Taking apart a 1964 Montgomery Wards/Norge Plus-Capacity Washer

[jetcone]

WOW WHAT a

ridiculously complex basket drive system! How many bolts does it take to hold a machine together??

Wonderful job Robert!, now I know what is inside my machine. So glad they protected the transmission case from sunlight!!!

They do wash well don't they! New jeans don't have a chance in these machines!

 

[rp2813]

So with such incontestably effective washing action, why were Norges and Warges always rated at the middle of the pack at best by CU?

Could noise and reliability have factored against them that much?

Maytag held CU's top spot for years during the center dial production run, yet they offered fewer options, far less capacity, and less aggressive wash action.

Could (lack of) noise and (proven) reliability have factored in their favor that much?

I would think that since many homes have their laundry pairs in the garage or basement, a washer's ability to clean clothes would have weighed heavier in the ratings criteria.

Perhaps the answer to CU's motivations lies in the fact that we see many more center dial Maytags showing up today that are still in fine working order, while the Norges and Warges are nearly non-existent. There is no question about which make was the better value over the very long term, and I suppose that's what CU is all about. Or at least they used to be.

After seeing the work that Robert had to do, I'm conjuring up a very haggard vision of what Norge's counterpart to the Maytag Man would have looked like.

Turnover of an entirely different sort with regard to Norge service personnel due to utter exhaustion.

 

[Unimatic1140]

I don't know, good question Ralph. To be honest that machine wasn't all that difficult to work on. Not once in this entire repair did I have to turn the machine over on its side to work on it. Had I realized that in the first place I would have not moved it out of line and into the workshop. All the bolts turned easily after some heating. The basket came out without much of a struggle, the outer tub was a cinch to remove and reinstall. If I wanted to pull the transmission out all I would have to do then is tip the machine on its side and remove the bottom pulley and the tranny would pull right up and out then. Whirlpool designed machines you have to turn over on their side to change the belt or pump or to pull the transmission, yet we see vintage WP/KM machines more often than we do Maytags and WP machines were rarely rated by CU above middle of the line. I can't speak for ease of serviceability of Maytags as the only major work I've done on those machines are the earlier AMP style. It would be interesting to see the internal documentation that CU used as they were testing these machines.