Sears Kenmore Belt-drive Transmission Rebuild

[jons1077]

Today I started to tackle my first belt-drive transmission rebuild. This is the transmission that came out of the ‘75 Lady Kenmore I got a few years ago. I had to swap out the gearcase because it was not fully engaging into agitation. I assumed it was a weak spring but turns out that wasn’t the case. I purchased new agitator shaft and discovered the issue. Somehow the rod that fits into the drive gear had rotated out of position and could not fully engage. Still good to replace the spring anyways. Got it all cleaned up. One little part stumps me though. A small dime-sized metal disc fell out of somewhere and I can’t tell where it’s supposed to go. It looks like it might be a spacer or some kind of bearing?

 

[DADoES]

 
The disk goes under the agitator shaft, into the hole in the transmission base into which the shaft fits.

 

[jons1077]

Thank you!

That was my hunch but I wanted to be sure before I dropped it down there!

 

[combo52]

Metal Disk

Hi Jon, there also is a 1/4" steel ball that goes under the steel disk, if either one of these pieces are left out the washer will not spin.

 

John L.

 

[jons1077]

Thank you!

Ball bearing is there! Appreciate it!

 

[maytag85]

Ironically, I happened to rebuild the transmission out of my ‘63 Whirlpool back around this time 2 years ago. Surprisingly, it was the first transmission rebuild I ever did and was quite easy. There’s another Whirlpool transmission I plan on rebuilding but plan on packing that one with corn head grease for experimental purposes.

 

[jons1077]

All back together

Did a little more scraping around the edges with a razor blade to make sure all the old gasket was removed and a smooth surface left for the new one. 16 ounces of 90w GL-1 gear oil goes in. I smeared oil on the gasket as well to help seal the deal. Minor spillage but that’s not surprising. Should be ready for service now!

 

[114jwh]

Wow what great job Jon! I'd be interested to hear if there is any comparison on these WP transmissions between that 90W gear oil that Ben discovered in his recent thread vs the 60W that WP sells. The WP oil was ridiculously expensive if I remember correctly so this is a great alternative.

I remember when I disassembled the transmission on my belt drive to replace the spring many years ago. Getting the transmission back together was pretty straightforward but I had an awful time getting that agitate cam bar back into place. If I remember correctly, the whole thing almost went flying several times until I figured out a workaround using a bungee cord spring and enlisting a helper. I guess I'm older and wiser now so maybe it was just inexperience at the time for me but hope it goes smooth for you!

Once again great job and thanks for sharing

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Old agitator shaft and the agitate cam bar

Hi John and James,

If there is an easy trick to putting the agitate cam bar back into its slot, I don’t know what it is, but my work around was to get the gearcase done to the point of John’s last photo, then take it and a couple others over to my Dad. Together I would put my feet on either side of the gearcase to hold it down, while I pulled up on the new shaft. This pulls up the gear fork shaft enough to let someone else (my dad) to insert the cam bar. Not a fun procedure for sure but probably amusing for a third party to watch. Just be sure to lubricate the cam bar and it’s channels before starting.

About the old agitator shaft, are the splines rusted at all? If not it can be reused like a brand new one for 1978 and newer applications with the shorter center post.

I enjoyed reading this post John, thanks!

Gordon

 

[qsd-dan]

Sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for oil performance ratings...