Maytag A208

Eddie, Dan's on a very long sabbatical as he had gotten that burned out feeling among other reasons. He does visit and scan the topics. I do talk with him and hope he will slowly return to posting as he has a unGodly amount of knowledge in this area. So, until he does, you're stuck with me...

Time to remove the front panel and inspect the damper area for the dreaded Black Dust of Death! Find the two Philips screws along the bottom of the 'fold' that runs across the bottom of the front panel. Lift up on the panel and it unhooks from clips at the top and comes off. Now you can see all the goodies inside. Look for the damper which looks like a upside down salad bowl made of aluminum. Hopefully you won't see black dust which is ground aluminum from grinding against the zinc coated steel baseframe. If you do, the pads are gone and you have a hairy but doable job ahead involving replacing the damper. We will proceed, assuming you see no dust and just need pad maintenance.

If no dust is visible, you can lift the mechanism to inspect and lube the pads and it's relatively easy. First, remove the two 3/8 bolts holding the top down at the front corners of the top of the cabinet. This will give the tub room to lift up. Then tip the washer back (it's easiest to just lean it back against the wall) so you can remove the nuts that secure the three tub springs at the base. Before you start undoing the nuts, take note of the amount of the eyelet bolt sticking out so you can easier cinch them down when reattaching them. I usually will undo the back two springs first then the front one. BE CAREFULL as they are under tension. I will gently keep my hand on the eyelet bolt where the spring attaches to keep it from flying when the nut finally comes loose. Loosen the front nut >almost< all the way then set the washer down to take the tension of the tub off the spring then take the nut all the way off. Now the tub assy is complete loose.

Tip the washer back again and get a block of wood. I use two 6 - 8 inch long pieces of 2x4 taped together as a block. Put this under the washer so that when you tip the washer forward, the transmission pulley will set down on the block. The tub mechanism should now be raised up off the base so you can see the three felt pads that are glued to the base under the damper. If they are loose, you can still get the damper pads (they come in a bag with three pads and some lube). Clean the base where they stuck and glue them on. I will use a high temp adhesive. They should attach about 1/16 of an inch from the top of the raised area of the base. Use the provided PolyLube and lube the pads. Make sure the glue dries (overnite) then reassemble.

If the pads were still attached, then all you have to do is lube them. They will feel glazed. I take a wire toothbrush and GENTLY rough up the face of the felt pad a little then lube them. You can get Poly Lube in a small jar and it's the only lube you should use. Good stuff, this Poly Lube... You can use it for all sorts of things like lubing the rollers in the motor carriage among other things. Put a small but nice coating on the pads but do not over lube them. Now it's time to reattach the springs and reassemble the washer. The tub mechanism should move nice and easy now. Congratulations on a important but easy job that your Maytag needs!

Good luck!
RCD


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Post# 559374 11/26/2011 at 11:52 (4,533 days old) by Pulltostart (Mobile, AL)
Checkrate/Likes Question for those of you who actually work on and know these machines (I'm more of a voyeur...). My A208 has developed the annoying habit of excessive vibration during the spin. It doesn't seem to matter how much or how little I wash, it wants to shake and vibrate and dance. It is level, I've checkec front-to-back both sides, and side-to-side front and rear. About a month ago this appeared and I realized that the screws in the front panel were working lose so I tightened them and that appeared to correct the problem, but apparently not so. The extent to which I "work on" these appliances consists of wiping down the lid/top after a wash and emptying the lint filter; much more than that and, well, I have my doubts... What's up with this washer? Lawrence

Post# 559391 , Reply# 1 11/26/2011 at 14:05 (4,533 days old) by macboy91si (Frankfort, KY)
Checkrate/Likes *Dampers?* How easy does the tub move around. Based on what I know, it would seem to have to be either an excessively worn damper or misadjusted spring. I would think that if it were springs though the tub would list to one side. If you grab the agitator and move it, is it smooth or does it bind in one direction? Just something to check. -Tim

Post# 559448 , Reply# 2 11/26/2011 at 17:03 (4,533 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)
Checkrate/Likes *Where is QSD_dan ?* He would know. Drew... Where is Dan ???

Post# 559460 , Reply# 3 11/26/2011 at 17:40 (4,532 days old) by Pulltostart (Mobile, AL)
Checkrate/Likes I can't tell that there's much movement in any direction, if I grab the agitator and try to move the tub. L

Post# 559514 , Reply# 4 11/26/2011 at 21:07 (4,532 days old) by macboy91si (Frankfort, KY)
Checkrate/Likes *Video Response* Hopefully this is a little help as to what I'm talking about. If the tub can't move freely as it needs to then you will have excessive vibrations. Also if there is excessive play you will also have vibration, so give it a try... -TIm CLICK HERE TO GO TO macboy91si's LINK

Post# 559645 , Reply# 5 11/27/2011 at 08:53 (4,532 days old) by Pulltostart (Mobile, AL)
Checkrate/Likes Tim, Thanks for posting the video. My tub/agitator doesn't move with nearly the ease that yours appears to have. It's defintely a two-handed job to move them and they don't return to neutral nearly as readily. Would this confirm the problem with the dampers? Lawrence

Post# 559697 , Reply# 6 11/27/2011 at 11:38 (4,532 days old) by macboy91si (Frankfort, KY)
Checkrate/Likes *Dampers* Yes, I would think so, maybe someone else will chime in here, but it is a somewhat involved job mechanically, one that I haven't had to tackle yet. There may be a pictorial on the Searchilator as to how even to do this. Basically if you remove the front panel and look at the aluminum support structure, you're looking at the bottom where they supports meet at the center. This round hump rides on pads that are glued to the baseplate, I sorta compare em to light brake pads. The pads also have lube on them which makes things glide nice and smooth (poly-lube) and to protect the pads from wear. If the machine is not making rough noises when you try and move the tub they may just need to be lubed, but I would not run the machine unless I had until then until this is resolved. You basically need to raise the center pulley up to reveal the pads, but I've not yet had to do this myself. -Tim

Post# 559711 , Reply# 7 11/27/2011 at 12:30 (4,532 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)
Checkrate/Likes *The Bat Signal for QSD_DAN...* Eddie, Dan's on a very long sabbatical as he had gotten that burned out feeling among other reasons. He does visit and scan the topics. I do talk with him and hope he will slowly return to posting as he has a unGodly amount of knowledge in this area. So, until he does, you're stuck with me... Time to remove the front panel and inspect the damper area for the dreaded Black Dust of Death! Find the two Philips screws along the bottom of the 'fold' that runs across the bottom of the front panel. Lift up on the panel and it unhooks from clips at the top and comes off. Now you can see all the goodies inside. Look for the damper which looks like a upside down salad bowl made of aluminum. Hopefully you won't see black dust which is ground aluminum from grinding against the zinc coated steel baseframe. If you do, the pads are gone and you have a hairy but doable job ahead involving replacing the damper. We will proceed, assuming you see no dust and just need pad maintenance. If no dust is visible, you can lift the mechanism to inspect and lube the pads and it's relatively easy. First, remove the two 3/8 bolts holding the top down at the front corners of the top of the cabinet. This will give the tub room to lift up. Then tip the washer back (it's easiest to just lean it back against the wall) so you can remove the nuts that secure the three tub springs at the base. Before you start undoing the nuts, take note of the amount of the eyelet bolt sticking out so you can easier cinch them down when reattaching them. I usually will undo the back two springs first then the front one. BE CAREFULL as they are under tension. I will gently keep my hand on the eyelet bolt where the spring attaches to keep it from flying when the nut finally comes loose. Loosen the front nut >almost< all the way then set the washer down to take the tension of the tub off the spring then take the nut all the way off. Now the tub assy is complete loose. Tip the washer back again and get a block of wood. I use two 6 - 8 inch long pieces of 2x4 taped together as a block. Put this under the washer so that when you tip the washer forward, the transmission pulley will set down on the block. The tub mechanism should now be raised up off the base so you can see the three felt pads that are glued to the base under the damper. If they are loose, you can still get the damper pads (they come in a bag with three pads and some lube). Clean the base where they stuck and glue them on. I will use a high temp adhesive. They should attach about 1/16 of an inch from the top of the raised area of the base. Use the provided PolyLube and lube the pads. Make sure the glue dries (overnite) then reassemble. If the pads were still attached, then all you have to do is lube them. They will feel glazed. I take a wire toothbrush and GENTLY rough up the face of the felt pad a little then lube them. You can get Poly Lube in a small jar and it's the only lube you should use. Good stuff, this Poly Lube... You can use it for all sorts of things like lubing the rollers in the motor carriage among other things. Put a small but nice coating on the pads but do not over lube them. Now it's time to reattach the springs and reassemble the washer. The tub mechanism should move nice and easy now. Congratulations on a important but easy job that your Maytag needs! Good luck! RCD

Post# 559781 , Reply# 8 11/27/2011 at 18:57 (4,531 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)
Checkrate/Likes Drew said it far better than I could have. In fact I'm copying his post and saving locally for when I have to service or replace the pads on one of my two 606 washers.

Post# 559864 , Reply# 9 11/28/2011 at 06:46 (4,531 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL)
Checkrate/Likes Drew, Thanks for the great instructions! I will pop the front off the washer this evening and look for the dust.... Lawrence