Here's my recently acquired Model #WWA8355VCL GE Filter Flo from 1978, suds model. It sat for 34 years with that one rusted side exposed to the open laundry tub drain, other than that darn little rust. I bent the clutch solenoid back in shape to get 2 speeds, and now the machine's somewhat dissasembled for de-rust, etc.  I propped up the tranny assembly to keep it centered and keep strain off the huge rubber tub seal while I'm working on things.  The corner base plates and the rear edge/leg assembly all need sanding and painting.

IT worked well for me when first installed, just needed the clutch armature repaired and the suds valve(down the thread further.)

While it's getting a paint job, is there any oiling or lubing these need? Where the transmision shaft meets the belt pulley? The snubbers are alll dry and shiney where they rub, I believe they are meant to be grease free. All their attached rubber parts are intact, this is a quiet and smooth spinning machine.

A few drops of oil on the suspension pulleys near the top? Anything else?

It was bent to hell, but I could hear the solenoid buzzing. After some pliers and bending, it's all back in shape and I tested it electrically, all is well. The motor is pretty shiny and dust free, are there any points to oil this?

Here is the suds valve. The bottom port is incoming from the tub, top 2 are the outgoing drain hoses. It's just a duo of pinch valves, not rocket science. Other suds machines in earlier eras or other manufacturers probably did more, this one only operates in the regular wash cycle.  For returning the suds, you flip a switch to return, then set the timer at the SUDS labelled start of the regular cycle.  It isn't wired thru the water level valve or anything to finish filling the tub, it's just a dry agitate that pulls the water thru the correct valve. Then you stop the machine, put the clothes in, reset the suds switch to save or off, then it will fill the rest of the tub as needed and do a regular wash cycle.

It's plenty good enough for me.

Picture is bad, but each side of the valve had 2 springs operating against the solenoid, 4 springs total. 1 on each side was missing, but available at Easy Appliances, about $20 total with shipping. Now the snap action is fast and tight, and the springs seal up the pinch valve fully.

the above pic of the springs, and the overall inside peek into the metal box of this valve shows signs of ancient lithium grease to help everything move freely along those slots., I'll lube it a bit before re-installing.

Other than the one side of rust, there's just a few nicks.  Anyone with oil/lube advice while she's still on the side will be appreciated.

My other 78 FilterFlo, non suds model, has the ramped agitator. This one is 4 straght vanes, and I'll start an argument here but I can't see the difference. Both are great at turnover and agitation, I'll leave them both as is.

for the record, here's a link to an earlier thread when I got this around Thanksgiving, pics show the diagram/parts list for the suds valve, and the one SUDS marking on the timer.

Pic here shows the SUDS knob, just SAVE--OFF--RETURN

Hey Applianceguy47-----Here's more console shots--

toggles

Mini-Basket, Filter pan, Softener dispenser for the straight vane agitator, 1978

Washer manufacturers started switching to corrugated plastic drain hoses in the 1970s because they were not only a little cheaper to make but mainly to reduce the cost of warranty calls related to kinked drain hoses which cost all major manufactures hundreds of thousands dollars in unnecessary warranty payouts every year. They did the same thing with built-in DW drain hoses for the same reason.

Overall I think that the smooth rubber drain hoses work a little better as the water flows through them more smoothly. It was interesting that special model machines continued to come with the rubber drain hoses such as Suds-Saver machines, commercial models and even when WP introduced the Resource-Saver washer it still came with the regular rubber drain hose [ I think that they knew that they worked better ].

This 78 suds model has black hoses with wire embedded/wrapped around. When it's back together--SOON--I will post more pics. My other GE FF, exact same model except 77 and non-suds, has the corrugated white plastic.

Dumb question here-----there's lots of stains on the cardboard/pressboard back of this machine. What's the cheap and easy way to paint it to cover up? I can't really clean it, just kinda cover over with paint, I think. What paint? Spray? Rollers?

The machine is back together(98%) and runs wonderfully. I was right on the suds operation. To suck them back, you set the suds knob to return, it simply overrides the water level switch for the wash fill in the regular cycl;e, and you get whatever amount back that was in your laundry tub. IT doesn't stop to fill the rest, it doesn't stop to allow only medium level if desired, it just sucks all back in and runs right into an 18 minute wash. Pretty simple but damn good enough. Keep in mind there's no clothes in yet, you normally stand there and re-suck, stop the machine and add clothes, etc. So you can decide if it needs more water, etc. Simple operation, works well.

Someone was interested in the hoses----the main one with metal wire ribbing is the suds hose, comes out 2/3 up the machine.  Further down is the rinse drain/most draining hose. It was already customized by a previous owner, 3 feet added in. You can see the final portion in the lower left across the laundry tub, also metal ribbing. No leaks, so I will leave them alone.

There's various other machine's hoses and ground wires in the pic, an unholy mess fro sure.

I'll bum a friend's video recorder soon and see what I can do--

The ramp machine's agitator is easily removed, this one not so much yet, maybe I'll give it a shot. And I agree, if I can video both styles in the exact same machine, exact same clothing, maybe I'll change my mind.

You were right on the GFCI. This outlet is a quad box, GFCI on one side, a regular outlet on the other side controlled by the GFCI, nothing else at all on this circuit, just those 4 spots. I just rewired it so the GFCI controls itself only, the other regular outlet is non-gfci, and no more washer stopping at that one point. The rest of the entire basement is GFCI, I think local code needs all outlets in the basement GFCI'd except for refridgerators? But I ain't selling the house or getting inspected, I'll live. No other machines have ever tripped any GFCI's, just these 2 matching GE's at the exact same point in one cycle.

Also--anyone interested--I was wrong above, the SUDS return starts with a dry agitate at 18 minutes on regular cycle only, then around the 15 minute mark the water level switch and temp switch kick in to fill it to the top, then it does 15 minutes of wash. It will not stop sucking if you only wanted 1/3 tub or anything, but it does fill to the brim with chosen temp water. Pretty cool, and working perfectly.

Like the fair weather friend I am, this will be my completely favorite machine until I get some next one up and running, lol.

I did not have leaks, so I did not replace the valve/hose. If you are having trouble getting new ones, try here, maybe, Easy Appliance Parts, it's where I got the springs inside.  Even if the list says DISCONTINUED or NLA, just keep clicking thru to buy, there is some stock on some DISC/NLA items, at times.

The entire valve is made by Gorman-Rupp of Mansfield or Ashland Ohio, if that helps.

At the top of this thread is my washer model #WWA8355VCL, maybe search for the suds parts on various parts websites using that?

By the way, what does your 3 hose valve do as opposed to my 2 way SUDS diverter?