Stubborn Maytag 142

[gansky1]

Don S.(jetaction) is in Omaha this weekend to work on his Maytag 142 washer. He brought an A702 along to take the tub to use in this machine. We had no trouble getting the agitator, tub nut and tub out of the 702...but the 142 was a bit more difficult to tear down. We had to cut every single part out with a Dremel...take a look.

Here is the panel of the 142, he has another panel from a 142 S that is in better shape and will have the suds-saver option.

 

[appnut]

Very NICE!!!!

 

[gansky1]

We had to break the agitator into small pieces to get to the spline which then took another hour of oiling, banging and coaxing to finally end up cutting out with a Dremel.

 

[gansky1]

While we were disassembling the A702 for it's tubs and other parts, I kept thinking that it showed signs of oil in the washtub. Since this is rather rare for a Maytag, they usually drip oil from the bottom of the machine) I didn't want to believe it. My suspicions were correct when we found this hole in the agitator skirt. This hole would have breached the air-bubble usually formed under the agitator that protects the shaft and seals from getting wet. Water seeped into the transmission, forcing oil back into the washtub. It looks as though a nail or screw might have pierced the agitator (and scraped the tub - see earlier tub pic) which prevented the air bubble from forming each time it was used. We repaired the hole and a slight crack in this part with JB Weld, but eventually Don will need to find another Filter-Gyratator to replace it.

 

[gansky1]

I highly recommend, if you don't already own one, in buying a Dremel power tool. It came in very handy tonight for every piece of this washer. Without it, we'd still be outside banging away on that spline.

 

[gansky1]

Here is the tub mounting stem in pieces. The set-screw was so corroded and frozen, after breaking 3 allen wrenches, we grabbed the dremel and went at it. It took 5 cutting blades to get through all these parts, but it went so much faster and easier it was worth every one of them!

BTW, did anyone notice the hole pattern of the basket on the previous pics?

 

[Unimatic1140]

Looks like you guys have your work cut out (pardon the pun) for you this weekend. My very first Maytag was a 142B from 1958. All it needed was a fresh set of belts.

The hole pattern is strange, what's up with that?

Great pictures you guys!

 

[swestoyz]

Hey guys - that looks like fun, and a lot of work too! Dremels are great little tools - I wouldn't have thought to use it to remove parts, but a great idea! Looking forward to seeing the finished product ~

Ben

 

[westytoploader]

YAY for fix-ins

Don & Greg, looks like y'all are off to a great start! Can't wait to see more progress and see it run again!!

What was the problem with this particular machine? That old tub does look like it has seen better days, IMHO...glad you have a new one to replace it with! How strange that the agitator and other parts wouldn't budge. I'm beginning to think a Dremel is a must-have for every collector--when I bought mine I didn't think I would ever use it, which is hardly the case now...sure did come in handy when I sanded the rust spots on the Rustinghouse!! That perforation pattern in the original tub is indeed strange; have you seen other machines with it?

And I wouldn't worry about the broken Gyratator; a nice, new, sparkling white LoadSensor or PowerFlex will look just great in that machine! ;-)

*Ducks and runs*

--Austin

 

[spinout]

Love the use of those factory authorized service tools and procedures! Wanna borrow my plasma cutter?

 

[panthera]

taking a wild guess

I wonder if the pattern didn't arise because in (slightly) earlier models, the "missing holes" would have been "left" so bigger holes for the mounting bolts could have gone there.
Missing holes? Left? Way too early for me.
I think they just used the same punch or die which punched those holes in the older tubs and couldn't add any new punches to take out the space which had previously been left for the bigger mounting holes.
Ok, that was even more confusing.
Back to lurking -

 

[gansky1]

Austin - you're going to have to back to your rug if you don't behave ;-) Load sensor...as if!

I think you guys might be right about the hole-patterns, it does sort of smell like an AMP pattern.

 

[tomturbomatic]

The wear on that white tub shows what really happens in a Maytag with the high fin agitator when loaded to capacity and maybe a bit more. The clothes just move back and forth and the line worn through the white coat of porcelain corresponds to the region of the fins. The blue tubs hardly ever show that kind of wear under rough conditions, even in the coin-op machines so the blue porcelain must be more durable and maybe the white coat does not bond quite as well to the blue. This dragging action is the legacy of the 4 pronged dolly in the lid of the first wooden machines. While Maytag did not want customers to see that there was little turnover in the automatics, prefering them to visualize that what they remembered seeing in their Maytag wringer was happening inside their Maytag automatic, they pushed that bunch of hooey that it was more important to move the water through the clothes than the clothes through the water. You need both and Maytag had a different song to sing when they came out with the Neptune.

A couple of other things about the tubs in the machines with the high fin agitators is that the holes are smaller and do not go down as far as the holes in the tubs of the 06 series so there is a large solid area from the last row of holes in the tub wall to the ring of holes at the bottom. The solid area concentrates powerful water currents because they cannot be forced out of the holes opposite the fins like in the newer tubs which have larger holes anyway. This was especially noticeable when I put a black power fin in the tub of my timed-fill Highlander. The water currents, both with and without laundry, are much stronger in the older tub than in the tub of the 806.

 

[panthera]

oh, tom

gosh - that just makes so much sense. i really never have understood maytag design, even if i like their quality. thanks - your explanation makes more sense than mine does.
keven

 

[jetcone]

gAWD I hate jobs like that one

I once tried to get a tub out of a 1-18 that was frozen like that. After days I rigged a winch up on the ceiling and grabbed the spin shaft hoisted it up so the whole washer was suspended in air , then whacked the shaft until nothing happend then! So I unbolted the tub from the hub and cut the hub off with my trusty Dremel!
Greg have you ever tried a Roto Zip?? Its like A dremel on steroids!!

 

[christfr]

yeah

been through that mess before those damn tags..love my little dremel its awesome and comes in so handy..sometimes its the only way and what a way to go...

 

[tomturbomatic]

Keven, You were explaining missing holes at the top of the tub and I was talking about missing holes at the bottom. Gosh, that sounds worse than it really is, but it has nothing to do with Little Miss Sunbeam.

 

[panthera]

missing holes

Ok, Tom, now that is just plain silly. How empty and void is our life become when we needs must search for the lack of that which is not there?
))
One thing Maytag (pre-Whirlpool) and Miele have in common is that both companies use(d) good designs forever. It is hard to believe, but so much of the design and actual parts on my 2000 Miele are identical to the 1979.
What works, works. German companies only keep parts in stock for 20 years. After that you are screwed. This means you just need to know the name of a machine a bit later in the series than you have to get the part you need. Most parts outfitters will play along, except the Vorwerk people.

 

[tolivac]

On major equipment-not stocking parts for older units is VERY wasteful-At where I work we have a 20 Year old German SW transmitter-and yes the agency bought up the last of the parts available--this is major equipment-such a peice cost almost $1.5 million each.it would be better for the consumer-the company and the enviornment if they would stock the parts for the older machines-the Germans do build much of their equipment to last 20 yrs or better.they should be willing to support it.i don't think it matters wether it be a washing machine or that SW transmitter.

 

[panthera]

right you are

Rex,
You are right. Unfortunately, we have the same problem here in Germany - two generations later - that the US has. The companies are run by "junge, dynamische Manager" who have one philosphy: screw the shareholders, screw the customers. Make a short term profit and raise your salary; when the company goes belly-up pull the rip-cord on your golden parachute and that was that.
For many years now, the big companies have been freed of their tax-debts here. They have been granted every exception and financial support they wanted as a response to the thinly-veiled threat this would save jobs, i.e., they would otherwise export their production to China.
Well, the quality - Germany's only selling point against the competition - is falling, jobs are disappearing anyway and the companies could care less. I still have a few acquaintances in the white goods repair business - they have upped their inventories enormously, 'cause that is the only way to keep their customers or gain new ones when the manufacturer tells them a perfectly good product has to be thrown away because a fifty-cent part isn't deliverable.
We never learn.