Serious question, a shop owner in Reno showed me his trick for stuck washer drums and it changed how I pull them | Appliance Repairers - Chatter Central
Serious question, a shop owner in Reno showed me his trick for stuck washer drums and it changed how I pull them
I was at a supply house in Reno back in March picking up a drain pump for a Whirlpool front loader, and this older guy in line saw my van logo and started chatting. He asked if I ever fought with a seized drum spider on a direct drive, and I said yeah, I've cracked two before and ate the cost on one of them. He told me he quit yanking on them years ago and now he hits the shaft with a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone from a little squeeze bottle, lets it sit for 20 minutes while he does paperwork, then taps the spider with a brass punch and a 3 pound sledge. I tried it the next week on a Maytag that had been sitting in a garage for 4 years, and that drum slid off in maybe 90 seconds. I've done it on 11 machines since and haven't cracked a spider yet. Curious if anyone else has a go-to soak or if you all just break out the puller and pray.
Man I wasted so many spiders before finding this out. Had a big wolf spider in the garage last summer and I just let it be, then a week later there's egg sacs everywhere. Total nightmare. Same thing happened in my shed the year before, probably dozens of babies scattered all over my tools. Wish I'd known this trick back then too. Live and learn I guess.