Using Washer After 40 Years

[Chetlaham]

Will a vintage washer that has rarely been used, if ever in 40 years, last 25 years thereafter with daily use? What happens to the rubber, gaskets, belts, grease, oil, bearing, basket drive, and pump when they sit for so long? Will the machine develop a premature leak? Will the pump flapper deteriorate?

 

 

I'm thinking about a washer like a Whirlpool Belt Drive or a Maytag Dependable Care.

 

Is it practical to make such an old washer a dependable daily driver? 

 

[agiflow]

That's why I want to get a modern machine and only use my 50-year-old Kenmore sparingly

 

[cfz2882]

yes-run it and fix what breaks

I have a 1982 SQ Marathon on daily driver row-a primative,noisy,but effective no-nonsense washer that is a delight to use,but does have a couple bad habits that come up from time to time:if not used in a while,brake can stick and fail to spin, and once washer was found stopped-touched timer knob and started back up and finished Pump flapper in BDs can crack and get seepy-draining a little while washing,I have not had much trouble with rubber,belts,gaskets,most pumps.Small nylon parts:timer gears,tranny gears,switch parts can shrink from age and crack.For a nice condition BD,desired to last a long time,should pull the tub out and treat centerpost for rust protection

 

[qsd-dan]

Is it practical to make such an old washer a dependable dail

Tricky answer but it depends on the machine and its weak points. Pre 1980's oils don't age well and really need to be cleaned out and replaced. Contaminated oil most certainly needs to be replaced but in most instances it's usually impossible to properly inspect the oil without a complete tear down. Some gaskets/seals dry out and deteriorate from sitting for extended periods like cork, others are not bothered. It really comes down to the material(s) used and their quality. Belts can last quite long but most are easy to access service so it's a non issue. Having an old washer is definitely NOT for a person worried about changing a belt!

Agitator shaft seals on BD Whirlpool/Kenmore and Maytags really should be replaced immeadilty. It will help prevent failures of the shaft and bearings down the road. If you keep using the machine until a leak occurs, it's already too late. Generally the shafts/tubes/bearings are shot/rusted beyond an easy repair.

If an extensive rebuild is done, the practicality and reliability goes WAY up! That's getting tricky to accomplish now with parts being discontinued and drying up. It's the reason I was very passionate about scouring and accumulating parts/manuals/information and getting machines rebuilt over 15 years ago. Certain parts that are easy to access and known for reliability can be monitored rather than replaced but you better have those parts on hand and ready to replace when they fail.

Example: I did an extensive rebuild on my current 1975 Maytag HA806 washer. 18 years of daily use and the only repair was a pump replacement that recently went out just a couple of months ago in December. I did not replace the original pump as part of the rebuild since it's known for being very reliable and easy to change out. At 49 years old, I'm definitely not complaining either! I do have many used and new pumps on hand and just tossed a used pump on after feeding the bearing wick some turbine oil. Not too many people can getting 18 years out of a brand new washer without a single repair or even total lifespan and I have accomplished it with a machine that was already 34 years old and sitting in the scrap pile awaiting its death. It turns 50 this October!

 

[Chetlaham]

Good to know. Thanks for the heads up about the pump flapper, I suspected that may crack and seep. I don't know anything about treating the center post, I need more enlightenment in that area.

 

 

My intention is making a low end vintage machine a daily driver for years to come. The machine itself doesn't have as much value as say a rare TOL model, but still gives all the benefits of a vintage washer.

 

 

[Chetlaham]

Agitator shaft seals on BD Whirlpool/Kenmore

Would I be looking at NOS or are there modern seals that will accomlish this?

 

[maytag85]

My Maytag A806 turned 46 last month, matching DE806 turned 50 late last summer. Both are still running strong without any issues. Last month, had to take the dryer apart to fix pesky squeaks and rattles, but that’s more so ‘fine tuning’ more than anything else, doesn’t affect the functionality of it.

 

[Chetlaham]

And that is why I have such deep, admirable love for Maytag Dependable Care Washers and Dryers from the 70s and 80s. With care they can last over half a century.

 

[wayupnorth]

My Maytag 511 washer and 410 dryer are now 41 years old. Being totally retired, I maybe do 1 load a week in them. Only part ever touched on the washer was a new motor pulley and belts but nothing for the dryer. Like everything I own, the warranty is over so I feel I got way more than my moneys worth

 

[thomasortega]

Definitely have aodern one as a daily driver.

We all love our vintage and rare machines, at the same time we all have those loads that can be tricky, like comforters, sneakers (I know they shouldn't be washed in a washing machine but who cares?) Or even those massive loads of towels when we have guests.

You definitely don't want to take the risk of stressing a rare washer, sometimes with NLA parts.

Good thing is have a modern washer (or.something "less vintage" to deal with those loads.

Until a few days ago, my "daily drivers" were an LG tromm front load, a LG top load, and a magic chef portable top load.

If something happened to them, I'd just fix or throw them away, no feelings hurt.

My collection suffered a massive overhaul (actually happening right at this moment) with Revvinkevin's machines coming to my collection.

My new daily drivers are two 27-inch Miele washers and matching dryers and an Electrolux Wavetouch pair.

I'm keeping the magic chef just because of its dimensions that fit perfectly where it is. Both LGs moved out of my laundry room today. No feelings were hurt.

Added to the collection a Maytag A700, Frigidaire unimatic, 1957 Westinghouse, Frigidaire skinny Mini, Frigidaire Gallery 1st generation (not the piano hinge door) three Miele Washers, Whirlpool Calypso and 4 Miele dryers.

Some of my important machines went to storage at Darryl's garage.

I definitely want to move to a house with a bigger laundry room, so I can have my Sq ultra.mate and my maytag neptune superstack back along with 2 skinny mini side by side, the Frigidaire filtrator dryer

 

[americana4]

Or one which has been in (nearly) continual use?
My '82 FF was our daily driver until 2020, and then a few times a year for 3 years. I put it back into daily service a couple of years ago, admittedly with fewer demands for a household of 2.
Never an issue or need for service, so nothing has ever been done. It's still working without a hiccup. At this point I'm curious to see just how long it will run.
Probably a front loader in my future when (if?) it gives up. Until then, with the addition of a spinner for the rare occasions when I use the dryer, I'm all set.

 

[Chetlaham]

That would be a dream. Having a 40 year old washer that has only be used a few times last another 40 years after going into daily use.

 

 

I don't like modern. I am thinking of using a vintage washer for every day loads not so much for the sentimental value or fun but rather for the incredible performance and longevity. 

 

[repairguy]

Belt drive whirlpool/kenmore washers can easily last 20 years of daily use again with a proper restoration. It is not my experience that even with an unused 40 year old machine that you can expect to put it into regular use without doing anything to it. It’s just reality in many years of my experience.

 

[Chetlaham]

Do you know what needs to be done to an almost unused 40 year old belt drive? I'd like to attempt a restoration if it won't be to involved.

 

[agiflow]

Just to say Chet. The Whirlpool had more use than the 50 years old Kenmore I have.

I wouldn't say the Whirlpool was barely used but it is in good shape cosmetically and "sounds" good but that is the reason I took it out of service.

Judging by the service sticker on the machine, I would imagine at some point this machine had some work done to it.

There is no real way for me to know unless I took out the inner tub and see what shape the tub and center post are in. I'm just leaving well enough alone.

It's going to be the same thing for my 74 Kenmore. I really don't want to keep using it until I can have it checked out by somebody with experience with these machines.

Lots of repairmen who worked on these machines are up in age now. I know one older tech who sells refurbished direct drives and has no heart to work on one of these machines anymore...

Chetlaham if you're looking to do some work on these machines. More power to you. These are basically obsolete machines. Does Whirlpool even make any parts for these machines anymore ?

 

[Chetlaham]

Did you take the tub cover off? If I recall correctly I remember reading a quote that the outer tub has a few rust spots on it, predominantly where the fill flume deflects water spray to towards the inner surface of the outer tub.

 

 

Previous service work is possible as I don't see the tech sheet on the access panel- perhaps the service panel was instilled in reverse or the machine has seen some use.  

 

 

Do you have pictures underneath and of the transmission? Usually that will kind of give it away such finger prints, a new belt or pump, a prominent bead seal around the transmission, missing motor flap, ect. 

 

 

If you want my honest opinion I don't see these machines as obsolete. They wash and rinse better than most modern machines. The wash action is a perfect balance between gentle and vigorous. The agitator has excellent turn over approaching a dual action agitator. The fill is fast, 50/50 and you have the option of a genuine warm rinse. Slight Imbalances such as a load of off jeans is handled better than a DD or VMW. The machine is quieter and the sounds are less annoying than DDs and VMWs- Id say they're rather soothing. Capacity is reasonable. And of course, BDs last and last and last. 

 

The only down sides to BDs are the neutral drain and slow spin. But the rest supersedes all categories. BDs are engineering marvels and they excel at what they were designed to do.  

 

Parts are few, though if you look on Ebay you can still find some common NLA parts. The occasional timer or control panel does pop up that will work with the machine if you ever need one of those.        

 

[cfz2882]

BDs are cool

I like the neutral drain and the bigger basket dia.does help with extraction with the slow-ish spin-my biggest gripe is the center post rust problem.These are the coolest sounding washers ever and all Emerson motors after about 1977-GE motors found on some of the earlier ones can vary in sound,performance and longevity...Packard motors on 1960-earlier(?) also seem good.

 

[maytag85]

The Achilles heel of the belt drives is rust and timer issues. Had some rust on my Whirlpool, but wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. Unfortunately, its timer has given up the ghost and finding a replacement has been a challenge, despite checking eBay persistently. Going to transplant a console on from a Mark 18 a friend parted out, that’s the only option left at this point at my disposal.

 

[combo52]

Putting an almost unused washer into service

Hi Patrick, that 74 Kenmore can probably be used lightly without too many problems, but if you wanted to use it on a weekly basis, it needs to be taken apart and lubricated. The clutch pulley bearing can be lubricated without disassembly. You should also lubricate the pump and I would pull the wash basket out to see what condition the outer tubs and that’s the best way to really assess how much use that machine may have had and whether it needs some preventative work now to keep it from having a bad problem later.

My business partner Jason got a brand new pair of 1965 lady Kenmore’s and we had to tear them completely apart and they needed some work even though they had never been used more than 10 times age takes its toll on certain things.

John L