Removal of Maytag A208 Agitator

[halfnium]

Dear Experts,

If this message is an annoyance, please let me know and I won't send another. I am a mere Maytag owner/user rather than a restorer.

I have a rather venerable A208. It is the first and only washer that my wife and I have ever owned. It came with our first house and has moved along with us from Massachusetts, to New Jersey, to Texas, to Connecticut and back to Massachusetts. I have no good idea exactly how old it is, since neither it nor the user guide (I have the original, illustrated with beehive hairdo sketches) seem to give any dates of manufacture, printing or copyright.

It's worked with no problems until last week, when one of my daughters overloaded it. The machine stalled and emitted an acrid, burning smell. A piece of clothing apparently washed out of place and got caught between the inner perforated drum and the outer tub. My wife removed it by tugging at it, and it's pretty nicely chewed up.

The perforated drum turns fine in the spin cycle, proving that the motor remains in good shape. However, the machine remains stalled in the wash / agitate cycle and gently hums; it does not agitate.

Removal of the machine's skins uncovered nothing unexpected. I then removed the band securing the top and bottom of the tub assembly. No clothing was visible.

I next tried to remove the agitator in hope of taking the perforated inner drum out of the tub. I was unable to do that. I used considerable force, just short of damaging the agitator's foot. I even tried working around the agitator with the head of a claw hammer, but no luck.

I am able to twist the agitator relative to the perforated drum only a few degrees, and that requires a lot of strength.

The agitator is turquoise. There is one small hole (about 3/16th diameter) in it near its foot. One of the web sources I consulted suggests that some A208 versions lock the agitator in place with a hex set screw, but there is no such set screw on my machine's agitator. Probing through that hole in the agitator with Phillips and slotted screwdrivers and with hex and spline keys, I am unable to locate a fastener.

So a few questions:

1) Would any of you experts be able to advise how to remove the agitator?

2) Having removed the agitator, what are the steps in removing the perforated drum?

3) What should I expect to see once I've done that?

4) What should I know about re-assembly?

5) If all else fails, might this machine find a good home out there in laundry restoration land? Having found you folks and noted your interest, it would bother me not to do that.

6) How can I determine age, sub-model variation and other details of my A208's provenance?

Thanks a million!
-- Jeff

 

[maytagbear]

Welcome, and someone will know!

None of us knows everything about every appliance, but each of us knows something.

It would be very helpful if you could provide the serial number. When I had an A 208, the information was on a metal tag in the tub opening, to the upper right.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[halfnium]

Serial Number= 344388 ZU

Thanks, Lawrence/Maytagbear. Wow, another late-nighter like me!

Yes, the model / serial number tag is right where you said. That's the only way this layman knew it was a Maytag A208 from Newton, Iowa. The serial number is 344388 ZU. (I note this same "ZU" on a sticker affixed to the casing of the machine's motor.) If it's any help, also on the model / serial number tag is the legend "Listed 745G". Finally, I note that the area of the tag denoted "SERIES" is blank.

 

[wmlask]

A208

I restored/rebuilt my A208 a few years ago. Inside the control panel I found a date stamp of 1977. If there is a set screw on the agitator it would be a small stainless steel hex headed affair. If I remember correctly it is 1/4". The agitator should just pull off of its shaft. To remove the inner tub you need a special spanner wrench and must loosen a set screw in the collar of the fastner before its removal. If the motor hums tilt the machine back, after unplugging it!, and see if you can move the belts or pulleys by hand in both directions. If they all move in both directions you may have ruined the motor. The motor has 4 sets of windings to run high and low speed in both directions. Even though the motor may run to spin the reverse direction windings could be damaged. Also check the belt for damage. I'm sure that is what you smelled burning. Best of luck to you. The A208 is a great machine. I'm not an expert...anyone else want to comment?
Bill

 

[fixerman]

I agree somewhat with wmlask. Is the humm the motor running or is it just humming and not turning? Probably took out a belt when it jammed. As wmlask said check the pulleys.

Not to nitpick but if it is a 2 speed motor it has 3 wingings Start, Low and High. If a 1 speed it has 2 windings start and Run. The reversing is done inside the timer. The start winding controls which direction the motor turns. Signal from timer reverses polarity to the start winding.

You should be looking at the belts and pulleys first before digging into it further. The agitator does not have the set screw. It is likely just stuck on the splines. A very common problem with the Maytags. Maytag agitator should be removed and lubed with petroleum jelly every so often. Try fillin the tub with very hot water then try removing it. If it doesn't come off then, you will have to usen more drastic measures. You may not have to remove the agitator if the problem is just the belts or something else jammed. Another possibility is the motor rollers are stuck or worn so the motor can't tension the belts correctly.

Good luck

 

[peterh770]

1) Turquoise Maytag agitators don't have a set screw. The pop off with straight up force. If there was a set screw, it would be on the side of the barrel near where it meets the skirt between the big fins. You can look, but I'm 99% sure it won't be there. They didn't introduce a set screw until they changed to the orbital transmission and the Power Fin 12 agitator. The turquoise agitator is just a plain Power Fin agitator. Don't worry about breaking the agitator. You can easily get a used replacement from a local used appliance dealer.

2) Under the agitator is a spanner nut. On Maytags, this nut is "righty loosey", the opposite of the rest of the world and the opposite of the way this machine spins. If you have a big (HUGH) channel lock wrench, you might be able to get it off. Once off, lift the tub out.

3) You will see a dark blue porcelain outer tub, the center tub support, tub boot and agitator shaft, and the drain outlet.

4) Just reverse your steps to reassemble. Remember that the spanner nut now is "lefty tighty".

5) These washers are a dime a dozen, so I will say "no". However, they are a simple machine to fix and parts are readily available, so keep at it to diagnose what is wrong.

6) Call Maytag with the model and serial numbers. They will tell you exactly how old the machine is.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
Motor just hums during agitation: could be something wrong with the motor. Remove the front. Carefully tip the machine back and remove the belts from the bottom of the washer. Start washer to see if motor runs when it should be agitating without a load on it. This may take some creative doing since the washer will only run in agitate when the water level is satisfied. With the belts removed, there will be no way to easily drain the washer, so go to the next paragraph...

With the machine tipped back and secure, and the belts off, can you easily turn the pump pulley in both directions? A 1-way jam in the the pump could cause the motor not to run. If the pump only turns in one direction, replace it.

With the machine tipped back and secure (or laying down), turn the drive pulley in one direction and see what happens in the cabinet or have an assistant watch inside the tub. Depending on your orientation, turning the drive pulley in one direction will release the clutch and the transmission and tub will turn in the spin direction. Turning the pulley in the opposite direction will cause the transmission to lock in place and the agitator should start oscillating. If you are able to do these, there is nothing wrong with your transmission, clutch or drive assembly.

Good luck!

 

[goatfarmer]

I would tend to agree with the others. Check the belts first,it probably burned up the main drive belt.Replace them as a set,both drive and pump belt. Also,as the others have said,the agitator pulls straight up,no setscrew.There is a tool called an "agitamer",that works well with stuck agitators.It uses water pressure to force the agitator off the splines.Perhaps an appliance repair shop would loan you one to use.

kennyGF

 

[fixerman]

The agitamers don't seem to work very well on bottom splined agitators. I used one once on a Maytag and all it did was curl up the agitator and then the agitamer broke. $50 bucks down the drain. The plastic is too flexible.

 

[repair-man]

set-screw

An A208 would definately not have a set-screw. However, the set-screw was used on turquoise agitators. Starting with the "12" series (about 1984).

I would have to agree with the good advice the others gave- check the belts first. While you have the machine tipped back to look at the belts see if you can turn the drive pulley by hand. See if it can be turned counter-clockwise (agitate) without much resistance.

 

[partscounterman]

The 08 series was built from 1976 til 1980. These are the last of the "center dial" Maytags. The 10 series that followed had the dial on the side, with ugly phony woodgrain and ivory colored buttons.

Sounds like a burnt up belt to me-should be an easy fix

Have your daughter review the instruction manual "Load clothes loosely to the top row of holes in the basket..." Make her write this 100x, then keep her away from the washer (just kidding!)

 

[halfnium]

Belts Are OK, Sorry to Say

Folks,

Thanks for all of your concern and advice! I have not been able to return to this project before this evening (Friday).

Both of my A208's belts are intact. I am able to turn both the pump and the drum pulleys via the belts. I guess that implies that the motor's agitation windings are burned out. (Recall from my first message that spinning works fine.)

In any case, The Mrs. has become Awfully Impatient with (a) the disassembled A208 that has become a piece of sculpture in our family room and (b) our begging washloads from one of our neighbors. It's actually worse than that: It's become MY job to drive the dirty clothes over to our neighbor and the wet, clean clothes back home.

The Mrs. and I visited Sears tonight. We came very close to buying a Kenmore 26422 washer. Sears would deliver the Kenmore and cart away the A208. That breaks my heart, but what can I do?

Time is of the essence. If I act tomorrow (Saturday, 7/30/05), I can get a double-dip discount at Sears.

So I must regretfully ask if any of you restorers would like to take a crack at my A208. In the interest of not further screwing up the machine prior to someone restoring it, I'd prefer not to look for a date label inside the control panel. However, if some particular date would be of interest and so encourage restoration, I'd have a look and report back to this discussion thread.

PLEASE ADVISE YOUR INTEREST AND WHETHER YOU'D LIKE ME TO LOOK FOR A MANUFACTURING DATE AND/OR POST SOME PIX OF THE MACHINE. I'll be home all weekend if you're local and would like to take a look. Contact me via this thread or 978-448-6449.

I don't expect to share my roof with the A208 for more than a week from tonight.

Sigh.......

-- Jeff

 

[gyrafoam]

How unfortunate for you. You will not be able to replace the quality level of that old 208 at ANY price. Considering how easy it is to work on a Maytag, why not just replace the worn parts? Hell, replace the motor if you need to-----it sits by itself right up front and is so simple to disconnect and reconnect. Hope you will be able to keep it. Best wishes.

 

[mayken4now]

Jeff - Stay away from Sears!

Of course they are offering double days etc. The big box stores will not hold true to thier word when it come to appliances! Go to a private dealer or I warn you, GO AND PICK IT UP AT THE WAREHOUSE YOURSELF AND INSTALL IT YOURSELF!!!!! CHECK FOR DENTS AND SCRATCHES BEFORE LEAVING THE WAREHOUSE!!!!

Just a word of advise from Pensacola Florida.

I wish I were near you, the A208 would be mine!

Good luck - Steve