Stuck Agitator on A207

[gatsby]

I am in the process of replacing bearing and seal, but CANNOT lift off the agitator. I've checked for a screw to release it, but my model has none that i can see. My husband and i are both lifting and twisting it simultaneously and it won't budge! Help!

 

[pierreandreply4]

have you tried letting the agitator soak in hot water for a bit and pretty sure the Maytag expert on the forum will help as well

 

[gatsby]

I forgot to say the A207 is a Maytag

 

[bendixmark]

agitator removal

Have the machine agitate with a full tub of very hot water that usually works.

 

[hippiedoll]

I'm not an expert but...

Somebody did share a tip with me, about removing a stuck on agitator...

I had tried the, stuffing towels down in the agitator barrel & pouring boiling water on them (didn't work for me).

I ended up getting an email from a member here who said to take a hairdryer and set it on the highest heat setting. Then turn the blow dryer on and put it down into the agitator barrel and let it sit there blowing & heating the barrel up, for about 5-10 minutes, then take the blow dryer out and grab the agitator by the bottom skirt and give it a few tugs, it should pop up & off.
My blow dryer actually overheated and turned itself off at around the 4 minute mark which was good enough because the agitator did come out.

And believe me, before the blow dryer tip, we tried everything we could think of and the agitator wouldn't budge.
I can't remember if that was on the Harvest Gold or Coppertone 806 now?

Keep us posted and let us know how this works for you.
)

 

[gatsby]

Holy moly, Hippiedoll! Thank you!! I will try and report back. Ive been scrolling through threads on this forum and freaking out at the stories and worrying this agitator could cause me another gut ulcer!!

 

[lowefficiency]

They can be on there pretty tight. Even with the hot water soak and additional boiling water, we had to make a puller to get ours off:
https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?76329

 

[good-shepherd]

If that turns into a nightmare (which they sometimes do) here is a really nice standard capacity matching set near me in like new condition and at a bargain price no less.

https://cnj.craigslist.org/app/d/warren-maytag-washer/6783339146.html

I guess seized agitators is one of the reasons Maytag eliminated the stop ring and went to a set screw on later series washers.

 

[yogitunes]

OK....here goes....

pull the filter out.....

using two ratchet tie downs, and you sort of do a criss cross, some run it under the 2 blades of the agitator, other times down through the barrel, and through the slots and back up....

across the top of the machine.....lay down to folded towels on each side....and a 2x4 across the opening.....

now, run the ratchets, again, criss cross if possible....over top of the 2x4....

ratchet snug, with a bit of tension.....sometimes when pulled tight enough, the agitator will pop off, other times, allow the machine to fill half way with hot water with some tension....

make sure hot is hot, like 140 or more....not bath water hot.....if you have to, boil 2 or 3 large pots of water on the stove and pour in there....

rarely will one never pop off at this point....

 

[gatsby]

Frozen Tub Nut

Yay, the hairdryer trick worked to get the agitator off. Now the tub nut...is permanently stuck. Hubby is liberally spraying his trusty Break Free everywhere. You folks are amazing with helpful tips; don't fail me now

I have a separate concern/question. A discoloration on the inside wall of the washer frame i thought was rust, but it's sticky like oil. Do i have another problem of it spraying oil? See picture.

 

[eurekastar]

Destroy!

I tried the hot water method and the hairdryer method (thanks HippieDoll!) and they didn't work.  A member suggested using a slide hammer, which I tried.  It didn't work.  After a month of frustration, I ended up putting a cutting blade on my angle grinder and destroyed it.  It came off then!  LOL!

 

[lowefficiency]

>> You folks are amazing with helpful tips; don't fail me now

I have just one: Wear hearing protection when you're down in the tub hammering away on the tub nut tool!

 

[good-shepherd]

Do i have another problem of it spraying oil?

Minor oil slinging, nothing to worry about now, just clean it up with some degreaser. When the trans starts leaking big time from the lower oil seal then you may have to do something.

As for the tub nut that can be split off with a cold chisel, a new nut is included in the stem seal kit.
However, you still need a tub wrench tool;

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supco-TB12...VXUXV7:sc:USPSPriority!07950!US!-1:rk:22:pf:0

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?22830

 

[pdub]

Tub Nut Removal

This tub nut and the stem are REVERSE threaded. Righty loosey, lefty tighty!

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?25520

 

[goatfarmer]

Cold chisel never fails on a tub nut.....

 

[combo52]

Stuck MT Agitators

Boiling water first, then a heat gun [ it gets much hotter than boiling water ], then a puller if you want or just break the thing off [ there are still plenty of replacement agitators out there ] The basket lock rings we always just break off with a cold chisel [ a new one comes with the mounting stem kit, We have done this job hundreds of times.

 

The reason these agitators get so stuck is mineral build up from using too little [ or cheap ] detergents, look at the mess under the agitator in replay #10.

 

If your lint filter has a mineral build-up you are abusing the washer and you have much less than ideally cleaned clothing coming out of your washer.

 

John L.

 

[gatsby]

Bearing Sleeve Delemma

First of all, thanks to each of you that have responded; I've read each one. The links some of you provided are extremely helpful. pdub, I've been following the steps in the link you provided. Very detailed - perfect for a greenhorn like me.

The tub nut was not budging and yep, I had noise protectors on my ears with all that hammering going on! Somewhere online, I saw the idea of drilling 3 small holes in a vertical line on the tub nut and then tapping the weakened area with a chisel. We tried that and it broke away perfectly.

I'm curious, I expected a mess under the outer tub since I'm dealing with a leak. Doesn't this look too "healthy" for a leak?

Now I'm looking at the bearing kit I received from GenuineReplacementParts.com and it appears I'm missing the bearing sleeve, correct? Grrrrrrrr!

 

[gatsby]

Bearing Sleeve Found

Disregard my belief the bearing sleeve was missing; it was there all along - inside the bearing - of course!!!

 

[combo52]

Stuck MT Agitators

Yay you got the agitator out and the machine apart, the big problem now is how well the agitator shaft cleans up, if it is too rusted and pitted below the agitator spline area it will tear up the new seal pretty quickly and the machine will leak again, you may need another transmission to make a lasting repair.

 

John L.

 

[gatsby]

Agitator Shaft

Here are pictures of different angles of the shaft. There was no crumbling rust. Verdict?

 

[good-shepherd]

There was no crumbling rust. Verdict?

Appears to be some rust pitting on the agitator shaft.

Could try cleaning it up with very fine sand paper followed by epoxy paint, but may not last as mentioned. (Scotch Brite pads are good for polishing up the trans case where the bearing sleeve rides).

At least the machine will be easy to disassemble next time... Put some vaseline or silicone grease on the agitator splines so it doesn't get stuck again. Also, a good idea to lube the damper pads while the tub is off, they're probably in rough shape as well.

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?54335

 

[combo52]

Rusted-Pitted MT Washer Agitator Shaft

The agitator shaft is too pitted to give you much life from the new seal and mounting stem kit.

 

Someone on this site experimented with filling the pitted area with some type of epoxy and sanding it smooth, I have never tried this but it looked like it might work, I have always just replaced the transmission with either a new one or good used one if you want the repair to last more than a year or so.

 

John L.

 

[gatsby]

Trash or treasure??

I've had the belief, and it seems others on this forum do too, that an older Maytag is a gem that should be preserved - within reason. Have I reached the point of crossing the line into unreasonable? If I replace the transmission, where do I get a new one? Online or from a local appliance place? How long would the new one last? How do I know the pump or motor won't go out in the near future? Perhaps I should buy a washboard and trot down to the creek!

As for "pitting"; correct me if I'm wrong. I thought that meant "rough and pocked". The clarity in my pictures is not good. The agitator shaft is actually very smooth! My husband has a lot of experience with working on gun metals and has every cleaning product you can think of. He is using Break Free and a mesh copper scouring pad on the shaft. If I truly have to replace the transmission, that might put my beloved washer in a graveyard. For myself, I'm willing to keep plugging away at this job, but it sure is putting a ton of stress in my home!

Thanks folks, y'all are the best.

 

[rp2813]

It's a Maytag, not a Norge

It sounds like your husband's work with gun metal qualifies him to properly assess the smoothness of the agitator shaft.  If he says it's smooth, I say ditch the idea of a new transmission.  As you stated, one has to draw the line somewhere (although the pump and motor are easy to replace -- but I doubt you'll ever have to).

 

You can always keep an eye out for a donor machine or transmission if at some point -- more than a year from now -- you even need to revisit this, and disassembly will be a cinch if it's necessary.

 

[lowefficiency]

I'm in your same position, and in MY opinion, what you have is treasure, not trash.

A little bit of balance for the discussion - many people here on the forum are collectors, and many people either own their own appliance repair businesses, work for one, or know someone who does, giving them a different perspective on parts availability. Or, they have the space and connections to acquire and salvage parts machines to assemble the best of the best into their own machines, but you have to play the lottery that the used machine you buy for parts is in better shape than what you have now. All of that is not always available to, or practical for, the rest of us.

New transmissions of this type have been NLA (no-longer available) for a very long time now. Replacement agitator shafts from Maytag (which used to come as a pre-made assembly with the top half of the transmission case and the small gear) have also been NLA for a very long time. Third-party (non-Maytag) substitute agitator shafts went into production when Maytag stopped, but those have ALSO been NLA for a long time. And there have been very few parts showing up on eBay or the like lately.

You can try asking around at your local Mom & Pop appliance repair shops, but every single one I've talked to said they have zero spares due to the age of the machines. It's worth a try, but don't be surprised if you come up empty.

I feel relatively confident saying all this, because I've been searching for months, and if these parts had been available, I would have bought them myself.

We have a transmission apart from an A308, that has an agitator shaft in much worse shape than yours. Our plan is to restore and use it - following the procedure of building it up with a small amount of JB-Weld to fill the pits, and then polishing it smooth to maximize the life of the seals. Other than possibly a shorter life on the $50 seal, I don't see what you have to loose by trying with what you have, and after taking the machine apart this far, you certainly seem plenty capable of the filling/smoothing job that others have done!

Good luck!

 

[hippiedoll]

ALRIIIIIGHT!!

I'm so glad the blow dryer tip worked for you!

Keeping my fingers crossed that you can keep your Maytag going strong!
)

 

[good-shepherd]

I'd give the JB weld, epoxy paint method a try if needed and see how it goes.

In the meantime keep an eye on Craigslist for a new used Maytag Dependable Care washer.

Personally, I would't put too much time or money into a standard capacity MOL machine.

 

[yogitunes]

you might be better off grabbing a whole other machine.....or in this case, a matched set....

this one has the long stroke pitman transmission......as for most replacements only come as the short stroke orbital drive...

just a thought at 200.00 for a pair....

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/app/d/nokesville-maytag-washer-dryer-heavy/6788546396.html

 

[yogitunes]

another nice set.....this one would have the orbital transmission....

but again, at 150.00 for the set.....

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/app/d/arlington-maytag-washer-dryer/6785608060.html

 

[good-shepherd]

just a thought at 200.00 for a pair....

Why do people leave the old POS supply hoses attached to flop around to chip and scratch what was an otherwise nice matching set..

Plus using the power cord as a rope wrapped around the agitator to hold up the lines and drain hose up. Two minutes with a channel lock pliers and a screw driver can get the whole mess removed and out of the way, Sheese..

And this guy mentions the old hoses as a selling point in the ad as if they were some valuable commodity.