Work begins on the 850P

[bajaespuma]

Filled with hot water, as members have advised and waited for a couple of minutes. Agitation went smoothly although I was expecting a clutch change to kick in after a slow start. Problem was, spin took forever, was slow and only half of the water dribbled out of the drain. Then the fun began. First challenge; get the coveted straight-3 activator off without breaking the beautful pink cap. Tried my Maytag method: madam gets a turban wrap. Add boiling water and wait 5 minutes(to expand nut inside and, more importantly, soften plastic to prevent breakage:

 

[bajaespuma]

...then, we coax the cap off with an oil filter strap-wrench. Success!

 

[bajaespuma]

Pink activator cap is in "like new" condition; grey rubber filter mount is disintegrating like in the Andromeda Strain. Will have to handle carefully and deal with that later. I use a shop vac to suck out all the water and then I get a vigorous water fountain out of the sand disposall hole for a healthy 5 minutes! This is a GE: the recirculation went without a hitch;it has to be a sock blocking the drain.

 

[bajaespuma]

...and there it is!!!!!

Interesting that GE gave it's older solid tub models a plastic baffle over the drain hole to prevent items just like this from entering the pump. I guess this is why the filter-flo worked but the drain didn't.

 

[bajaespuma]

Methinks this machine received a new boot within its long lifetime. Was expecting a plain rubber boot, not a V-12, etc. style. Also, who the hell is this extra seat bracket and where does it go back to????? On top of or underneath???? OY.Not indicated anywhere in the Repair Master diagram. HELP!!!! Oh, I guess I'll just bide my time by CLR-ing the outer tub and wire-brushing the corrosion off of the activator shaft. HUGE freakin' outer tub though. Talk about wasted space.

 

[bajaespuma]

Little victory: the beautifully designed plastic fill flume/siphon break(which is in perfect condition)is mounted against the tub with a sponge gasket held in place with two corroded paper fasteners(that I was able to buy at my local 5 and dime)!

Interesting discovery(for me): the solid washbasket, which GE rated at 10 pounds capacity is only 16 cubic inches ( a mug of coffee) smaller than the V-12, 14,16 perforated tub. It's actually 1 inch wider at the bottom and it does flare, of course, although it is 1 inch shorter in terms of high water mark (to the bottom of the holes). And that's not taking into consideration the hump on the bottom of the V-12 tub, nor the fact that the spiral activator displaces much more water. It's also twice as heavy!! There's strontium 19 in that balance ring! Also, don't y'all agree that rollover is going to be more effective in a broader tub than in a taller one?

...and yes, my lawnmower has been broken for a couple of weeks.

 

[bajaespuma]

Next up: thanks to the member who recommended the Auto parts store for radiator hoses, I'm replacing the hoselito from the fill solenoids to the flume (the original shattered into three pieces when I touched it. And of course, the hose was flared at the flume end and it has a tight bend, oy) and the drain hose at the pump. Wish I could find some original GE drain hoses with a metal elbow and the kink-spring around it. I don't know that I would have been able to do this without having seen many of the repairs on this site. I am having fun.

 

[mickeyd]

Ken

I absolutely love how you're playing wth your machines and ignoring the grass and the grass cutter. That's me to a tea.

Congrats on that truly coveted agitator; and if you ever get a sock caught again, you can get it out by taking the top off and reaching in between inner & outer tubs, if the port is at outer 12 o'clock, rather than inner 1 o'clock.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Also, who the hell is this extra seat bracket and where does it go back to????? On top of or underneath????

Ken that "seat bracket" as you call it contains the threads to screw the bolts back down onto the hub. The hub itself has no threads. Just reach around and hold it in place until you've got the bolts in. It goes underneath the hub.

 

[spinout]

Ahhh, That solid tub is beautiful

Say, where is the original wire clothes guard (in PINK, of course) shouldn't that be there?

Please keep the photos coming.

 

[tuthill]

looks like fun

Thanks for all the photos, hope you get your GE up and running ASAP

 

[bajaespuma]

Thank you Robert!

This was timely as I want to reinstall the washbasket tomorrow morning. Interesting that two of you suggest reaching down under the tub. I guess one can do that with these machines.

"Say, where is the original wire clothes guard (in PINK, of course) shouldn't that be there?"

The clothes guard is there, but it's so completely under the balance ring it's hard to see or to photograph without removing it. It is underwhelming, not pink more like the grey of the filter-mount and the balance ring. Also, not very effective by the stuff I found in the outer tub. I think because GE machines tend to oversuds, little items must float up and over the balance ring. I can't imagine anything making it through the holes at the top of the tub.

I just bought some lithium grease to treat the outer tub gasket where it touches the underside of the top. I assume this is Kosher as I've noticed some kind of grease on all of the other GE's I've opened.

By the way, is the cardboardy stuff GE used behind the fluorescent light bulb paper or some kind of asbestos composite?