Restoration: The 1974 Frigidaire Imperial

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From down under...

It looks like water's gotten down here. And, in GM's infinite wisdom from car assembly lines, look what holds the whole mechanism to the tub--speed nuts!

6-7-2009-17-44-10--roto204.jpg
 
Let's see...

Removing all the speed-nuts and such won't allow the mechanism to budge. After much hammer-striking, it's still not going anywhere.

The rust in the sump has so compressed the seal in the bottom that it's wrapped up-and-over the plastic of the mechanism mount. Who made this, Kenmore? ;-)

I cut away the seal and ring of rust, to discover that the rust is a smidge worse than I'd thought. The white speck in the middle of the rusted area is daylight:

6-7-2009-17-51-0--roto204.jpg
 
So now...

I've transitioned into Phase II of the restoration process, which is to:

- drink beer
- contemplate how much I love porcelainized appliances
- contemplate how the hell I'm going to get this thing loose

...which is pretty much where it's at. I'm loathe to stick PB Blaster in there, because I've had Bakelite items split in the past wherever it's contacted the plastic, and that would suck hugely. But I don't want to bludgeon it to death with a hammer (okay, actually I do, at this point), and risk breaking it.

I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have--maybe heat the mechanism mount?

This Plastisol thing is for the birds :-)

Thanks for all your help in advance, and I'll look forward to keeping you posted when the restoration enters Phase III--the "actually do something now" phase :-)

Pete, does this help you with your parts breakdown at all?

Nate
 
Arrgh!

I heartily concur about Plastisol. I've had a couple of '70s-era G.E. dishwashers with that damn Perma-Tuf interior. Nothing but trouble. One little breach in the coating, or one little place where water worked its way into the edge between Plastisol and the metal underneath, and it was all downhill from there.

Appliance parts stores used to sell "repair kits" for those liners; the kits were basically a two-part epoxy tinted green or blue, depending on the colour of your dishwasher's liner. They never quite matched the colour, and never provided a smooth-looking repair. You ended up with this scrofulous-looking spot, and the rust started up again very soon after the so-called "fix."
 
great pics and info!

love the pics and info on your restoration. sorry to see you are having such tub issues. wonder why some deteriorate and others don't? my machine is from the 60's and the tub is fine. but my impeller hub is stuck like hell!

surely there is something you can put on that pastisol to repair it. someone here will know!

as far as the pump goes, yes it helps me tremendously! i don't have the bellows on mine but the pump is the same.

after you take off the stainless impeller blade how did you get the hub off, that's what is stuck on mine!

and once that hub is off and the drain impeller strainer off and the drain impeller exposed, mine will be metal, your's looks plastic. which means mine will be frozen to the motor shaft. i will prob have to cut it off with a dremel. you are lucky in that aspect.

the new drain impeller seal kit i bought while in parma at modern parts is also metal! bummer! i was hponing for a plastic drain impeller as a replacement. metal to metal is not good on a dishwasher shaft!

i did find a impeller hub on the web at a parts place and will order it tomorrow in case i have to cut the hub off mine to get it out of there. they are 16 bucks fyi.

your pics help me quite abit, again my main question, why did your hub remove so easily and mine is stuck tight, other than my machine is from around 1966 and i believe you said your's was 1974? that would explain your wash implerer being plastic, they got smart!

as far as the pump sump being stuck to your tub, that baffles me. mine lifted right out! it's only held in by a rubber gasket?

thanks for the tip on the pb blaster too, i have been using it like water lately! i will be more conservative!

good luck with it, keep me posted! i am very interested in how you repair that tub and how you get the pump out.
 
another question please!

i forgot, the impeller "hub" sets on top of the drain impeller but what keeps water from seeping between it and the drain impeller and running down the motor shaft inside the seal!??

my frigidaire repair manual is not very precise but it does mention an o ring between the drain impeller and hub. somehow
there has to be a waterproof seal between these two parts.

i know the top screw that holds the stainless impeller blade on has a small gasket to keep water from seeping down onto the shaft at the top. it's kinda like a flat o ring of sorts.

but you didn't mention any type of seal between the thub and drain impeller so i thought i'd ask.

thanks
 
I have..

I have that same dishwasher!!! Love it. And it heats the water very fast.Top rack is a little strange though. Isn't there a soft-food disposer in it?.....Bill in Az....
 
not in the 2

dishmobiles i have. no soft food disposer at all! it isn't mentioned in my repair manual either but maybe they added it to later models.
 
i found some interesting info

in my parts manuals i dug up for frigidaire. this pertains to model numbers.

i have a dwcdtr and a dwcdmr.

frigidaire said the dw refered to dishwasher (obviously) and the cd would be custom deluxe. i would be imperial, ci would be custom imperial etc.

m is for mobile
u is for undercounter
t is for top loader
sd is for standard door kit
fk is for framing kit

and the last letter refers to the year it was made. they list l n p r and t.

they said p was 1969 and t was 1972

so dwcdtr would mean custom deluxe, top loader r series. if p is 1969 and t is 1972 i am guessing r is 1970 or 1971.

dwcdmr would mean custom deluxe mobile (front loader i would guess) of the same period, circa 1971.

don't know if this helps anyone but i thought it was intersting trivia out of the frigidaire service tech manual.
 
Hey Pete

Everything--the drain impeller, shims, hub--rides free on the motor shaft. The only things affixed are the wash impeller at the top and the seal at the bottom. The wash impeller basically tightens down and sandwiches it all together.

That hub underneath the wash impeller should just slide out--mine did, even with rust on the motor shaft :-
 
i'm working on a

puller today to get that hub off. mine is def stuck. did find a replacement if i happen to break this one. my new seal kit comes with all the shims and even the o ring to seal between drain impeller and hub. now, thanks to your info and pics and some info i found in my repair manuals for frigidaire i know what to do! should be an easy fix

het did find a new pump plate (lower pump housing) on e bay last nite for 30 bucks. did not buy it yet but might if no one else wants it.

also found seal kits for d&m machines for about 6 bucks! including shipping. i have 3 d&m machines so i bought 3 of em!
e bay is great for parts!

good luck

oh yea, just bought a frigidaire 1-18 washer off craigs list for 30 bucks! pick it up tonite!
 
GM's infinite wisdom from car assembly lines

Oh gawd, the bain of my existence - speed nuts! Run for the hills! ;-)

Seriously though, Nate, I doubt there is enough booze on the face of the earth to justify working on this dishwasher - hehe

Ben
 
got the hub off okay

and everything else. cleaned up motor, it runs good! about to start putting it all back together.

i have a bit of rust around the perimeter of my sump also, want to coat it with some type of paint before putting pump plate back in. any suggestions?

thanks
 
when it comes to my dishwashers

i always find a way to "tame" them! with a little help from my friends as Ringo used to sing!
 

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