HELP! Belt-drive Kenmore won't spin

Jed -

You've received a lot of good advice in these posts. Thank you for asking my opinion! I have not been on here in a week or so or I'd have answered you sooner.

I learned something interesting from the first washer I pulled from storage this spring....it had been my sister's when I put it in storage and was working properly then, but when I tried it back in March, after 10 years of storage in a poorly climate controlled building, it wouldn't spin at all.

My machine is a short centerpost model like Robert is talking about, however the problem in this case turned out to be a stuck clutch shaft, which was frozen tight due to "carmelization" of the lubricating grease. It was so heavy and "gooed up" that I needed a paint scraper to remove the thicker deposits.

I don't know specifically why that happened, but I had to work to get the shaft out of it's slot, then I cleaned the entire area and re-lubricated the parts. After that it works great.

If you can turn the basket with some force (with the brake on it should take some force) the spin tube is probably not frozen though the bearings could have lost their oil if the centerpost has lost it's seal. This will be a good indoctrination if you've never taken apart a belt-drive WP before.

Two other possibilities: I had one machine years ago that came to me with a cheap aftermarket pump, which had seized. It had a plastic pulley (not factory) which had actually melted due to friction from the belt. This caused belt speed to drop dramatically, and the machine would not spin.

In my mother's second Kenmore, the basket drive set-screw had backed out, which eventually destroyed the spin tube. By the time we knew what was going on the machine would not spin at all and there was an odd "metalic & oily" smell. My dad and I had to replace the basket drive (my first work on a machine), however I've never heard of this happening since though I guess everything does eventually with so many of those machines having been out there.

Sorry for being so wordy, but like everyone has said, you'll just have to see what's going on by visual inspection. Listen for the spin plunger engaging when you press the lid switch - if you hear that, you can eliminate some of the electrical possibilities.

By the way - you have an odd-duck of a machine in some ways, which is very cool. The control panel design was a 1981 re-do of the original 1976 'wet face' control panels. There were not a great many 24-inch belt drives made with this panel as these were the first to go DD only a year or two later. More odd, you've got a dual-action agitator which in a 24-inch belt drive is not common. I think there may have been only one or two models like this. Most were straight vane models.

I hope you get it up and running Jed!

Gordon


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Post# 285457 6/16/2008 at 00:01 (5,793 days old) by tuthill ()
Checkrate/Likes Hi all, I have a belt-driven center dial Kenmore that will not spin. I am not sure if it agitates or not because it is not hooked up to water. It sounds like the motor is running, but the tub will not move. I can move it manually. After awhile I can smell something along the lines of burnt rubber. KenmoreGuy, others, where should i start??

Post# 285458 , Reply# 1 6/16/2008 at 00:03 (5,793 days old) by goblue ()
Checkrate/Likes hey might be a bad belt???

Post# 285465 , Reply# 2 6/16/2008 at 00:54 (5,793 days old) by dadoes (TX,�U.S. of A.)
Checkrate/Likes Start by removing the back panel for a look-see at what's happening. Pull the belt by hand, observe if all the pulleys turn. Could be the pump is stuck ... although it should still spin in that case, that would account for the burning odor. Have an assistant trigger the lid switch, observe if the left-side wigwag engages. If it does, check if the guide-pin is broken.

Post# 285505 , Reply# 3 6/16/2008 at 09:56 (5,792 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)
Checkrate/Likes If you cannot turn the spin basket at all Jed there is a chance that water has leaked down into the centerpost bearings and seized the spin tube up. I've seen this happen before with belt drive machines, especially the late model ones where they lowered the height of seal/post. What might be happening is the machine is going into spin properly and the clutch pads are spinning against the stuck basket drive disk. After a few minutes the clutch pads are warming up and start to overheat, hence the burning smell. I agree with Glenn's assessment that you are gonna have to get down in there and observe what is actually happening. Keep us posted. CLICK HERE TO GO TO unimatic1140's LINK

Post# 285517 , Reply# 4 6/16/2008 at 10:20 (5,792 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)
Checkrate/Likes *If you're lucky, it's just a stuck belt from non-use* All you need to do is press your arms and hands hard against the inside of the tub, twist back and forth ,and free it. Do this with the motor on, and whrrruuu, everything will start right up. It has happened to my Garage WP many times. I hope you're lucky today. Love the "Warsh House," Jed, really cool. That's a wonderful sturdy MOL Kemore from the mid-eighties and will last a long, long time.

Post# 285573 , Reply# 5 6/16/2008 at 16:54 (5,792 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)
Checkrate/Likes *You've got Milfoil* growing in the tranny!

Post# 285578 , Reply# 6 6/16/2008 at 17:05 (5,792 days old) by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA)
Checkrate/Likes *Is that a belt-drive machine?* I thought the alot of the 80's model 24" machines were already DD. At first site I assumed this was a DD model. ???

Post# 285590 , Reply# 7 6/16/2008 at 18:33 (5,792 days old) by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA)
Checkrate/Likes *ah nevermind* just saw your other pictures. def. a belt-drive model!

Post# 285608 , Reply# 8 6/16/2008 at 21:31 (5,792 days old) by sears9000 (Pensacola, Florida.)
Checkrate/Likes *I've seen this before.* Jed, I agree with DADoES, in removing the back,and looking to see if everything is turning. I had a Whirlpool for a short period of time,that was bought used. And after a year and a half,it would'nt spin. Before I replaced it,I remember that I could only turn the basket real slowly. It felt like the spin tube was seizing. I hope that's not the case for you. Try mickeyd's idea,and see if you can free it. From the looks of it,I think it might be worth fixing. Good luck,and have a nice day.

Post# 285612 , Reply# 10 6/16/2008 at 21:56 (5,792 days old) by tuthill ()
Checkrate/Likes *Thanks for the advice...* ... and keep it coming!! I'm gonna be at the lake on Friday, and I plan on tearing into to it then. I'll keep everyone posted.

Post# 285653 , Reply# 12 6/17/2008 at 07:39 (5,792 days old) by blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts)
Checkrate/Likes You can try to tighten the tension on the belt, which is an easy step to try before changing the belt. Loosen the 9/16" nut holding the motor and, using leverage, push back the motor to add tension. An old transmission drive shaft works great--right length and right diameter. I've done this many times.

Post# 285609 , Reply# 9 6/16/2008 at 21:32 (5,792 days old) by sears9000 (Pensacola, Florida.)
Checkrate/Likes *I've seen this before.* Jed, I agree with DADoES, in removing the back,and looking to see if everything is turning. I had a Whirlpool for a short period of time,that was bought used. And after a year and a half,it would'nt spin. Before I replaced it,I remember that I could only turn the basket real slowly. It felt like the spin tube was seizing. I hope that's not the case for you. Try mickeyd's idea,and see if you can free it. From the looks of it,I think it might be worth fixing. Good luck,and have a nice day.

Post# 285614 , Reply# 11 6/16/2008 at 22:01 (5,792 days old) by sears9000 (Pensacola, Florida.)
Checkrate/Likes *oopps.* Sorry,I didn't mean to post it twice,my mistake.

Post# 285657 , Reply# 13 6/17/2008 at 08:30 (5,791 days old) by kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)
Checkrate/Likes *Lots of good advice...* Jed - You've received a lot of good advice in these posts. Thank you for asking my opinion! I have not been on here in a week or so or I'd have answered you sooner. I learned something interesting from the first washer I pulled from storage this spring....it had been my sister's when I put it in storage and was working properly then, but when I tried it back in March, after 10 years of storage in a poorly climate controlled building, it wouldn't spin at all. My machine is a short centerpost model like Robert is talking about, however the problem in this case turned out to be a stuck clutch shaft, which was frozen tight due to "carmelization" of the lubricating grease. It was so heavy and "gooed up" that I needed a paint scraper to remove the thicker deposits. I don't know specifically why that happened, but I had to work to get the shaft out of it's slot, then I cleaned the entire area and re-lubricated the parts. After that it works great. If you can turn the basket with some force (with the brake on it should take some force) the spin tube is probably not frozen though the bearings could have lost their oil if the centerpost has lost it's seal. This will be a good indoctrination if you've never taken apart a belt-drive WP before. Two other possibilities: I had one machine years ago that came to me with a cheap aftermarket pump, which had seized. It had a plastic pulley (not factory) which had actually melted due to friction from the belt. This caused belt speed to drop dramatically, and the machine would not spin. In my mother's second Kenmore, the basket drive set-screw had backed out, which eventually destroyed the spin tube. By the time we knew what was going on the machine would not spin at all and there was an odd "metalic & oily" smell. My dad and I had to replace the basket drive (my first work on a machine), however I've never heard of this happening since though I guess everything does eventually with so many of those machines having been out there. Sorry for being so wordy, but like everyone has said, you'll just have to see what's going on by visual inspection. Listen for the spin plunger engaging when you press the lid switch - if you hear that, you can eliminate some of the electrical possibilities. By the way - you have an odd-duck of a machine in some ways, which is very cool. The control panel design was a 1981 re-do of the original 1976 'wet face' control panels. There were not a great many 24-inch belt drives made with this panel as these were the first to go DD only a year or two later. More odd, you've got a dual-action agitator which in a 24-inch belt drive is not common. I think there may have been only one or two models like this. Most were straight vane models. I hope you get it up and running Jed! Gordon