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Thread Number: 97756
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
Maytag Wringer Washer Restoration |
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| Post# 1226894 3/20/2025 at 15:03 by brpeter (Minnesota) | ||
Hello everyone,
I just bought what appears to be a Model 32 Maytag Wringer Washer to restore and use; 704920 D, but I have no idea of the year. 1) I opened the power unit, and spent the day cleaning out as much grease and water as I could, but I ran into trouble when attempting to remove the worm gear. Does anyone understand how I would do this? It looks as though a substantial pin is driven through the stud, yet the stud is supposed to come out as well, so I am a bit confounded by how it is held in place. After a few tries, I thought I should ask before adding one more item to fix. I used heat to remove the on/off lever, and would hate to need this again. 2) The water that ingressed, into the power unit was such that both drive pinions were rusty, and the agitator shaft turns with a grinding sound. Do I need to take the center assembly (6 brass bolts) out to remove the shaft from the tub, or can I leave it so as to avoid damaging the screws. I already had to drill out a screw holding the wringer post to the tub, and would like avoid doing this again, given the tub is cast aluminum, and I already snapped a leg bracket piece off the tub. While I am eager to get this up and running, not to mention looking like Mr. Ross's washers, I am notorious for breaking things that should not have been broken; i.e., Murphy's law actually applies to me (so said my Father). The service manual PDF (56 pages), has 5 that seem to apply to the model 32, and what is provided seems written for a professional that had some background training, so it does not help me very much, even when I cross reference the terms with the parts catalog I got from Daves repair website. I have more questions, but this seems already to be a bit too much for one post. Thank you for any help I can get, paul | ||
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Post# 1226898 , Reply# 1 3/20/2025 at 15:55 by swestoyz  (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Hi there, Paul! Welcome to AW. Per the Maytag Old Washers book, your Model 32 was made in April, 1938.
I personally haven't worked on the Model A/30/32 transmission/power unit before. From the cryptic text in the service manual, I believe the worm gear shaft is removed as an assembly through the thrust bearing cavity. Hopefully Brad or someone else who has done this can chime in. As for removing the center assembly, this will be a pain. You could try removing the "torque"/drive block and then pulling the shaft out from the bottom of the center assembly. Hopefully water didn't ruin the shaft or bushings within the center assembly. Keep us posted on your progress! Ben | ||
| Post# 1226938 , Reply# 2 3/21/2025 at 07:40 by brpeter (Minnesota) | ||
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Good morning, and thank you very much Ben.
Yes, I am concerned about the shaft as well, and figure I will likely have to drill out the 6 bolts to free the center assembly as I do not know if I can safely remove the #4 taper pin from the "Torgue for center shaft" without stressing the tub. Likewise, unless I am simply overlooking something simple, I will borrow a compressor to blow out the old grease from under the worm gear and call it good. I will hold off on the center assembly with hopes some other comments will shed light on it. For now, I am heading out to clean the old grease from the wringer head and post. Thank you again Ben, paul | ||
| Post# 1226944 , Reply# 3 3/21/2025 at 10:56 by brpeter (Minnesota) | ||
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Hello everyone,
3) Does anyone understand how to separate the Wringer head from the Wringer post? The drive shaft is corroded, as well as the inside of the post, so I need to separate them for an Evaporust bath. 4) The reverse wringer shaft that enters the wringer head is cracked, but before I figure out how to weld this, does anyone know what this bushing part is made of? It looks as though it may need to be replaced, and there is a lip on the shaft that looks as though it will damage the bushing when attempting to remove it. Thank you for any help I can get, paul | ||
| Post# 1226958 , Reply# 4 3/21/2025 at 17:36 by mickeyd (Hamburg NY) | ||
Brother Peter, I presume ~ ;'D
Virtually every wringer washer I have ever owned* held the delightful surprise of having the wringer lift off the post requiring no tooling whatsoever. Almost shocking that they all slide up and off, considering their very heavy weight--one of the great gifts of wringer washers. Not to say that elbow grease is not sometimes required. Have not worked on a wringer as old as yours, so yours may be the exception. Best of luck.
Michael Beatty, Blackstone, Connor, Easy, Kenmore, Maytag, Norge, Speed Queen, Whirlpool, Wizard
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| Post# 1226976 , Reply# 5 3/22/2025 at 00:33 by thatwasherguy (Kentucky) | ||
Welcome to the forum!
I mechanically restored a model 32 for my collection about two years ago. The first bit of advice that I will give is that these machines are exactly the same mechanically as the previous generation model 30, with the only differences being some cosmetic updating, most notably to the control lever for the wringer. To remove the wringer head from the post, there are two hex-key style bolts that hold the two together. They are located inside the wringer head, at the outer edge. They may be difficult to see if covered in old grease. To remove the worm gear, you remove the bushing from the opposite side of the input shaft. It is held in by a square head bolt. Once this bolt is removed, you can remove the input shaft and worm gear as one. In regards to the agitator shaft, I got lucky, and found a excellent condition machine that had never had water in the transmission. I was able to get away with spraying penetrating oil in the opening between the shaft and the square drive block, and got it to run down and free it up. In your case, though, it sounds as if driving the pin out of the drive block and removing the agitator shaft will be your best bet. You will likely need to replace some of the cork seals as well. Some of them are still available as NOS on EBay, but others will have to be custom fabricated. I used an old hole saw with two blades installed at once to cut what I needed from some cork table coasters. The transmission and wringer head take NLGI grade 2 grease, which can easily be found at your local hardware or auto parts store.
Good luck with your restoration, Thatwasherguy. | ||
| Post# 1226977 , Reply# 6 3/22/2025 at 00:44 by thatwasherguy (Kentucky) | ||
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A correction to my previous post...
I just looked back at my pictures, and the two hex head bolts are actually under the wringer head, and hold the plate below the wringer head on. The two flathead screws that hold the top and lever to the head are what hold the head on. The head has a shaft that sits down inside the tube. If it’s very rusty, it may be seized in place.
Thatwasherguy.
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| Post# 1226987 , Reply# 7 3/22/2025 at 09:14 by brpeter (Minnesota) | ||
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Thank you Michael, and Thatwasherguy,
1) As it turns out, removing the worm gear will require a torch to free the K957 housing cap, not to mention welding a thumb grip to unscrew it. 3) The Wringer head is now free from the post; you were right Michael, it required not only elbow grease, but some heat, and steady tapping with a hammer helped a great deal. I will clean it up to see if it will live again. paul | ||
| Post# 1227362 , Reply# 8 3/26/2025 at 19:34 by bradross (New Westminster, BC., Canada) | ||
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