Kenmore Basket Drive Block question

Before hacking off the skirt on the new drive block, I'd recommend doing a test fit, first, with the block installed and seated properly on the spin tube. If the spin tub has rubber bumpers installed along the lower section of the tube, those may interfere with installing the tub over the newer style drive block.

The additional flare on the bottom of the drive block is designed to engage with more surface area of the spin tub, as well as providing additional room for the center post/seal arrangement.

It looks like the original changes to the drive block coincided with the 91938 seal update in the fall of 1957.

EDIT - I did a bit more digging on the topic, to see what machines from '47 thru '56 had listed for the drive block. It looks like the early machines used a 16061 drive block, which crosses over to a 350223 and DOES NOT cross over to the 91890/96384 block.

The earliest machines I see using 91890 were '57 models. To John's point, it could be that the thickness of the steel/porcelain coating changed in '57 to a thinner spec, thus the different drive block/tub arrangement.

Ben

Photos... < > Photo 1 of 5 View Full Size


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Post# 1226426 3/12/2025 at 20:38 by kenmore70 (New York)
Checkrate/Likes I'm replacing the Basket Drive block on my 1956 Cycla Fabric washer. The original part number was #91890, so when I googled it, it said it was replaced with Part #96384 which was also replaced with #387947 as shown in the picture. I know they've changed style over time but the new one seems to be very tight going inside the basket tube as shown in the last picture. I tried to put it inside the bottom of the basket tube just to see how it would fit. Is this the right drive block? You can see the old one was smaller. It seems like it's going to scrape the inside of the basket tube when I eventually try to install the basket. Photos... < > Photo 1 of 3 View Full Size

Post# 1226433 , Reply# 1 3/12/2025 at 22:49 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)
Checkrate/Likes The drive block was changed shortly after your �56 was made to accommodate for the seal design changes.

Post# 1226446 , Reply# 2 3/13/2025 at 07:13 by Combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Older whirlpool belt drive basket drive block* As Ben mentioned, they did change these they made them a lot larger. I think the center post in the wash basket got a little thinner. Among other things that allowed them to use this bigger drive block on the later machines next paragraph your original dry block was steel. Looks like you had quite a time getting it off, then they changed to an aluminum one that was similar in size to your original one. You might be able to take the new basket drive block and just take a hacksaw and cut that bottom ring off and it may work OK if that doesn�t work out let me know. I�ll hunt around and see if I can find an original smaller one that would work better withyour wash basket. John L

Post# 1226448 , Reply# 3 3/13/2025 at 07:51 by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Before hacking off the skirt on the new drive block, I'd recommend doing a test fit, first, with the block installed and seated properly on the spin tube. If the spin tub has rubber bumpers installed along the lower section of the tube, those may interfere with installing the tub over the newer style drive block. The additional flare on the bottom of the drive block is designed to engage with more surface area of the spin tub, as well as providing additional room for the center post/seal arrangement. It looks like the original changes to the drive block coincided with the 91938 seal update in the fall of 1957. EDIT - I did a bit more digging on the topic, to see what machines from '47 thru '56 had listed for the drive block. It looks like the early machines used a 16061 drive block, which crosses over to a 350223 and DOES NOT cross over to the 91890/96384 block. The earliest machines I see using 91890 were '57 models. To John's point, it could be that the thickness of the steel/porcelain coating changed in '57 to a thinner spec, thus the different drive block/tub arrangement. Ben Photos... < > Photo 1 of 5 View Full Size This post was last edited 03/13/2025 at 08:34

Post# 1226457 , Reply# 4 3/13/2025 at 14:14 by kenmore70 (New York)
Checkrate/Likes John (Combo52), If you do have an original smaller drive block that would work, please let me know, I would be interested. Ben (swestoyz), Thanks for your research on the drive block. I didn't realize they changed the drive block in 1957, after my 1956 was made. That's why the 96384 I ordered doesn't fit. I will try a test fit with the one I have, but I can almost tell it's going to be very tight and I'll probably have to force the spin basket down on top of the drive block and probably scrape the inside of the spin basket tube. As you can see from my pictures in the previous post, the original spanner nut was so rusted I had to cut it off and drill it out so I couldn't save the old drive block.