

Please let us know if you have any recommendations for once more making this machine operational!