Thread Number: 17724
Diagnosis: Noisy Unimatic |
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Post# 289349   7/8/2008 at 07:56 (5,742 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Hey Guys, About a month ago I took some video of the common sounds the Unimatic makes while washing. I will be changing computers soon so I wanted to put together a video to hopefully troubleshoot the issue before tossing the raw footage. Everything I've checked seems tight and good to go: Pulsator Nut Tub Nut Mechanism Support nut Snubber plate and snubber Cross Member Top lid is secured well Take a listen to the video (upped the sound quality and lowered the video) and let me know if you have any suggestions. I haven't been using it as often lately as I suspect I'll be tearing into her soon (or if time from the house allows!). Thanks again for your help! Ben CLICK HERE TO GO TO swestoyz's LINK |
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Post# 289368 , Reply# 1   7/8/2008 at 11:37 (5,742 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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How 'bout the screw inside the agitator ? All I hear is the same buzzing bees in the frigidaire bonnet which is just the vibration and humming coming out of the "salt shaker" perforated pulsator. Mine makes the exact same sounds, so whatever you got, I got ;'D You've made that baby look brand new; methinks there's nothing wrong with her, but I am only a novice. Thank you, Ben for a wonderful video. |
Post# 289370 , Reply# 2   7/8/2008 at 11:44 (5,742 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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Post# 289374 , Reply# 3   7/8/2008 at 12:00 (5,742 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 289383 , Reply# 4   7/8/2008 at 12:39 (5,742 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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Post# 289392 , Reply# 5   7/8/2008 at 13:22 (5,742 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)   |   | |
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While I am not experienced with unimatics, did you check to make sure the machine was perfectly level and all feet are solidly contacting the floor. It kind of sounds to me like a reverberation in the machine. |
Post# 289402 , Reply# 6   7/8/2008 at 14:41 (5,741 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 289406 , Reply# 7   7/8/2008 at 15:07 (5,741 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Post# 289425 , Reply# 9   7/8/2008 at 16:21 (5,741 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Good video, Ben. We spent a while with this machine here in Omaha a couple of months ago and checked all the things that he mentioned - there are no hoses or wires knocking, all parts seem tight and secure. Ben cleaned and polished the snubber plate and even made sure the snubber spring is firmly in place and clean. We tightened the nut and seal assy. onto the mechanism and made sure everything was secure under the tub. I was thinking that the off-balance lever might be rattling from the reverberations in the outer tub/cabinet, but it sounds like that is OK too. |
Post# 289465 , Reply# 10   7/8/2008 at 20:50 (5,741 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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To answer Robert's question - yes, it will only rattle during spin once the start winding has disengaged - and the run winding is in full force. I think that the amount of torque the motor is creating during the initial start-up is cushioning *something*, then once it is able to maintain speed and no longer requires the large amounts of torque, the rattle comes alive. it is hard to pinpoint the exact location - but it almost sounds like to pieces of metal outside the mechanism are hitting each other - like a torn piece of steel or something not being completely bolted or secured down properly. Steve - I found the hose below at an Advanced Auto parts store - but I'm pretty confident that the PN seen below would work at most auto parts stores. If you cut the little bit of extra off the hose it fits like a glove. I originally attributed the issue to that very hose but was a bit disappointed that it didn't cure it. The hose on the far left is what it came with, the 2nd was a failed attempt, and the last hose was perfect. If the machine is spinning and you gently move the mechanism around while floating on the snubber there is a sweet spot that makes the rattle stop. I have a suspicion that there is an issue somewhere in the mechanism support. I didn't have time tonight, but I'll take the top off tomorrow for further investigation. Thanks for the input! |
Post# 289522 , Reply# 11   7/9/2008 at 06:53 (5,741 days old) by gyrafoam (Wytheville, VA)   |   | |
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Ben, thanks for the tip on the hose! I sure hope your mechanism support is o.k.! (That sounded weird----oh well, you know what I mean!) |
Post# 289536 , Reply# 13   7/9/2008 at 08:30 (5,741 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Ben what is the condition of the rubber surrounding the nipple under the snubber plate? This nipple and rubber ring goes into the cup that is welded to the crossbrace. I've seen these make banging sounds if the rubber has hardened. The fix for this is to take some grease and grease the outside of the rubber ring and inside of the cup, this might solve the problem, but be very careful not to get any grease on the top of the snubber plate or bottom of the pump plate.
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Post# 289635 , Reply# 14   7/9/2008 at 21:22 (5,740 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Gang, The rubber around the snubber (that sounds funny) was in good shape upon last inspection. Tonight I started to dig into the machine. Thought I had a tub nut wrench - apparently I do not. But - after some more testing and listening - the sounds are definately coming from the mechanism support. After inspecting the issue by placing my hands under the tub and feeling around the support - here is what I've come up with. 1) the main bearing for the spin cage is shot. 2) the mechanism support is very pliable - I can press it fairly easily with my fingers and doesn't seem too stiff. I have #2 pointing on the fold area, and by touch that area seemed almost too soft. I didn't feel any holes or tears though in the support. Also it felt as though the support was secured well to the rim of the outer cabinet. 3) nut and seal assembly. I could feel slop in this while shaking the tub - not sure if it has to do with the nut and seal not being tight again, but could feel the mechanism slightly move around. By hand the nut did not feel loose. Not sure if that is attributed to the pliability of the support or not. How tight should all of this feel? It is almost as if the spin shaft cage is not 100 percent secure - which takes me back to number 1. While starting this journey I also have discovered that the oil bellows had a slight tear at the bottom. Yay - something else to track down! Any further suggestions or input would be helpful. I won't be able to dive into it until next week. Ben |
Post# 289650 , Reply# 15   7/9/2008 at 22:46 (5,740 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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The back of mine is open to view from the living room and I've spent many the minutes watching all the goings-on. The wind-up for the spin is so energetic, and then wah-wah-wah-bong--she's loose. I also love watching the spin solenoid click/slip down after pulsation, and in a split second the spin starts. Right underneath the spin switch is a small metal plate. It looks exactly like a miniature version of the chrome soap dishes or shelves from the 50's. Would you tell me, Ben, what the little shelf is for? There I am on the floor behind the machine, out of sight, with my head stuck in side the 1x2 foot permanent opening.;'D So cool they engineered it that way. Wonder why. |
Post# 289659 , Reply# 16   7/10/2008 at 00:11 (5,740 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Post# 289705 , Reply# 17   7/10/2008 at 09:43 (5,740 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Hey Greg - No I haven't been able to pull the tub yet. I will try to find a wrench to take the tub nut off - a trip to Sears for a 20 dollar wrench that I will cut in half will be my fate. I was reading about the tang last night in the reopperating manual - that will be something to look for next week. Thanksf for the tip! We'll all get this figured out soon. Ben |
Post# 289759 , Reply# 18   7/10/2008 at 15:19 (5,739 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Well actually you can just go to work and pick one up, with no cutting necessary
CLICK HERE TO GO TO unimatic1140's LINK |
Post# 289760 , Reply# 19   7/10/2008 at 15:29 (5,739 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Actually on second thought this one is better and a bit cheaper...
CLICK HERE TO GO TO unimatic1140's LINK |
Post# 289769 , Reply# 20   7/10/2008 at 15:52 (5,739 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 289773 , Reply# 21   7/10/2008 at 16:08 (5,739 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Post# 289775 , Reply# 22   7/10/2008 at 16:13 (5,739 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 289801 , Reply# 23   7/10/2008 at 19:18 (5,739 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Post# 289823 , Reply# 25   7/10/2008 at 21:23 (5,739 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)   |   | |
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When Roger had the same issue with his Unimatic, it was because the nut was not tight enough. He tightened the bejesus out of it (hit the wrench with a hammer a few times) and made sure the zinc washer underneath was very securely bent-up, and that did the trick... That may not be the case with yours, but I was remembering that... |
Post# 289835 , Reply# 26   7/10/2008 at 22:17 (5,739 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Thanks for the sizes Robert - that was exactly what I was looking for. If I remember reading correctly there were two sizes used on the mechanical seal/nut assembly - a switch around 1957 or so - associated with the seal change? There was that wrench that had the two sides to it... Steve - thanks for the bearing number. Came up in Grainger with two hits (two different sizes), may need to inquire more with the gang in tech. Nate - I was wondering about Roger's Unimatic. Was his bearing shot as well because I do remember the story of you guys putting it back together. Thanks again everyone - I'll hopefully have some time to work on it next week. Ben |
Post# 289910 , Reply# 27   7/11/2008 at 08:27 (5,739 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Post# 289992 , Reply# 28   7/11/2008 at 15:49 (5,738 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)   |   | |
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Hi Ben, Roger's was noisy because the nut came loose from the seal over time because the nut wasn't tight enough when we reassembled it. When it really let loose, it started leaking oil out of the top of the mechanism. When he redid it and hammered it tight, and was extremely careful to solidly bend-up the leg of the zinc washer, everything was perfect and it spun flawlessly ever after... We also had thought that it was a snubber issue. It did have a bad bearing when we first got it, but that didn't affect the spin balance or make any intermittent noise at all--instead, it sounded like you were standing in front of the air intake on a jet engine when you had the lid open :-). Replacing the bearing made it spin silently, but the noise/rattle/imbalance issue continued as long as the nut was loose. Hope that helps :-) Nate |
Post# 289994 , Reply# 29   7/11/2008 at 15:59 (5,738 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Post# 290172 , Reply# 31   7/12/2008 at 11:47 (5,738 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)   |   | |
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Post# 290173 , Reply# 32   7/12/2008 at 11:52 (5,738 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)   |   | |
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Post# 290174 , Reply# 33   7/12/2008 at 11:57 (5,738 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)   |   | |
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Post# 291325 , Reply# 34   7/18/2008 at 00:01 (5,732 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 291493 , Reply# 35   7/18/2008 at 17:13 (5,731 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)   |   | |
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Post# 291498 , Reply# 36   7/18/2008 at 17:37 (5,731 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Post# 291536 , Reply# 37   7/18/2008 at 22:47 (5,731 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)   |   | |
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