Washer Timer Lubrication

Tom -

Some of these early quick-disconnect timers were not very smooth and easy to turn, even from the factory. That is especially true of some timers made by CCA (Controls Corp of America). Some have complex and tight cams due to Kenmore trying to cram 30-minute soak cycles and second rinses into the same 360-degrees that less complicated 3-cycles used to nearly fill-up. This resulted in complicated cams with short increments.

If this is the timer in your 1970 KM, its an early one for sure. I don't think there were many quick connect timers before 1970 or so, and there was still many standard types in production use a few years later. Our 1974 Kenmore, which had tiny increments due to the feature laden nature of the timer, was a perfect example - not easy to turn from day one, and we stripped several knobs over the years, as they would eventually crack and the timer shaft would come up through the knob and splinter it. Eventually our timer jammed. We got it un-jammed but the machine only filled on rinse temps after that. A piece of a cam fell out while working with it. I replaced it with a new timer in 1983 before selling the machine. The parts house immediately sprayed the brand new timer with silicone as John described above. Today, that timer has been subbed to a MUCH EASIER turning variant made by Mallory instead of CCA.

I'd bet that if/when you replace that timer, a newer version may turn much more easily.

Oh, btw, sometimes that pop you hear is the escapement getting set to advance the timer.


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Post# 788972 10/14/2014 at 09:44 (3,479 days old) by kenmore70 (New York)
Checkrate/Likes I need to lubricate this washer timer, I have some contact cleaner which I will use for this. Can anyone tell me where it should be sprayed? I see some plastic gears, I assume those should be sprayed. Do I need to remove it from the panel? How about the timer motor, should that be lubricated also? Thanks ! View Full Size

Post# 788985 , Reply# 1 10/14/2014 at 12:07 (3,479 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes *Lubricating Quick-Disconnect Timers* Why do you want to lubricate this timer? That said these timers sometimes become hard to turn, if this is the case pry off the steel band cover a little and spray silicone lubricant on the large plastic cam. You can also spray a little on any other gears that you see. While the cover is partly removed and if the timer is still hard to turn after lubricating, try turning the cam around at least 360 degrees and look for burned-melted spots on the plastic cam. If the timer still gets stuck running through a cycle on its own or otherwise skips parts of cycles you probably should look for a replacement timer. There is probably no need to lubricate the timer motor.

Post# 788992 , Reply# 2 10/14/2014 at 13:01 (3,479 days old) by kenmore70 (New York)
Checkrate/Likes Thanks John. The reason I want to try to lubricate this timer is that it is a little hard to turn, and also every once in a while when it advances, it makes a loud pop sound, so I figured it may need to be lubricated. I'll see if that solves the problem. Otherwise it does work ok and doesn't skip any parts of the cycle.

Post# 789193 , Reply# 3 10/15/2014 at 19:52 (3,478 days old) by Kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Tom - Some of these early quick-disconnect timers were not very smooth and easy to turn, even from the factory. That is especially true of some timers made by CCA (Controls Corp of America). Some have complex and tight cams due to Kenmore trying to cram 30-minute soak cycles and second rinses into the same 360-degrees that less complicated 3-cycles used to nearly fill-up. This resulted in complicated cams with short increments. If this is the timer in your 1970 KM, its an early one for sure. I don't think there were many quick connect timers before 1970 or so, and there was still many standard types in production use a few years later. Our 1974 Kenmore, which had tiny increments due to the feature laden nature of the timer, was a perfect example - not easy to turn from day one, and we stripped several knobs over the years, as they would eventually crack and the timer shaft would come up through the knob and splinter it. Eventually our timer jammed. We got it un-jammed but the machine only filled on rinse temps after that. A piece of a cam fell out while working with it. I replaced it with a new timer in 1983 before selling the machine. The parts house immediately sprayed the brand new timer with silicone as John described above. Today, that timer has been subbed to a MUCH EASIER turning variant made by Mallory instead of CCA. I'd bet that if/when you replace that timer, a newer version may turn much more easily. Oh, btw, sometimes that pop you hear is the escapement getting set to advance the timer.