Hi guys

I'm delighted to have recently saved this Kenmore Electronic 90 Series set that I discovered at an estate sale in a place called Anza, California. Just a short, 75-minute drive from Palm Springs but it felt like I'd entered another world, driving through the twisty mountainous roads at high altitude with snow on the ground up there!  They were owned by empty nesters and manufactured in November 1994, so they just about qualify for the Imperial forum!

After converting the dryer from LPG back to natural gas, I was excited to try out the machines and they both appear to work perfectly, even the neutral drain, the dispensers and all lights and buttons! 

There was a lot of dirt inside the cabinets and evidence of rodents having shacked up in the machines.  

P.S. the displays don't show up properly in the photos but they do work perfectly.

This is my first direct drive washer, so I'm not at all familiar with them.  Upon closer inspection, there could be trouble brewing:

• What do you guys make of the condition of the agitator shaft and seal area?  The basket is rusted to the drive block and I haven't tried hard to remove it yet.

• The gear case is covered in a mixture of dirt, rodent fur and droppings but I haven't cleaned it yet and I don't know about any evidence of oil leaks.  I will check the oil using a wire coat hanger as a dipstick.

Now, here's the big question: what should I do about maintaining them?  I subscribe to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy and I don't want to do more harm than good by needlessly delving deep into it.  But I do want to do any maintenance that is recommended.

 Possible options are:

• Do nothing.  Just use them "as is" and if/when a problem occurs, deal with it then.

• Go all out and tear it down. As the shaft and possibly the seals might be on their last legs, maybe I should install a new brake assembly, tripod and transmission etc.  Also take the opportunity to do other maintenance while it's all apart...? 

I will await instructions and advice from all you seasoned DD experts out there!  And thanks again to Jon up in WA who guided me through removing the dispensers without breaking them!

Mark

Thank you, John.  Right...that settles it then -- I'll take Melvin's and John's advice and use it and enjoy it just the way it is.  I'll apply something around the rusty areas without attempting to remove the inner basket.  

The dryer does not appear to have the flip over feature.

Once I've got them throughly cleaned out (without contaminating myself!), I'll look forward to putting them through their paces.