Washer repair

 Last month I mentioned the demise of our AC and washing machine. I confirmed that the AC was dead and I was waiting on parts.

So the belt for the washing machine came through, $50 for the pair which is about right for two belts these days.

The aggravating thing about washing machines is that the belts live underneath. Here I've propped the washer up on blocks to ease access. You can see where one belt goes to the drum in the middle and another goes to the pump at the top right.

With the belt installed everything seemed to be working okay, the bearing for the drum is a little stiff but I figured we'd get a few months out of it. Right up until we hit the spin cycle and water sloshed over the drum. Pictured is the drum cover, it was nasty with buildup.

This is the seal that the cover rides on, it had a horrible skunge buildup. Fortunately some soapy water and a toothbrush took it right off.

Here its installed, you can just see the cover around the rim.

And with the top off because it still wouldn't seal. About now I was thinking that it was time for a new seal. I rolled up some towels and put them around the base of the washer to absorb the water from this wash. When the wash was done I found that the tub hadn't drained. Somewhere in all of this the pump had failed.

So thats it, I'm done. I was willing to buy belts, I was willing to buy a new seal (another $50) but I'm not willing to buy a new seal AND a new pump AND a new bearing in the transmission. That last one requires the whole drum to come out. My fear being that I'll ruin some 20+ year old plastics that aren't obtainable.

Today, with any luck, I'll pick up a Speed Queen TC5, the workhorse of the commercial washer world. It'll be way bigger than this apartment model and should last a good long time. Speed Queen washers (the TC5 in particular) are known for being repairable. Its about twice the price of a cheap washer but hopefully it'll be a good long term solution.