The Virtual Repairman's Appliance Help

[fred s]

Maytag washer A710, about 25 years old:
The first symptom was failure to agitate. The trans belt is fairly new and in good shape, but I applied a belt dressing. I backed off on the pump belt tension and increased the motor spring tension. I ran a test with a small load. The washer now agitates, but there is belt squeal at startup of the spin cycle. Once rpm starts to rise the squeal stops. I'm fairly certain trans belt tension is OK and am wondering if the trans and shaft grease/lube has dried and created excessive resistance in the drum and agitator action. Or, is the belt supposed to slip a little when the spin cycle starts? Any guidance y0ou can provide would be appreciated.

[Virtual Repairman]

Hi Fred

Apparently you had at least one oversized load thru there in the past 25 years
The noise comes from the residue left on the motor pulley where the drive belt goes. Tampering with the spring tension is not a good idea, as the spring tension is designed to allow belt slippage to a certain degree, nor is moving the pump around to compensate for a noise problem a good idea either.

The residue may or may not come off the old motor pulley, but you can certainly try by taking some steel wool or fine grit Emery cloth and sanding the large groove all the way around. I also recommend a new set of belts, regardless of how old they are now. Maytag also has a roller assembly for the motor carriage which consists of 2 new springs and 4 new plastic carriage rollers, plus lubricant. This is the repair that I would also do if it were my machine. Maytag certainly does not make any new machines with the same quality as they did on yours, so keep it in good condition as long as possible!

If sanding the pulley does not get rid of the noise, a new pulley is not very expensive and easy to replace. Call our parts department if you need any part you can't find locally.

800-507-4040


As a point of interest regarding the Maytag dependable-care transmission you have....it is designed to begin spinning when the tub is still full, unlike other brands which drain the dirty wash water back thru the clothes before spinning. If the belt was not allowed to slip at first, the tub would spin too aggressively, causing it to sling the water over the top centrifugally.