1977 Maytag N21PS

In late 2001, I inherited my great aunt's near mint wringer washer. I was just entering college at the time and it went into storage in my grandmother's shed. In 2003, Hurricane Isabelle came though and salt water went up the outside of the machine all the way to the tub (and thus around the engine), having other things to worry about (i.e. cleaning out flooded homes, studying through school), the wringer was forgotten about. About a year later, I went in and looked at it. The machine had developed rust on the legs and motor, the wheels on the bottom of the machine were locked up and I assumed that it was shot. From then on, the machine sat while I finished school and began my career hours away. Recently, I decided to take a chance and plug it in and to my shock the machine started agitating. I've never worked on a machine before and my mechanical skills aren't where I want them to be. However what better to practice on?

So fellas, here is my question. Where do I start? What do I need to do to get this machine where it needs to be? I was unable to get the wringers to work, however the safety "ball" disintegrated with age, so the mechanism may work, though the wringers themselves are shot. Where do I find new wringers anyway? Thanks for the help!


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Post# 218456 6/26/2007 at 15:50 (6,147 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia)
Checkrate/Likes In late 2001, I inherited my great aunt's near mint wringer washer. I was just entering college at the time and it went into storage in my grandmother's shed. In 2003, Hurricane Isabelle came though and salt water went up the outside of the machine all the way to the tub (and thus around the engine), having other things to worry about (i.e. cleaning out flooded homes, studying through school), the wringer was forgotten about. About a year later, I went in and looked at it. The machine had developed rust on the legs and motor, the wheels on the bottom of the machine were locked up and I assumed that it was shot. From then on, the machine sat while I finished school and began my career hours away. Recently, I decided to take a chance and plug it in and to my shock the machine started agitating. I've never worked on a machine before and my mechanical skills aren't where I want them to be. However what better to practice on? So fellas, here is my question. Where do I start? What do I need to do to get this machine where it needs to be? I was unable to get the wringers to work, however the safety "ball" disintegrated with age, so the mechanism may work, though the wringers themselves are shot. Where do I find new wringers anyway? Thanks for the help!

Post# 218661 , Reply# 1 6/27/2007 at 06:39 (6,146 days old) by christfr (st louis mo)
Checkrate/Likes well if y you love the machine dont give up.. what brand is the washer? start srufin the web for either new parts or a whole machine to use for doner parts. you can remove the rust and repaint the washer, and like greg says they really dont want to die.. so if she still agitates she wants to live.. besides your right its a good way to learn

Post# 218662 , Reply# 2 6/27/2007 at 06:40 (6,146 days old) by christfr (st louis mo)
Checkrate/Likes ha ha oh duh its a tag.. those are easy to tinker with give it a shot

Post# 218696 , Reply# 3 6/27/2007 at 08:11 (6,146 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)
Checkrate/Likes Try replacing the air-bulb wringer control with a bolt in the wringer mechanism post - that should allow the rolls to operate. You can sometimes find parts & service literature from Maytag on ebay but if you search older dealers in your area, there might be parts on their shelves still. Since the machine still agitates, you may just need a general cleaning, paint job and a quick lesson on how not to get your digits caught in the wringers! Good luck!

Post# 218771 , Reply# 4 6/27/2007 at 12:19 (6,146 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia)
Checkrate/Likes *the machine in question* Here is the Maytag. There's a lot of rust around the engine (pictures did not turn out of that area), but I may have made her sound worse off than she is... Thanks for the help guys!

Post# 218774 , Reply# 5 6/27/2007 at 12:22 (6,146 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia)
Checkrate/Likes *P.S.* Most of what is on the top is dirt, not rust.

Post# 218775 , Reply# 6 6/27/2007 at 12:24 (6,146 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia)
Checkrate/Likes *last shot for now* pretty agitator Boy these are huge shots!

Post# 218806 , Reply# 7 6/27/2007 at 13:14 (6,146 days old) by maytagbear (N.E. Ohio)
Checkrate/Likes *Oh, Mercy!* Eminently restorable! Lehman's, in Kidron OH is a possible resource. They are a hardware store oriented to the Amish and Mennonite communities. They have some Maytag wringer parts, and once in a while have restored Maytag wringer washers for sale. Good luck! Lawrence/Maytagbear Link should get you to Lehman's home page. CLICK HERE TO GO TO maytagbear's LINK

Post# 218808 , Reply# 8 6/27/2007 at 13:18 (6,146 days old) by maytagmike (Burlington, Vt)
Checkrate/Likes *air wringer control* If you take a foot from a maytag automatic it will screw in perfectly, I done this more than once and it works every time CLICK HERE TO GO TO maytagmike's LINK