Workin' on the Maytag Combo

[gansky1]

I've started some initial work on the Maytag combo I brought home a week ago, the machine looks very good overall but it appears to have been used as a dryer for a long time. There is lint and hard-water scale everywhere which fortunately has been fairly easy to get rid of. I started with a vacuum and finished with a hose & needle spray to clean behind the drum. I removed the blower and pump, dis-assembled and cleaned them thoroughly before reassembling them with fresh turbine oil lubrication. This is one of the most difficult machines to work on, there is so little room around the drum for all the components - the water pump is the WORST, mounted on the bottom of the drum!! Check out the pic of the sump, there are four hoses connected to it!! So far it's going well and hopefully it will be washing & drying away very soon.

http://automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/00ShowCollectionGETD.cgi?photoshow=52@combo%20back.jpg&dir=/COLLECTIONS/GANSKY1/

 

[Unimatic1140]

Great pictures Greg! Oh boy do you have your work cut out for you! I've seen that pump before. But it will all be worth it in the end when you get to experience the excitment of doing that premier wash load. Please keep us posted with more picts.

 

[golittlesport]

Looks pretty complex under the hood. And almost as much lint as you'd dig out of a Filtrator! I didn't even realize those Maytag's had suspension...do you know how fast they spun? Thanks for sharing the pictures!
Rich

 

[Brent-Aucoin]

Great Pictures Greg!

Thanks for the pictures!
You are working hard on your combo.
It looks like it is in great shape under the hood.
Wow, four hoses for the sump? Have you figured out what each one is for? That is so interesting.
I love the way you described the off balance switch, and it going into tumble for 30 seconds. That is really cool.
Would have been cool to talk to the owners of it. I am so curious as to why they would have only used it as a dryer. I guess you will find out as your work continues.
Does this machine have a large transmission?
Thanks again for the pictures.
Looks like you are enjoying yourself.
Brent

 

[appnut]

Awesome as usual Greg.

 

[tlee618]

Thanks for the great pictures Greg!! You sure got some gunk out of it. Very interesting suspension system and I would say that they were ahead of themselves with the off balance device and the 30 second tumble to redistribute the load. I bet that you can hardly wait to do that first load in it!! Terry

 

[gansky1]

Our first snag...

I did a little more putzing tonight and removed the fabric softener dispenser well for cleaning. During my work earlier, I discovered the hose from the softener well to the sump (that's #1 Brent) was broken off the well. Thinking it was a plastic well (a long narrow box directly under the door opening) I pulled it out and found a cast pot-metal box, completely full of dried softener. I cleaned it completely and retrieved the rubber stopper from the bottom of the box. For those of you familiar with the dispensers on higher-end Kenmore or Whirlpool, this a very similar design with a solenoid and plunger, the stopper or plunger is pulled up by the solenoid in the final rinse, releasing the contents of the container into the outer tub. Unfortunately, the spout of the well is completely dissolved away leaving nothing to attach a new hose to and there is also a hole eaten through the metal very near the original spout location. I'll have to give the problem some more pondering and see if I can come up with a solution to make this work again, filling the "extra" hole is no big deal, JB Weld to the rescue, but I'm wondering how to get a new spout attached. I wouldn't want the judges to take off points for lacking dispensers! I haven't yet looked at the bleach dispenser (hose to sump #2) but it appears to be OK so far.

(box/well is pictured with the bottom side facing up)

Brent - see if you can guess what the other two hoses in the sump are are for... ;-)

 

[Brent-Aucoin]

You are in the Maytag Combo Mode!

Hey Greg,
Very interesting. I wonder if they quit using the washer because of this leaking from the hole when running. Does it also flush the dispenser with water?
Is your above picture of the dispenser metal, or hard plastic? I was thinking about the web page that someone just posted about a company that can make a mold of something and re-create the piece. I think it was in the "sandbox" of our new and improved site. That would be great if you could get a make the dispenser re-created.
My guess about the hoses would be, one for fabric rinse conditioner, bleach, drain hose, and recirculation into the drum. Could not remember if this combo had the recirculation spray like the Lady K.
I bet you are having so much fun taking this apart, even though it is a work out.
I am having just as much fun hearing about it and seeing your pictures.
Thanks!
Brent

 

[gansky1]

Hi Brent- This piece is metal, I'm sure it could be re-created but I wonder what the cost would be... There is no flush with clean water, that probably would have saved the dispenser from it's current condition but it's simply a holding tank for the softener until it's released in the final rinse cycle. The whole tank was nearly full to the top with dried, caked on softener. It was pretty gross looking, but I think she only used Downy so it did have a nice vintage smell!

Pretty close on the hoses to & from the sump - bleach, softener, drain to pump hose and the air dome (water level control) hose are all attached to the bottom of the drum. WP/KM was the only one with a recirculating spray system. I'm surprised it's not completely rusted away but it doesn't look like this machine was used as a washer for all that long. I was told that the user/owner of this combo had another washer in the basement (probably a wringer) so that explains the low washer-use and more use as a dryer.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Hi Greg, looks like your going to have to find a stainless steel or plastic tube and somehow jb weld it to the correct hole. Maybe cut off the end of a plastic funnel?

 

[cadman]

Greg, why not try this? http://www.muggyweld.com/potmetal.html

I've had good luck brazing regular metals in the past with a store-bought propane/oxy torch, never tried pot metal before though.

Cory

 

[appnut]

Brent, the first versions (the wide ones) of the WP and LK Combos had a similar routine of either 30 seconds or 1 minute of tumbling before it tried spinning again. I don't know if this was timed by a similar type of timer, but Robert will be able to shed light on this, if Greg doesn't. But this happened many a time when I was a kid and it also happened when I did that load in Robert's WP in Minnie.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Yes the early WP combos had an adjustment so you could regulate the amount of re-tumble time it provided when it detects and unbalanced load. I have mine set for about 20 seconds.

 

[Brent-Aucoin]

Very cool guys! I love these machines!

Thanks for that info Bob and Robert.
I have had the chance of using the later Lady K combos, but not the first generation machines.
I just love the combos from this period. It was engineering at it's best for the time! I think that they actually did a great job with these machines. And I also think that they cleaned very well.
I know that the Sears had the Lady K's for a time through the 70's. Did Whirpool also keep up with their version? Also, what was the reason for the end of production? Was it quality control issues, or just no demand for this product?
Thanks guys!
Brent

 

[appnut]

Brent, WP ceased marketing their combos sometime after 1964 or 1965. Sears stopped around 1972 or 1973 (maybe a bit later). I still can see the ad in the sears catalog they were on closeout and order before you can't. I felt so sad. The main reason I believe they stopped marketing them was because of the, by-then, lmited capacity, the LONG wash & dry cycles. The "modern" housewife of the time was getting back into the workforce, who had time to wait for a load of laundry 1.5 to 2.0 hours later.

 

[Brent-Aucoin]

Interesting Bob

Bob,
During the spring I ran into an older Tech for Sears that told me during the late 60's many of the

 

[kenmore1978]

Maytag combo softener dispenser

I think I'd try drilling out the hole and using a plastic nipple that is threaded. You would then put a nut and gasket on both sides. Or you could put a rubber or plastic tube in the hole and glue or JB weld it to the original body. There's gotta be a way to make it work without welding and re-casting the part.

 

[kenmore1978]

Sears and WP combos

Interesting that WP ceased marketing their version of the combo so early, but that there apparently was enough volume in KM sales alone to keep the assembly line going.

 

[gansky1]

Dispenser Repair

I got the dispenser repair finished and was able to order a blower belt from a great company here called Precision Industries - they specialize in everything to do with motion & power transfer, bearings, etc. Last night I removed the front panel & boot to have better access to the dispenser mounting. Thinking the bleach dispenser was simply a funnel to the sump of the outer tub, I was surprised to see it was more of a "system" like those used in top-loading Maytag washers. There was a small hose from the tub and another leading to the sump so the dispenser (theoretically) was constantly flushed with water from the drum. As it turned out, the bleach dispenser became more of a sand trap over the years and was completely filled with grit and fine sand. It's all cleaned out and ready for more sand-trapping duty now!

For the softener dispenser repairs, I first tried a small nylon flanged bushing & JB Weld but found that wasn't strong enough to attach a rubber hose to and rely on it to hold with some movement of the hose as the tub rocked back and forth during spins. I removed the nylon bushing and replaced it with a small piece of copper tubing that I flared on one end to allow a firm seating in the dispenser well and a smooth surface for the solenoid activated plug to seal against. It looks like it's going to work very well and seems to be very strong.

I will reassemble the entire machine tonight and give it a run tomorrow (silicone around boot will need to cure) so check back, maybe we'll be ready to wash a real load! The belt will be a few days in coming so we'll have to be happy just washing for now, drying will come very soon!