Repairing a Maytag A608

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>> Sadly, the verdict is, it has reached the end of the road. Transmission is bad.

It is admittedly a fair amount of parts and labor to replace the transmission. But it is far less labor, and far cheaper, to simply transplant the entire transmission & tub assembly from a donor washer, especially as you can do so from any number of 1980s Maytags. Is your service person willing to do this procedure?
 
Something is fishy here......

A seized transmission (it's actually the agitator shaft in the upper housing, not the transmission itself) in these machines will not agitate but WILL spin. Conversely, a seized tub (due to jamming, seized tub bearing, stuck brake package, ect) will not spin but WILL agitate. Basically, it should be something. If the machine does nothing, it's a timer/motor/lid switch/wiring or electrical problem.

I'd be leery about taking advice from a repair person, especially if they're under 50, as most aren't well versed on these older machines and it's easy to misdiagnose the problem or just claim "Yeah, it's dead" when they come up empty handed, take your money, and move on to next victim......err....customer.

Lets confirm the transmission:

Grab a 4X4 piece of wood (or something solid and similar in size), tilt the front of the machine back and stick it under the right front foot.

Locate the center pulley. Slip the belt off of the pulley if it's still in place (looks like you removed the belt in your earlier posting).

Grab the center pulley and turn it COUNTER-clockwise.

Report back if the pulley is easy to turn, difficult to turn, or is seized up.
 
Bad transmission?

Yes Glen and Dan, you are likely correct this is not a bad transmission but a bad tub bearing if the description of the problem is accurate. The repair guy that came out only knew enough to know that it was a serious problem and he didn’t want to fool with it.

The real question is it would cost $300 to $400 to tear one of these machines apart in the field and put a tub bearing and/or transmission in it there aren’t many people that want to spend that much on an older washer.

A few weeks ago I had to replace an orbital transmission in a 20-year-old Maytag washer, the agitator shaft had become pitted and rusted and the top shaft of the transmission seized. By the time we put in a good used transmission new center seal and bearing assembly it cost the customer over $300, it also had issues with rust around the top lip of the outer tub that we had to go back on and correct a leak.

It’s all fine and good if somebody wants to take the time and effort to fix one of these machines them self, but it’s unrealistic to expect repair people to come out and repair Machines of this age at a reasonable cost whether its a WP or MT etc.

John
 
it’s unrealistic to expect repair people

I don't see the big deal with replacing a Maytag tub bearing. It is/was a common repair that was well documented in Maytag service manuals for years when the machines were still in production.

It is covered at length on this site and youtube videos and parts are easily available
Yes, there maybe tub rust issues to deal with but that will be apparent as soon as the tub cover is removed.

Biggest challenge, as mentioned, would be finding a repair tech willing to take on a job which honestly isn't that difficult.
 
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