The Clamshell - washing again!

[swestoyz]

Hey gang,

Some may recall back in the fall of 2020 (wow, that feels like a lifetime ago) I was fortunate enough run across a minty 1961 WCIR-61 Frigidaire. While the washer showed signs of light use and little abuse, I pushed aside until I could give it the proper time and attention it deserved.

Fast forward to earlier this spring (and after a visit and some motivation from our webmaster!), it was time to open it up to see just how much it would take to get it running again.

Here's a shot of it, just off the delivery van:[this post was last edited: 5/4/2022-22:46]

Frigidaire Holy Grail - WCIR-61

Hi everyone - thought I'd share some photos of a recent save that was delivered earlier this week. I'm still pinching myself and cannot believe this actually happened! Last week a friend reached out about a guy who was looking for a new home for an old washer that was left behind in a house...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[swestoyz]

Popping the top off I was already surprised to see how pristine things were. All fasteners came loose with little effort and the items that are usually a rusty mess were perfectly persevered - check out that outer tub! No rot whatsoever on those mechanism support screws. It seems that nicotine and soap crud helped save this outer tub.

With this being a suds saver, you can see how the suds return hose interfaces with the fill flume.

 

[swestoyz]

With the mechanism removed from the machine I was in shock with how nice everything was. No signs of any water ever getting past the water bellows, no belt dust or oil anywhere.

Both the wash tub and outer tub cleaned up nicely. And check out the top of the wash tub, near the rubber cap for the balance ring fill. There's a factory chalk mark still in tact!

During the cleaning process I pulled the pump guard from the outer tub drain. No need to have water sit and rot away this pristine piece.

 

[swestoyz]

Another piece that is usually far gone on the '61 through '66 machines is the out of balance trip lever. Typically they are scaled with rust and the trip lever has rotted so badly that I often find the rubber protector in the bottom of the outer tub with little to no metal actually remaining on the trip side.

Not this one. After dressing it on the wire wheel it looked like new. A nice coat of POR-15 will preserve this for life. [this post was last edited: 5/4/2022-22:47]

 

[swestoyz]

Next up was rebuilding the water valve with new rubber diaphragm seats, stems, etc. I typically do this for almost all vintage washer restorations.

And, when the washer first got here it appeared that the water valve had been replaced with a generic blue valve, which we've all seen several times before. It can be tricky to replace water valves on a Frigidaire solid tub washer due to the special metering output the valve provides to fill within the specified increments. Generic valves often are what I like to call "wide open" and fill at a rate where the tub may overfill for several increments before going into wash.

While the blue valve was a surprise I wasn't worried as I had a few spare used valves for this machine. BUT, what floored me was what I saw after the blue valve was removed. It was actually stamped as a Frigidaire replacement valve with an 800xxxx number. How could this be?

It seems that after WCI bought Frigidaire and started producing Frigidaire washers using WCI platforms, they moved over most of the GM part numbers into their parts catalog, using the GM part numbers. EXCEPT for this one valve, which was used for some '58 washers, through '62. WCI replaced the 6563206 GM valve with the 8005498 valve. They are identical in every way and it doesn't really make much sense unless there was a supplier issue? Either way, a mystery indeed.

So, if any of you are in the hunt for a Frigidaire valve for a '58 - '62 washer, check the parts houses for both numbers, especially 5308005498. I spied one on eBay after making this discovery.

So, I took the nice beefy 10w solenoids from the used 1980's 8005498 valve and used them on an original/used 6563206, date coded May of 1962.

[this post was last edited: 5/4/2022-22:48]

 

[swestoyz]

Next up was inspecting the motor and mechanism.

Of all the dozens of machines I've torn apart over the years I've never run across a mechanism this pristine. All the original zinc plating still looked factory fresh. The ink stamp date code on the motor was still there (235 60 - August 22 1960). The belts still looked fresh and new. Not a drop of oil was to be found, anywhere, either on the mechanism or inside the cabinet. The mechanism seal still had a bounce to it, rather than being permanently deflated.

The original plan was to drain and replace the oil, throw a new set of belts on it, and replace the clutch pulley bearings. But, after a lot of thought I decided to clean it up with some mineral sprits and throw it back in the washer. The brake showed promising signs of not being seized during testing and after seeing the pulsator shaft I was confident water had not gotten in the mechanism. Even the cross member still had shiny black paint on it! Again, everything was persevered with nicotine and dust/lint.

The only downside to the overall machine condition was the suds system. Sadly almost every hose had dry rotted ends or splits, and the rubber baffles inside the diverter also were rotted out. So the decision was made to convert it over to a standard drain machine. Someday I may try to plumb it all back in with fresh rubber.

 

[swestoyz]

So, with the suds system wiring taken out of service, a non-suds drain elbow installed, outer tub and mechanism installed, it was time to button things up.

Some may recall a few NOS 1961/1962 Frigidaire caps that landed on eBay earlier this year. I ended up buying them knowing that out of the lot there should at least be one really nice one for this washer, and boy is it nice. It is paired with some Westward lint chaser/circulator rings and a black urethane pulsator from a 9956770 Jet Action agitator kit.

Sadly one of the red caps that were in place within the drain holes on the washer top cap were missing. A trip to Menards landed some rubber stoppers that fit perfect, both for the two drain holes (size 00, trimmed down), as well as the Suds Saver return hose fitting on the fill flume (size 000). A dab of The Right Stuff helped seal up the suds fitting along with the stopper.

The washer top cap was cleaned and had rust touched up with POR-15. I typically leave the rubber seal alone on these but there was enough rust that it required removing it for POR-15 and replacing it with some rubber window seal from Menards. And the blue vinyl protector was scrubbed down to remove any trace of rust or muck. [this post was last edited: 5/4/2022-22:33]

 

[swestoyz]

Next up was the first test of the mechanism! To do this I used a tool that is completely unnecessary but nice to have if you have the specific machine they were intended for. The Robinair electronic washer analyzer!

After the first few spins it was apparent that the upper mechanism bearing was DRY. Not roaring like it was packed with rust from a water leak by dry as if the lubrication wasn't flowing due to age and lack of use.

Normally the whole mechanism is torn apart to replace this bearing, and with the condition of things I really didn't want to tear it open all the way just to replace the darn bearing. I decided to see if it was possible to remove it from the top and attempt a non-sanctioned GM repair (I'm so sorry, Dr. Frigidaire). Low and behold - it worked!

After popping the mechanism support seal and the bearing retaining clip, I used a paint can opener and a light coat of oil to get the bearing rotating in the housing. After several attempts of twisting and pulling up - it came out! Woo hoo!

A replacement high quality, double sealed, all stainless SKF sealed bearing was installed - Grainger 36MC22/SKF 6006 2RS JEM.

https://www.grainger.com/product/SKF-Radial-Ball-Bearing-30-mm-36MC22[this post was last edited: 5/4/2022-22:50]

 

[swestoyz]

With the bearing replaced I had one last repair that was necessary. The indicator tape wasn't indexing with the selector switch on the control panel. Over time the glue that holds it together breaks loose, or a few others have also said they can disintegrate (think 1960 Custom Imperial washers/dryers).

Thankfully all this one needed was to be fastened back together. Sadly I didn't get a lot of pictures of this process, but the whole control panel is disassembled and rotated 180 degrees to access everything from the back side, while laying on the top of the washer. Some packaging tape and we were in business! This also was the perfect opportunity to clean up all bright work on the control panel and the panel lens.

The engineering to pull off this control panel is nothing short of amazing. A lot of tight clearances and wires packed in that small space. [this post was last edited: 5/4/2022-22:18]

 

[swestoyz]

At this point it was time to wheel the washer into the laundry room for testing.

Overall everything worked perfectly! Except... the pump was leaking from the seal.

Time to start digging through the parts stash!

 

[swestoyz]

Now, if you look at the various parts breakdowns of the Multimatic mechanism for the years of parts catalogs that are available on AE.org, it will start to make your head spin as to how many changes were made to this mechanism between 1959 and 1964. GM got most of the issues taken care of by '60 from the '59 disaster, and by '63 the mechanism was mostly bullet proof (with exception of the brake...).

The '59 mechanism used a pump that was similar to the Pulsamatic, which had a zinc diecast housing and impeller, that was replaced with a bakelite housing and different diecast impeller in 1960. By the 1962.5 and later pumps the housing sized was increased (and used then through on the Rollermatics) with an all rubber impeller.

So, not knowing exactly what would be inside the pump on this one I was expecting a bakelite housing and a rubber impeller.

Oh, so close! It still had the original diecast impeller for the bakelite housing installed with a locking washer for the screw. I couldn't believe it.

Thankfully I had run across a replacement impeller kit for this washer awhile back that converts it over to a rubber impeller (7521141) with the special shoulder bolt, under kit number 6590572.

With the pump housing removed and a lot of heat from a torch I was able to get the impeller off so the mechanical seal in the housing could be replaced (5431073).

Note that with this being a '59 thru early '62 mechanism, there are standoff mounts for the pump, rather than being cast into the bottom of the motor housing like the late '62 thru '64 mechanisms. This is why they want you to use the 12466 aligning tool to center the housing on the shaft, not necessarily centering the seal itself.

With the housing in place the impeller can be installed. I like to take a q-tip with a tab of Permatex anti-seize and coat the inside of the impeller so it doesn't get stuck on the motor shaft. A reconditioned bronze seat was installed in the impeller with a new gasket and The Right Stuff.

The 14220 impeller holder makes tightening the impeller bolt a breeze. And the housing gasket gets a coat of The Right Stuff on the housing side in case it needs to be removed in the future.

New hoses were found at Advance Auto Parts, to replace the outer tub to pump hose and the S hose from the pump to drain elbow. If I can find the Gates part number for those I'll post them later. [this post was last edited: 5/4/2022-22:40]

 

[swestoyz]

Ok, finally the last test was to make sure the pump repair was leak free.

While checking for leaks, with a test light in place on the inspection panel we can see the replacement Grainger/Dayton 2MER8 250v 88-108 MFD motor start capacitor that fits nicely in the original capacitor holder. You'll want to source a new cover (1-13/16) for the replacement capacitor as the diameter size is larger than the original 120v Delco unit.

We also see the time delay relay and resistor for the high spin solenoid.

So, is the repair leak free! Yes! Is the outer tub cap leak free? No! It look a few rounds to get it to stop leaking but eventually I got it. Here we also can see the forbidden fill in action with the top off![this post was last edited: 5/4/2022-22:42]

 

[swestoyz]

With the machine finally finished it was time to install it in the newly renovated wash studio!

Here are some glam shots of the machine in place, as well as some control panel close ups.

 

[swestoyz]

Overall about a dozen or so loads have been run through the washer since the restoration was finished, and I couldn't be happier. While it looks amazing and runs great I do think that at some point I'll replace the bearings on the clutch pulleys to see if the noise from the drive side of the mechanism can be reduced a bit. With all of that said, restoring and getting a machine up and running that is already in minty shape makes it sooooo much easier.

I've put a clip of the washer up on YouTube that is one of the longest videos I've done in quite sometime. It does cover most of the full cycle with some bath towels. Take a look if you have a moment.

This has been such a fun machine to get up and running, and I hope everyone enjoyed the restoration journey.



Ben[this post was last edited: 5/4/2022-22:43]

 

[repairguy]

Congrats Ben on an impressive restoration of a beautiful washer and washer studio!

 

[goatfarmer]

Another great save, Ben!

 

[christfr]

SWEET !!!!!!!!!!

 

[luxflairguy]

WOW! Breathtaking!

 

[jetcone]

Wow

Beautiful Restore ~