I have repaired this one that we have at our church (house) -- that came with the house -- from probably late 70s. It has never been used because of some issues.
So far I have replaced both Bi-Metal switches to the soap doors -- that works now.
Also have done the Shaft Seal & Drain Impeller replacement and there lies the problem.
It ALMOST fixed the leak there -- but there is still a drip and I can sometimes feel the fine spray off the white fan/disk/shield thingy on the top of the motor indicating that the Shaft Seal is not quite doing it and a tiny amount of water is leaking thru periodically.
(Adding on the assembly shot of that area to help jog memory and easy to use the part nums if you have advice).
Also, I did NOT use the true HOBART kit -- which i saw is $132 now -- but I had ordered the Whirlpool version that is supposed to be similar and says it fits KDS-18 Superba etc. So that's what I have -- the whirlpool version ($26).
(I also tried adding good hot water into the bottom before even starting the cycle to warm things up -- not super boiling hot -- just hot - and when running it does drip drip drips a bit). All together maybe a quarter cup is dripping but since the motor is spraying it around it could be a bit more.
The ordering of parts stack is as shown starting from lowest parts:
shaft seal slide on .. seems snug ..
a couple of shim washers that were already there on old one ..
then the upper rubber and white teflon disk (snugged into bottom of impeller)
-- with white teflon showing towards the bottom.
The the impeller (with the above rubber and teflon in it)
And the upper o-ring on top of impeller ..
a couple more shims ..
then the upper washer impeller fits and screws down etc etc..
Do i need a snugger fit on to shaft seal somehow? If I took out one or two bottom shims (it sits on a narrow ledge/lip of the shaft just above the shaft seal) would that help?
Is the teflon ring supposed to touch the top of the shaft seal (which has a graphite ring there yes?). And if so should I take the two shims off the bottom to snug it down more?
Not quite sure about what those shims are doing -- they are so thin they can't be doing much.
Comes to the Rescue!
