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Thread Number: 97590
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
Taming a Rollermatic - Custom Deluxe style! |
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Post# 1224892 2/19/2025 at 21:49 by swestoyz  (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Hi everyone! I wanted to share a restoration that I had finished recently. This was certainly a fun one!
A few years ago a fellow friend from the group let me know that he had been gifted a few mid 60's Frigidaire washers, one of which was a turquoise 1965 Custom Deluxe. I had been chasing the dream/hope of finding a nice, restorable '65 Rollermatic for quite sometime. A few had come and gone over the years, but none that were turquoise. At the time I had recently bought a WI-65 Rapid Dry, but after seeing the two side by side the decision was easy - the Custom Deluxe would be the one to keep. The machine sat idle in the workshop for a few years and was used as a test mule for another Rollermatic project that I had worked on for a club member. This fall a window opened up where I felt I could knock this one out quickly. Well, as life goes, other unexpected projects got in the way, pushing back progress and completion until earlier this year in January. This was a machine where all the parts to restore it mechanically had already been collected well before I even had the machine. The first step was cleaning and coating a spare outer tub with POR-15. I had saved this outer tub from another Rollermatic that had been parted out. This post was last edited 02/19/2025 at 23:05 | ||
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Post# 1224895 , Reply# 1 2/19/2025 at 21:54 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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The two speed impact clutch mechanism had been sitting on the floor of the workshop for several years. Thankfully it was in pretty good shape, although when it had been tested upon arrival every bearing was screaming for mercy.
Over the years I have come across some really odd and rare Frigidaire tools, one being the special pliers that Frigidaire put out to aid in the removal of the early agitate arm ball. The 1964 through early 1966 machines used an all rubber ball on the arm. It would be really easy to tear these if a vise grip or channelocks were used. During disassembly I noticed that the bearings on the agitate arm and agitate wheel had the same ND part number stamped on them, and wondered if they could be pressed out. Sure enough - the agitate arm was a piece of cake, and with a fabricated tool used to help with the agitate wheel, I was able to get both out! And thankfully so, both were incredibly crunchy and worn out. | ||
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Post# 1224896 , Reply# 2 2/19/2025 at 22:01 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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With both bearings out the research took off. The bearings were stamped ND 885165-B, which cross over to a water pump bearing used in the early 60's on GM products. This makes sense considering this was a GM product and Frigidaire even documented this in the GM Design article that Robert has posted out on AE. It's worth downloading and reading through for the Frigidaire enthusiasts in the group.
Thankfully, this bearing is still readily available under the National brand, as item number National 885165-1. I ordered two through Zoro, item number G4942818. Both pressed in easily using the shop press, no heat needed. I also cleaned up the ball within the agitate arm and set the torque spec to match the instructions provided in the 1972-1979 1-18 Tech Talks (that were also included within the 9957111 repair kit for the earlier Rollermatic arms). This post was last edited 02/19/2025 at 23:07 | ||
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Post# 1224897 , Reply# 3 2/19/2025 at 22:07 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Next up where the spin shaft bearings. The upper bearing is a Torrington J 1812 needle bearing. I replaced it with a INA SCE 1812 / Grainger item number 4XFJ9. When pressing this bearing in make sure to press it to the depth that the original was pressed to, and not down to the stop machined in the housing (roughly 1/8” of an inch).
And then the lower bearing. My favorite bearing to hate, the Frigidaire 7524183, or the ND 77504CJ. This is technically a 6204 bearing, but the bore is NOT a 20MM bore but instead a 13/16" bore. This custom size is impossible to find and I've only ever been able to find NOS Frigidaire replacements. I decided to pull the shields off the original and see if it could be cleaned enough to reuse. Thankfully, the inside wasn't rusty at all, just caked with dried up wax from the old grease, and brake dust. After cleaning it and repacking it, I lucked out and found that generic rubber shields from a 6204 bearing will fit perfectly in the 7524183 bearing! In the photo, an NOS 7524183 on the left, center is a cleaned/repacked 7524183 with 6204 shields, and on the right is a cheap Chinese 6204 bearing that I stole the shields from This post was last edited 02/19/2025 at 23:25 | ||
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Post# 1224898 , Reply# 4 2/19/2025 at 22:11 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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With solutions for the main bearings checked off, cleaning all the other mechanism parts took place. Here are all the pieces that make up a 2 speed Impact Clutch Rollermatic, ready for reassembly.
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This post was last edited 02/19/2025 at 23:08 | ||
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Post# 1224899 , Reply# 5 2/19/2025 at 22:14 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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First things first - pressing the motor rotor lower bearing into the housing, and then pressing the rotor into the bearing. This is tricky because you don't want to over press the rotor against the bearing ensuring there is no slop between the bearing and the rotor, otherwise it is really easy to deform the two washers holding the bearing in place. Ask me how I know.
Also, make sure to follow the service manual and tighten the two 12 point bolts that hold the spin shaft housing to the motor base to the 80-120 INCH pounds. Lower motor bearing - ND 3203 Ordered - NTN 6203LLUC3/L627 / Grainger 4ZXE9 | ||
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Post# 1224901 , Reply# 6 2/19/2025 at 22:18 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Next up, the lower spin shaft bearing is pressed to the spin shaft. GM provided a special tool to aid in both pressing the bearing on the shaft, but then also driving the shaft into the housing.
Doesn't that rejuvenated, evil bearing look great in that housing? LOL The lower bearing/brake plate is then installed over the bearing. Notice the cap screws used on this early '65 mechanism. They used Phillip head screws shortly after this through to the end of the 1-18. This post was last edited 02/19/2025 at 23:09 | ||
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Post# 1224902 , Reply# 7 2/19/2025 at 22:25 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Next up is installing the brake lining and spin wheel. I did tear this spin wheel down completely to clean it, even though GM indicates that these are not serviceable. The "safety clutch" linings look identical to the sure spin clutches, but these almost never get used for their intended purpose - as a safety to cause the wheel to spin and not tear the cam apart upon a reapplication of torque, say after a lid was opened and quickly closed.
All 1964-1979 Rollermatic mechanisms use the same brake lining, and specify the same travel distance to set the wheel at - 1/32" of travel UPWARD. Make sure to do this with the spin roller/s removed and press upward, not along the ride of the cam itself against the stop. Also, I learned that the Impact clutch wheels use a bronze bushing whereas the later Sure Spin wheels use an steel bushing. For the Sure Spin clutches they do recommend adding a tiny amount of rust preventative lubrication, but none for the Impact clutches. Since I had done a full clean of all surfaces I added a TINY amount of turbine oil to the bushing before assembly. | ||
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Post# 1224903 , Reply# 8 2/19/2025 at 22:27 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Next was installing the agitate wheel and arm. GM provided a special spacer to get the correct spacing for both. I don't know what the actual thickness of the spacing is - I should go measure that and document it here.
With the agitate side completed, all of the drive components are in place! | ||
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Post# 1224904 , Reply# 9 2/19/2025 at 22:31 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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In the '67 and '68 Rollermatic Tech Talks, GM advises to use a product called Leak Lock to seal between the carbon seal and the housing. By chance I happened to find that the original company is still in business and still sells the stuff! I ordered a lifetime supply that I'll pass along to the daughter.
The pump housing was cleaned and coated with the KBS RustSeal epoxy coating. This stuff will save any pot metal pump and I'll be using it on all restorations with pot metal parts, moving forward. A new 5431073 seal was installed, and the original washer on the impeller was cleaned and lapped before installing in the impeller. A tiny dab of blue Loctite is then used on the impeller bolt, and I coat the inner diameter of the impeller in gray anti-seize. | ||
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Post# 1224906 , Reply# 10 2/19/2025 at 22:37 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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With the mechanism fully assembled it was time for some bench testing! Overall, the mechanism sounded great but it needed a few adjustments. The upper motor bearing was a bit too noisy for my tastes, so I put a second replacement bearing in place and rerouted the wires for the switch so that they wouldn't get nicked by the rotor.
Upper motor bearing - Upper: ND 907163 Bore: .5118 / 13mm OD: 1.2598 / 32mm Width: .3937 / 10mm Based on 77501 / 77108 (77108 is extra quiet) - having a standard 12mm bore Ordered - 6201-2RS-13mm from Amazon (search on Google vs. in Amazon to find 13mm bore vs. 12mm bore) | ||
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Post# 1224907 , Reply# 11 2/19/2025 at 22:42 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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After getting the bugs worked out in terms of noise, a test in the machine was next. Sadly, while things sounded pretty good I just couldn't get the brake to engage! I tried adjusting the cam stop nut, setting the wheel higher, cleaning everything. Nothing.
I even tried a spare spin wheel, swapping out the roller. Nothing. It was taking about 2 minutes and 30 seconds for the tub to finally stop. After futzing with it for over two months, I finally told myself - just use it like this. With the decision to press on made, the next choice was agitators. I had been dying to try the '64 3 ring vs. an NOS '65-'69 deep action. A vote was cast between a few collectors and myself, and thankfully the '64 three ring won! The pulsator is a minty, low use '65-'66 pulsator. | ||
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Post# 1224909 , Reply# 12 2/19/2025 at 22:48 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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After running a few loads through the machine for testing, a leak formed at one of the hoses and a nasty rattle was now present during initial spin.
While fixing the leak it became obvious what the rattle was - the spin driver was quite loose on the motor shaft. This meant the drive side of the mechanism needed to be taken apart, which means taking the pump apart. UGH. The photos below show the assembly of the replacement spin driver, the re-cleaned agitator driver, and ensuring the alignment of the spin driver has the alignment tab in the notch on the motor frame. I also used this opportunity to reset the spin wheel height to 1/32" inch, after taking it all apart and cleaning everything once again. So, was the effort of replacing the spin driver the ultimate resolve for the brake not engaging? Watch the clip and find out! | ||
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Post# 1224910 , Reply# 13 2/19/2025 at 22:52 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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I was so relieved that the brake was now engaging! And, the rattle during initial spin was perfectly cured. I buttoned up a few more things on the bottom end and shoved it back into the main line up.
Here are some glamor and money shots! | ||
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Post# 1224911 , Reply# 14 2/19/2025 at 22:54 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Post# 1224912 , Reply# 15 2/19/2025 at 22:55 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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And, saving the best for last - the full length cycle YouTube clip!
If you watch through to either the end of the first or last spin, you'll notice that the brake duration has improved greatly compared to the earlier clip when the brake had first just began working. I'm chalking it up to everything just needing more brake-in time, no pun intended. The tub now stops in well under 12 seconds. Overall, I'm so glad the mechanical restoration of this machine is complete. I've run several dozen loads through it and it continues to get quieter and more stable with each wash and it is by far one of the quietest Rollermatics I've ever heard, in person. I'm sure there are some details that I had planned on sharing but I've forgotten in the moment. I'll make sure add in anything I missed in the next few days. Until then - enjoy! Ben | ||
| Post# 1224914 , Reply# 16 2/19/2025 at 23:45 by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas) | ||
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Post# 1224917 , Reply# 17 2/20/2025 at 03:57 by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield, East Midlands, UK) |
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| Post# 1224935 , Reply# 18 2/20/2025 at 10:33 by Golittlesport (California) | ||
Beautiful machine!! | ||
| Post# 1224942 , Reply# 19 2/20/2025 at 13:25 by mickeyd (Hamburg NY) | ||
Another magazine article~
All of that immense technical skill, the photo-video extravaganza, and then the writing. How DO you do it ?!
Was lucky enough to have spent my teenage years with the bronze version, and could not get enough of it. But, Ben, I have to ask you a serious question: You are the ultimate purist, perfectionist, so why have you skipped the jetcone three stage rocket agitator? | ||
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Post# 1224950 , Reply# 20 2/20/2025 at 14:28 by peteski50 (New York) |
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Frigidaire! | ||
| Post# 1224955 , Reply# 21 2/20/2025 at 15:09 by christfr (st louis mo) | ||
wow | ||
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Post# 1224956 , Reply# 22 2/20/2025 at 15:22 by thomasortega (El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles de Porciúncula) |
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| Post# 1224957 , Reply# 23 2/20/2025 at 15:29 by qsd-dan (West) | ||
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Post# 1224966 , Reply# 24 2/20/2025 at 16:33 by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers) |
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Fantastic Thread Ben ! Love being able to see all the steps in one place! I did not know you did so much work in the bearings, amazing !
Mikeyd - maybe I can answer your question, I learned this long ago, and mentioned it to Ben, the three ring agitator pulls the clothes down harder and is quiet, the Jet Cone, is loud but it does have a dead spot above the top cone where clothes can just get stuck and not pulled under . | ||
| Post# 1224989 , Reply# 25 2/20/2025 at 20:07 by Agiflow (Toms River) | ||
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Excellent work. Watched many of your restores. You're a very talented man Ben. Are you or have you been working on a Blackstone? Can't wait to see videos of that. | ||
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Post# 1224994 , Reply# 26 2/20/2025 at 20:45 by Jetaction (Minneapolis) |
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Post# 1224998 , Reply# 27 2/20/2025 at 22:09 by Combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Another fantastic restoration Ben
This was a really neat era for Frigidaire washers. We have two of them in our museum collection although both of the roller-matic are the rapid dry models, actually I have 3 one needs to be repaired yet.
The older three ring agitator provides much faster turnover, and also works better with small loads compared to the later jet cone agitator, however, the advantage of the Jet cone agitator was much less tangling so it’s a trade-off. What’s your next restoration? Ben? Can’t wait. John L | ||
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Post# 1225020 , Reply# 29 2/21/2025 at 06:16 by gregingotham (New York) |
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nicely done! Congrats Ben- beautiful restoration and machine. Amazing the amount of metal in these machines, which today is probably mostly all plastic. Love the turquoise! | ||
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Post# 1225023 , Reply# 30 2/21/2025 at 06:49 by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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| Post# 1225031 , Reply# 31 2/21/2025 at 10:54 by rinso (Meridian Idaho) | ||
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Post# 1225044 , Reply# 32 2/21/2025 at 13:33 by GELaundry4ever (Nacogdoches, TX, USA (considering moving to Temple, Texas)) |
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test run I'd love to see a test run on youtube. | ||
| Post# 1225053 , Reply# 33 2/21/2025 at 14:54 by mickeyd (Hamburg NY) | ||
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Dear Mother General Jon Charles Jetcone~
A big warm hello and Thank You for the insight. I bet you're right; furthermore, that is one truly beautiful agitator--love the higher head.
The action of the three ring pulsator in a 12 pound tub differs from that of a 10 pounder: In the classic 10, everything goes round and down at once while in the 12, some articles sort of "wait their turn" to take the plunge, just like in the 1-18 and the rollermatics. I'm sure you've noticed. Myself, well, I spent way too many hours watching our rollermatic's jetcone peel the articles off the load and pull them down when I should have been out playing SPOOORRTS. Ha ha ha. | ||
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Post# 1225055 , Reply# 34 2/21/2025 at 15:20 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Thank you!
Oh guys, thank you for your kind comments and responses. I wish I could say there was a natural talent that goes along with diving into a project like this, but I truly believe that everyone is capable of learning how to work on our mechanical wonders. They really are the best place to start in terms of building up mechanical knowledge and touch, IMO. I've always felt that coding or electronics/microelectronics are far more difficult to master than turning a wrench and reading through a service manual. Anyone can do this if they put their mind to it and are okay making mistakes and learning along the way. :)
Ok - a few answers to some of the questions: Mickeyd - Jon and Dan are spot on. The cleaning ability of the narrower 1963/1964 three ring agitator column seems to be better than the 1965-1969 Deep Action/Jet Action agitator. The side by side shot above of the two shows how the narrow center of the earlier style will swallow items into the circulation, vs. the later style relies on zones of current on the periphery of the tub to turn items over. I'm also proving that the later, narrower pulsators work just fine to turn over big loads, and even slow things down just a bit compared to the earlier 1955-1964 pulsators. And yes, Dan is correct. The earlier agitator is MUCH quieter. As for writing. I cringe when I read back through my posts. At typos and grammar issues. I often have a great narrative in my mind of what I want to say but I don't have a lot of time to get it down on paper, let alone having time to go back and read through my thoughts with the lens of a proof reader/editor. Throw in shooting video footage on my phone, editing it over the course of an evening, and trying to be a husband/dad with a full time job. It's a wonder any of this actually gets accomplished. Patrick/Agiflow - I really need to shoot a full cycle video of the 350 Blackstone. Coming soon! John L - While I do love a good Rapid Dry Rollermatic, I really warmed up to to the idea of saving/restoring a middle of the line machine, especially an early one. Considering how unique the design and engineering is of these, restoring the bread and butter version felt just as important as having the fastest car/spinning washer off the show room floor. And - to follow up on a few things I mentioned during the thread. I did measure the agitate wheel spacer gage for both the Rollermatic and the 1-18: Agitate Wheel spacer gage 12934-1 - Rollermatic - 0.125 / 1/8" Agitate Wheel spacer gage 14405 - 1-18 Rollermatic - 0.060 / ~1/16" Also, the piece of steel bar stock that I used to help press out the agitate wheel bearing was 1/8" x 1", cut to about 5 inches in length. Otherwise, the only specialized tools that are an absolute must would be the bellows pliers and the tub nut wrench. Outside of those, all other tasks technically can be done without any other specialized tools, baring that a shop press makes bearing removal and assembly so much easier, as well as a gear puller for the drivers and motor upper bearing. This post was last edited 02/21/2025 at 16:14 | ||
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Post# 1225056 , Reply# 35 2/21/2025 at 15:25 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Agitate Arm adjustment
Okay, this is good tip for anyone to check when working on a '64 thru '69 Rollermatic. None of the original Tech Talk service manuals for these washers discuss rebuilding the agitate arm as GM did not supply the repair kit for these until the mid 70's. The instruction sheet that comes along with either the 9957111 Rollermatic or 9957112 1-18 rebuild kit contain the same instructions.
The important part to note is the torque "drop test", discussed in bullet number 14 below; screen shot taken from the 1972 Tech Talk for the T-Line washers. After cleaning everything and lubricating the wick, I adjusted the nut to what I felt was pretty close, then did the 45 degree drop to center and adjusted the nut until I could reliably get the same result after a few tries. All of the used arms I had on hand were terribly loose. This adjustment in itself would help quiet down a noisy Rollermatic, and would ensure that the ball bushings have a nice long healthy life.
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Post# 1225057 , Reply# 36 2/21/2025 at 15:39 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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So many rollers, oh my!
Another mystifying thing I wanted to help shed some light on are the many, many, many different part numbers GM used from 1964 thru 1979 on all Rollermatic mechanisms.
The late '64 through early '66 mechanisms used what I like to call the spring style rollers, that have a wire wound spring that wraps around the center bushing and has tension held by a near by stand off on the motor frame. It didn't take long for GM to update the newer "retractor" style rollers on the 1 and 2 speed mechanisms, starting with the mid-year introduction in 1966 of the Sure Spin clutch, and on the '67 L through '68 N line Rapid Dry mechanisms. As I read through the various Tech Talks, Tech Tips, and the annual Tech Tip digest that GM called the Tech Talk Miscellaneous, I got a sense of information of the updates and revisions that GM was working to achieve during the early years. There were some repair kits available for some years, red stripes vs. yellow stripes on spin rollers, Impact Clutch vs. Sure Spin, and then all of the 1-18 changes that happened over the course of a decade. For the last several years I've slowly been working on a cross reference table that I was originally inspired by Greg N and some of the research he had done, as well as some of the tabulated summary information GM was trying to present in Tech Tips. This table focuses mostly on rollers/clutches/agitate arms, but it does include a few other small details. As for the restoration on the '65, I used a 6597633 agitate/spin roller kit, that provides a 7533507 agitate roller and 7533505/0631407 spin roller, and one roller screw. Since I ended up using a motor base from a '66 sure spin I didn't need to modify the motor base, but all 1964 and early '65 mechanisms will require a hole to be drilled into the bae in order for the roller tab to fall into the notch/hole on the motor base frame. If anyone spots any errors on this list, please let me know and I'd be happy to make any updates/corrections. Happy parts hunting! Ben docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...
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Post# 1225162 , Reply# 37 2/22/2025 at 23:43 by pdub (Portland, Oregon) |
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Amazing! | ||
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Post# 1225185 , Reply# 38 2/23/2025 at 07:35 by Stainfighter (Columbia, SC) |
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Post# 1225259 , Reply# 39 2/24/2025 at 00:40 by GELaundry4ever (Nacogdoches, TX, USA (considering moving to Temple, Texas)) |
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Frigidaire! That is a nice Frigidaire! How does it sound with the lid shut with nothing but water in it? It's a shame what GM and WCI did to them. | ||
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Post# 1225784 , Reply# 40 3/3/2025 at 18:14 by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers) |
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I | ||
| Post# 1225787 , Reply# 41 3/3/2025 at 18:57 by cycla-fabric (New Jersey (Northern)) | ||
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Post# 1225789 , Reply# 42 3/3/2025 at 19:12 by Marky_Mark (From Liverpool. Now living in Palm Springs and Madrid) |
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Post# 1225824 , Reply# 43 3/4/2025 at 09:13 by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA) |
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Amazing work  | ||
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Post# 1225860 , Reply# 44 3/4/2025 at 17:58 by joelippard (Hickory) |
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How Wonderful! Ben, this is one the finest tutorials on Rollermatic restoration I have ever seen here. I would love to know if you have any advice on how to tame the Sure-Spin Rapidry clutch. I have ran into several issues on those machines, including my own where you can get it to develop torque and spin the tub on takeoff but then loose torque when it shifts the solenoid on for the middle and high speeds. Numerous adjustments and tear down and reassembly efforts have proved no result, and it is not the rollers slipping... It's even too tight to start and throws the overload or presents the condition I outlined above.
Congratulations on a beautiful restoration! | ||
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Post# 1226199 , Reply# 45 3/9/2025 at 21:00 by sambootoo (Moody, AL) |
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Again, job well done, as usual. I appreciate your talent, hard work, and your sharing this with us | ||
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