Welcoming A Westy!

[jons1077]

Wedtinghous

I believe this washer is the same model predecessor to my set which I believe is from around 1974. Like John said, these were not durable machines. Rather “affordable” is how I’d describe them. My set had very little use so they survived with the washer only needing a new belt. Unfortunately they are both inoperable now and not sure how fixable they will be. Dryer motor seized up and the washer sprung a leak causing the spin bearing to corrode. Hopefully I’ll be able to revive them one of these days. This washer does have the blue plastic ramp agitator and it actually does a pretty nice job washing and, of course, rinsing.

 

[DADoES]

 
I have Jon's washer model in white.

 

[drummerboy928]

Finally getting to do some tests

So today I was able to dive into the Maytag a little bit. Despite being 9 years older than my crusty A408S, the inside looks almost BRAND NEW! The tub moves freely, and the motor and pump do not appear to be locked up. I was able to plug it in and test the fill valve, which energizes. I also tried spinning the drum on the Westinghouse, and it rotates easily. None of the buttons or timers are frozen either! Not going to water test them or spin test them yet, as It’s fairly chilly out, but so far everything seems to be going well!

I’ve also included some pictures of the inside of the Maytag

 

[repairguy]

It is definitely clean for it’s age.

 

[drummerboy928]

Inspecting the Westinghouse

As someone who’s never owned any sort of vintage Westinghouse like this, How can I go apart inspecting the insides of it (transmission/motor, etc.). Does the whole back come off, or is there like an access panel on the back that I can look through? I have not yet looked very closely at it, nor have I tried doing anything other than spinning the tub by hand (which rotates freely). If there is an easy way to look at the insides, is there anything I should look for? Thank you all for the help!

 

[Unimatic1140]

What I would probably do first is make sure the drain hose is attached and pour hot tap water down the hose to refresh the pump seals. You may have to hold the hose opening higher than the machine to do this. Then I'd put it into spin and see if it spins and pumps. If that works, I'd give it a try in fill and agitate. It may work just fine.

I believe to inspect that machine you have to remove the back panel. Since the pump sits on top of the motor I'd be sure that it isn't leaking water as it will run down into the motor.

 

[seeitrun2006]

“One of the Earliest Westinghouse I have ever seen” picture

As a teenager the Dairy Queen I worked at HAD the same washer in that pic. It was unique in a lot of ways. The tub had colored buttons that corresponded with the water level settings. The legend was printed on the inside of the lid. The lint filter did not snap on it slid into the two holes on the splash guard. The water from the lint filter discharged tube flowed strait down from from under the washer top. On later models the discharge tube for the lint filter was attached to the splash guard. This washer also had 4 wash and rinse temps; CC, WC,WW,HW not the 5 wash and rinse selections on later models. The fill port on this washer and the green washer is in the 5:00 position. From around the 1968 models the fill port was moved to the 11osition. Also the clothes guard ring was changed to plastic.

My maternal grandmother had the 1966 Westinghouse TL. At the time that was the nicest washer I had ever seen. My grandfather did construction work on the skyscrapers in Atlanta. She washed his overalls, thick canvas work coats and the machine handled it all. The transmission seal 20 years later had deteriorated and dumped all the oil out. I miss that washer to this day!!! Fond memories!!!