Thread Number: 92122  /  Tag: Vintage Dishwashers
Restoring a GE Mobile Maid SP-60V1
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Post# 1166824   12/17/2022 at 08:05 (496 days old) by ericg88 (Texas)        

Hello everyone! I'm brand new to this forum and collecting vintage appliances.

Last week I impulsively picked up a GE Mobile Maid SP-60V1 for $30, not knowing anything about the history of these machines or the condition of this unit. The seller said its been sitting in a vacant East Texas home for a long time. He was told by the previous homeowner that it worked, but he was unable to get it to run because the door latch wouldn't hold the door shut.

Without taking anything apart, I cleaned out the latch mechanism best I could. I pulled out a piece of foam that almost looked like the inside of cigarette filter and wiped up decades worth of grime/dust. I wiggled the latch mechanism a little using some plyers and brought the door down, gave her a little push and… “CLICK”. The sweet sound of victory.
I hastily pulled the racks out, which are in great shape (cutlery basket is solid but a little rough), and examined the tub. It also seems to be in decent condition. There is some discoloration and some rust just above the sump but it’s not terrible.

The Unicouple lines were completely dry rotted and pulling it out of the machine sent shards of dried plastic flying everywhere. I quickly got the front cover off and replaced the original hoses with a modern unicouple I had lying around from an old GE Nautilus that bit the dust.

I got her hooked up to the sink, plugged in, and started a wash cycle. This is one angry maid. The motor sounded like it was trying to run me off. I pushed the wheel from rinse to wash and it tripped the GFCI immediately.

I unplugged the machine and took a peak underneath and saw water dripping from somewhere above the motor. Not a lot of water, but not a tiny bit of water either.

The next day I pulled the machine apart and gave it a much-needed cleaning. This thing must have been sitting undisturbed for at least 30 years. The amount of spider eggs and dusty muck that had accumulated on everything was extraordinary. Overall, though, the wiring is fine, some contacts had minimal buildup given its age, components have continuity and don’t appear to be shorted.

I put it back together and gave her another test run… this time WITHOUT water (I was thinking clearer without the adrenaline pumping from hearing the door latch click shut lol). I quickly pushed the dial through all the cycles twice and everything seems to work, but the motor still seems abnormally loud. I can see some sparking from behind the clear dial as the switches engage, but I guess this is normal since its engaging under load. It wouldn’t be visible with the front panel installed. Opening the door, I could already feel some heat from the elements even though it only took me 10-15 seconds max to manually push through two complete runs.

Now to the bad news… I found the leak. It’s coming from a hole in the bottom of the pump housing. Something hard must have caught under the impeller and scratched the rubber coating. Over time a hole as rusted through. There are a couple other small nicks in the rubber as well, and the rust has spread from where the hole is under the rubber, causing it to bubble slightly. I can’t tell how bad it is because the impeller is crimped onto the motor shaft, blocking direct access to the bottom of the housing.

I’m about to start taking the motor apart from the other side to see if I can gain a little more visibility and give the coils and interior a proper cleaning.

I will keep you updated as I go. The plan was originally to JB weld the hole and cover it in silicone, just so I could run a cycle to trouble-shoot any more problems. But with the other nicks and bubbling I've since noticed, I'm really not keen to run a wet cycle and risk causing more damage.

Any ideas and information about this machine would be greatly appreciated. Any diagrams, manuals, and sources for parts will put me forever in your debt.




  Photos...       <              >      Photo 1 of 9         View Full Size



Post# 1166832 , Reply# 1   12/17/2022 at 10:28 (496 days old) by ericg88 (Texas)        

Some shots of the motor and damage to pump housing

  Photos...       <              >      Photo 1 of 9         View Full Size
Post# 1166834 , Reply# 2   12/17/2022 at 11:39 (496 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
Welcome to our world

launderess's profile picture
Me myself have later model of GE Mobile Maid dw but other members have or had them as well.



www.automaticwasher.org/c...

www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/...

www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/...

www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/...

While fun units GE won't win prizes for their MM dishwashers on man fronts. The Plastisol tub lining caused no end of trouble and is often first to go.

Only part one has is a NOS spare motor. Only opened box to get the relay to sort out an issue with my machine.



Post# 1166835 , Reply# 3   12/17/2022 at 11:43 (495 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas)        

repairguy's profile picture
Congrats! Looks like it was built in November 1960.

Post# 1166836 , Reply# 4   12/17/2022 at 11:43 (495 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

launderess's profile picture
Various models of Mobile Maid dishwashers pop up pretty frequently on offer. Of course one will never been in one's neck of woods when needed...


This one is in CA, wouldn't pay anywhere near what seller is asking.




CLICK HERE TO GO TO Launderess's LINK


Post# 1166837 , Reply# 5   12/17/2022 at 11:51 (495 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

launderess's profile picture
Reach out to Lorain Furniture. He's a member of this group but may not always see posts because he's quite busy.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO Launderess's LINK on eBay


Post# 1166838 , Reply# 6   12/17/2022 at 12:04 (495 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

launderess's profile picture
From the archives: www.automaticwasher.org/c...

Post# 1166839 , Reply# 7   12/17/2022 at 12:04 (495 days old) by ericg88 (Texas)        

Thank you very much for the info!

I will try to contact Lorain Furniture about parts.

@Launderess as for the motor you have? Is it the vertically mounted kind like the one I pictured? I assume it has the pump assembly and impeller built in?

Most importantly... are you willing to sell it?

I'm going to try my best to repair the parts I have, not because its practical but because of the challenge. Though, I'm really not sure I will be able to make a proper/permanent repair to the pump housing if I can't even take the impeller off. As anyhone tried heating up the impeller and pulling it off with a make shift puller?

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for good products to repair the rust/scratches in the plastisol tub liner?


Post# 1166843 , Reply# 8   12/17/2022 at 12:40 (495 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

launderess's profile picture
Service and other manuals are available in library section of group.

www.automatice.org/cgi-bi...

www.automatice.org/cgi-bin/index...

www.automatice.org/cgi-bin/index...


Post# 1166844 , Reply# 9   12/17/2022 at 12:46 (495 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

launderess's profile picture
"@Launderess as for the motor you have? Is it the vertically mounted kind like the one I pictured? I assume it has the pump assembly and impeller built in?"

To best of one's knowledge all GE Mobile Maid dishwashers had motors mounted vertically beneath tub.

Mine is a later model than yours and GE switched away from impeller to wash arm. See link provided above.

Someone is offering same motor as mine on fleaPay. It does not have pump assembly affixed. https://www.ebay.com/itm/274619042254...


Post# 1166849 , Reply# 10   12/17/2022 at 13:31 (495 days old) by ericg88 (Texas)        

Thank you. I had glanced at the manuals a few days ago but that was before I knew exactly what year mine was. Thanks!

Thanks RepairGuy for dating the machine. Would you mind enlightening me on how you got that from the data plate?

I wonder if I'll be able to locate a pump assembly alone, I was assuming that the motor and pump would be sold as a single unit since the impellor looks permanently crimped on by the manufacturer.

No matter what route I go, I guess the next step is getting this impeller off without totally destroying the motor and pump housing.


Post# 1166850 , Reply# 11   12/17/2022 at 13:42 (495 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas)        

repairguy's profile picture
You’re welcome. Look up GE date codes and you’ll find a chart. On GE serial numbers the first letter of the number is for the month and the second is for the year manufactured. You have to know a little bit about the design of the machine and the time period because GE repeated the year codes every 12 years.

Your serial number starts with VT:

V = November
T = 1960


Post# 1166851 , Reply# 12   12/17/2022 at 14:06 (495 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
Welcome to the group and all the fun of battling with aged mechanisms!



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