Removing washing machine agitator
Ray Kostanty
remove the basket and determine the cause of squealing. (It may be a small screw
that was in a shirt pocket and fell between the inner basket with all the small
holes and the outer barrel.) I've removed the cap at the top of the agitator,
but the main agitator won't budge. I understand detergent may be holding it.
It looks similar to the picture here:
http://www.applianceaid.com/newpics/GE-old-agitator.JPG
In the center, there is a small well. I've repeatedly tried filling it with
various liquids, starting with shower soap scum remover, then rubbing alcohol,
and finally with vinegar, allowing many hours for the liquids to flow down and
soften the detergent or calcium deposits. I've also tried rapping, from all
sides, the adgitator with a rubber mallet; no luck.
I tried prying it off with the claw of a hammer, but again no luck. It acts like
there's a bolt somewhere that I'm no seeing.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Ray
Dan O.
Ray Kostanty wrote
Most of those agitators are just held on by the same bolt that holds the
cap on. If the bolt came out along with the cap, it is probably just
cemented in place with soap residue.
You can try wrapping the top of the agitator in a towel soaked in hot
water. This will sometimes allow the plastic agitator to expand enough to
loosen it.
You can also try striking the agitator (during or after the above
procedure) towards to outer edge of its base. This should force the
agitator to skew along the vertical axis and may help free it.
In some cases, it is necessary the break the agitator to get it off in
which case it will need to be replaced.
Are you certain the noise is coming from inside the tub?
Dan O.
--
Appliance411.com
http://www.Appliance411.com/
=Ð~~~~~~
Ray Kostanty
"Dan O." wrote:
That's how it's acting.
> You can try wrapping the top of the agitator in a towel soaked in hot
> water. This will sometimes allow the plastic agitator to expand enough to
> loosen it.
> You can also try striking the agitator (during or after the above
> procedure) towards to outer edge of its base. This should force the
> agitator to skew along the vertical axis and may help free it.
Excellent ideas, which I just tried, but no luck. Even poured some 180 degree
water directly on the agitator. No luck. And while it was hot, I struck it from
several sides and also hooked the claw end of a hammer under the rim and pried.
Still no luck. See also below.
> In some cases, it is necessary the break the agitator to get it off in
> which case it will need to be replaced.
Not sure I can get a replacement for a unit over 20 years old.
> Are you certain the noise is coming from inside the tub?
Yes, it's a scraping sound as I turn the tub by hand. The agitator has an arrow
molded into it, so I can watch to see if the arrow is always in the same
position when I hear the sound. It isn't.
It's like a screw or nail that was in a shirt pocket fell past one of the holes
in the tub and is trapped between the tub and the outer shell that surrounds it.
I turned the washer on its side and turned the tub, hoping the object would fall
to the bottom, so I can retrieve it with a magnet. No luck. Same scraping sound,
in differing agitator positions, as I turn the agitator.
The top cap that sits above the agitator is held by a 1/4" threaded headless
bolt. The cap screws onto one end and the other end screws into a hole in the
center of the agitator post. Surrounding that hole is something that looks, from
the top, like a flat washer, maybe 3/32" thick, with a D-shaped cutout, 5/8
diameter, in the center. Possibly the bottom of this "washer" is threaded and
screws into the agitator post. If so, it would take a special tool to remove it.
Since no part of the blue plastic agitator is restrained by this washer, it
wouldn't help remove just the agitator. But it might allow me to remove the
agitator and the part its stuck to.
Thanks,
Ray
Bill Browning
Can you find a nut that fits the threads that the cap screws on? I so,
put it in place and screw it down part way, leaving space between it and the
top of the agitator. The nut will protect the threads from damage when you
hit it. Now take a hammer that is fairly heavy, about the same weight as
the part the agitator is connected to below. Now lift up on the agitator so
you have opened up the slack in the thrust bearing below, maybe 0.001 inch;
you can't feel the agitator move that much; but you can hear it click. That
fixes it so you are not trying to move the whole washing machine when you
hit the top; but just the part the agitator is connected with. Now give the
nut a few whacks. Hopefully that will drive the part down 0.001 inch,
enough to disengage it from the agitator.
Bill B.
Ray Kostanty <ray...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:3B3E13C4...@optonline.net...
Dan O.
Ray Kostanty <ray...@optonline.net> wrote in article
<3B3F4D83...@optonline.net>...
The same agitator was used for very many years and is likely still
available. But before you do anything drastic, it wouldn't hurt to get the
washer's model numbers and contact an appliance parts supplier to be sure.
You can find tips for locating the model number on your appliances in the
Parts section of Appliance411.com
>>>Possibly the bottom of this "washer" is threaded and
>>>screws into the agitator post. If so, it would take a special
>>>tool to remove it.
I have never seen a White Westinghouse washer use anything threaded like
you describe.
There is a tool called an "agitamer" that technicians occasionally use to
remove stuck agitators. It is a horseshoe shaped 'balloon' that is placed
beneath the agitator and then filled with water. As it expands, it
(hopefully) pushes the agitator off.
I doubt the expense ($35-50) is worth it for you to purchase one and they
are so brittle that I doubt you'll find a technician willing to lend or
rent it to you. But if you don't want to break the agitator, you could hire
a technician that has one to remove the agitator for you.
Ray Kostanty
"Dan O." wrote:
While I never mentioned it, there are two agitators. The outer, which came off
easily, and a smaller inner one for Gentle agitation. That's the one I can't
remove, although the Owners Guide says I should be able to pull it off. (Of
course, it also says that I should have been periodically removing both
agitators to clean them, which I never did.)
As I look more closely, the problem is that the inner agitator is stuck on the
five splines from the central metal drive shaft. I tried your hot water on the
towel idea, without luck. Then I poured hot water directly onto the agitator.
Tapping the side, and hooking a claw hammer under the edge still didn't budge
it. I'm amazed I haven't cracked the agitator. It's made of very rugged plastic.
I tried scraping away some of the deposits from the splines using a dental pick.
I also tried a WaterPik to get a high-speed blast of water around the splines.
No luck.
There is about 1/8 gap between the top of the splines and the agitator. Maybe I
need to whack the agitator down to loosen it. Since the splines are tapered, I'm
afraid I'll just wedge it tighter.
Someone else suggested taking the up/down play (maybe a couple thousands of an
inch) out by wedging something around the bottom of the agitator, then striking
a 1/4 bolt inserted into the agitator drive shaft with a hammer. Sounds like a
powerful method, but still no luck.
I may have to finally call a pro.
Thanks for your suggestions.
Ray
Ray Kostanty
This sounds like a very powerful idea that should work. I screwed a 1/4" bolt
into the center hole and hooked the claw end of a hammer under the rim. While
rocking the hammer with the left hand to take out the play, I repeatedly struck
the bolt with a second hammer. All I succeeded in doing was flattening the head
of the bolt.
While I never mentioned it, there are two agitators. The outer, which came off
easily, and a smaller inner one for Gentle agitation. That's the one I can't
remove, although the Owners Guide says I should be able to pull it off. (Of
course, it also says that I should have been periodically removing both
agitators to clean them, which I never did.)
As I look more closely, the problem is that the inner agitator is stuck on the
five splines from the central metal drive shaft. I tried someone else's hot
water on the towel idea, without luck. Then I poured hot water directly onto the
agitator. Tapping the side, and hooking a claw hammer under the edge still
didn't budge it. I'm amazed I haven't cracked the agitator. It's made of very
rugged plastic.
I tried scraping away some of the deposits from the splines using a dental pick.
I also tried a WaterPik to get a high-speed blast of water around the splines.
No luck.
There is about 1/8 gap between the top of the splines and the agitator. Maybe I
need to whack the agitator down to loosen it. Since the splines are tapered, I'm
afraid I'll just wedge it tighter.
Thanks for the tip. I'm going to keep trying it.
Ray