Working On Washing Machines - Nope

[Kilgore47]

A few days back my neighbor called and asked if I could help him work on his washing machine.  I gave him the number for the appliance repair company I use.  Told him that I would rather work on a grubby old greasy car.  Working on washing machines is not something I like to do.  Give me an old car any day.

[Los_Control]

I'm a sucker for anything old.

My refrigerator quit working .... I learned to fix it ..... was the starter that went out. Just saying it took a couple hours to read, trouble shoot .... $15 for a new part.

Quicker, easier, faster to fix it then replace it. .... Freezer was stocked full with meat.

 

Now when my washing machine quit working, we bought it used and was a newer electronically controlled unit .... I would not even attempt to work on it.

I found a older whirlpool commercial quality super duty washer for $50.   Simple to work on, cleans way better then the electronic machine.

 

Just saying, I will work on the older appliances, these newer electronic machines I wont touch.

[Sniper]

I've fixed my dryer, washer and dishwasher, all are newer electronic ones too.  Issues were not the electronics though.  Dryer needed new rollers, washer needed new pump (shaft seal leaks water into the motor) and the dishwasher was a diverter valve.     

 

Damned service calls are almost as much as a new machine anyway.

[Kilgore47]

19 hours ago, Los_Control said:

these newer electronic machines I wont touch.

That's what my neighbor has - a front loading computer. My last washer was a front loading computer.  The electronics kept sending error codes.  Replaced that part and it would send another code. After spending 400 dollars (this time) trying to fix it I had to call it.  I replaced it with a top loading industrial model.  The kind they use in laundromats.  

 

20 hours ago, Los_Control said:

I'm a sucker for anything old.

Me too.  I always try to fix stuff but I had already spent almost as much as a new machine and it still didn't work.  The first time I worked on it - hours were spent trying to figure out how to get it apart.  The next time I called the repair guy and he had it apart in 5 minutes.  

[Los_Control]

My electronic washing machine experience is limited to the 1 machine we owned for 2 or 3 years.

My biggest complaint with it was, it did not clean clothes very good.

 

The computer controlled the water level by the amount of clothes that were in the machine ..... a water saving feature.

So when it quit working & it would not fill with water .... I really had no desire to fix it.

I did figure out that if I filled it with a garden hose, it would run through the wash cycle, then fill it again & would go through the rinse cycle ..... So I was pretty confident it was the fill valve that was bad .... $25 fix & pretty simple to do.   What would go out next?  

 

Same time I saw the old school top loader whirlpool on FB market place ..... The house was a rental, tenant moved out and left the machine ... Landlord wanted it gone. Landlord did run it through a cycle to confirm it turned on.

I paid $50 for the unknown old washer, compared to $25 to repair the new crappy electronic washer.

2 hours ago, Kilgore47 said:

I replaced it with a top loading industrial model.  The kind they use in laundromats.  

You wont regret it. Good chance it may be the last wash machine you ever need to buy .... one more item to check off your list.

I feel optimistic I "might" be able to keep my old whirlpool running as long as I need it.

[Ulu]

I have had two late model Maytags that were electronics, and none of them had any problems with the electronics that could not be solved by rebooting. The rebooting procedure was a pain, but it works.

 

The problems that I had were when a machine suffered a weakening of the tub springs causing it to vibrate too much, and the other one has a problem with the plastic clutch stripping. I saved the plastic clutch from the first one so I’ll be able to fix this one in about 15 minutes.

 

I completely disassembled the last one for parts, and just to know how, and it turns out these things are ridiculously easy to fix once you’ve done it a couple times.

 

What’s not always easy is the diagnosis.

[Kilgore47]

On 12/20/2022 at 12:14 PM, Los_Control said:

My biggest complaint with it was, it did not clean clothes very good.

The first time I washed clothes in the new top loader there was a ring on the top of the tub.  The front loader had been doing such a bad job.  Gross - had no idea - so I ran them through again.  Granted the top loader uses more water and isn't as gentle on the clothes.  But I would rather have clean clothes.

[Los_Control]

22 hours ago, Ulu said:

I completely disassembled the last one for parts, and just to know how, and it turns out these things are ridiculously easy to fix once you’ve done it a couple times.

 

What’s not always easy is the diagnosis.

Thats a really good idea, too have spare parts if ever needed.

Besides the machines controlling the amount of water, I also am leery of the quality of parts today's machines are made of.

For whatever reason, I just feel the older machines were better built. They will last as long as you take care of them.

 

Christmas day my wife wanted to wash some clothes, The washer is in the garage.

With the cold snap the fill valve was froze, so I used my heat gun & thawed it out & the machine filled up.

Then she informed me water was leaking onto the floor & she turned it off.

Me being the dummy I am, I did not figure on the drain pump being froze also.

Weather is warming up quickly today & no more freezing temps on the radar.

Will turn on the propane heater & work in the garage today, I will see just how tough the old machine is.

Edited December 26, 2022 by Los_Control

[Ulu]

Well I tore mine apart yesterday and the clutch was fine. The problem is that the belt had been slipping, and was burning up, because the washing machine was too close to the floor.

When we filled the water up to the maximum level with a big load of clothes, the drum would drop far enough on the suspension, that the pulley nut would drill a hole in my floor. I was just waiting for the transmission to die completely so I could just change it but there’s absolutely nothing wrong, and all the noise it was making was due to slippage & drilling!

 

I had to clean the burnt rubber off the fiberglass pulleys, but they were still OK and I still had a good belt from the previous machine, so I greased the clutch and put it all back together, and jacked it up off the floor another inch.

 

My wife freaked out a little bit about the hole in the floor but I just filled it with some epoxy putty, and no one will ever see it underneath the washing machine anyway.

 

I saved the suspension springs from the old machine too, and if the time comes I have to change these to bring the drum back up I can add some shim washers as well.

 

I have a matching Maytag dryer, and when the old one burned up a thermostat or sensor and would not turn on the heating element anymore, I bought a slightly newer one of the same model that matched our washer exactly.

 

The new one had a slightly redesigned door and door handle, and after about a week I pulled the dang plastic right off the door, broken.

 

Instead of buying a new handle I had saved the entire door off the old machine for the gasket and plastic handle, but the new handle and door stamping were different so I ended up changing the entire door. So the old plastic candle and door are still fine and they have been in business for eight years while the new handle didn’t last at all.

 

I bet they charge 75 bucks for a guy to come out and change that 10 cent handle on your dryer.

 

Anyhow I saved all the guts from that dryer and I also save the cabinet because of the huge amount of unblemished sheet metal. This is a problem for amateur welders. I want to save every piece of metal I come across.

[JBNeal]

I have rehabilitated my 1976 Maytag washer and dryer for a fraction of replacement cost, to the surprise of several ppl, my parents included.  So they asked me to look at their 11 yr old Kenmore washer, did a test and it made an odd noise, so I tried moving it away from the wall when something inside the cabinet went *CRUNCH* and brown flakes showered onto the floor...yep it was rusting out, no point in fixing it.  They were researching replacements and found Maytag made a washer and dryer that looked very close to them 76ers so they ordered them...I installed for them and found that the new models were basically the same Heavy Duty models as the 76ers, with updated knobs and controls and not near as heavy to jockey around...also quieter running, and the dryer does not require the user to stand on their head to clean the lint trap 

[Eneto-55]

20 hours ago, JBNeal said:

 my parents ... were researching replacements and found Maytag made a washer and dryer that looked very close to them 76ers so they ordered them...I installed for them and found that the new models were basically the same Heavy Duty models as the 76ers, with updated knobs and controls and not near as heavy to jockey around...also quieter running, and the dryer does not require the user to stand on their head to clean the lint trap 

Are the controls on the new one electronic?  (That's one of my main beefs about new washers - mixing electronics with a humid "climate", right inside the same appliance.)