1981 Maytag A710
March 15th, 2010
My most recent washer acquisition, and one of the nicest machines I’ve come across. I found this at an estate sale in Westlake (in a VERY nice Contemporary-style house built in 1964) earlier this month, along with an Amana Radarange RR-4B from the same year. Being on a 2nd floor laundry room for the last 27 years made this machine remain like new inside and out, with virtually no rust. It also came with the original documentation including a period Maytag brochure from the era, which shows the A710 as a 2-speed large-capacity machine, one model down from TOL in the lineup. When I got this machine it ran perfectly on agitation but made a scraping sound on spin, thanks to an improperly aligned tub cover. I recently took it apart (removed the tub cover, spin basket, and mounting stem), cleaned/lubed all seals underneath, and re-aligned the tub cover. Now it runs great! The tapping sound you hear on spin might be coming from the out-of-balance control; I defeated the lidswitch but left the OOB assembly intact.
March 15th, 2010 at 9:58 am
Thanks for the information, I read some Maytag service literature from 1989 which showed the introduction of the Orbital tranny, but 1986 is also very plausible. Will check again and see what I can find, it’s been a while since I first saw that…
March 15th, 2010 at 10:41 am
The orbital trans debuted in July of 1986
March 15th, 2010 at 11:14 am
And even though as a collector I prefer the Newton Drive, the Orbital isn’t as bad as it is made out to be. No different from the DD Whirly-Kenmo’s everyone always bitches about. Both have been proven to be extremely reliable, long-lived designs like their predecessors, even under heavy commercial use…that speaks volumes.
March 15th, 2010 at 11:25 am
The Orbital transmission was introduced in October or November of 1988 I believe for the 1989 model line.
It’s a common misconception that the Newton-drive trannies are called “helicals”. Both types utilized the same helical drive pulley; it was just the design of the transmission itself that changed. The Orbital tranny was smaller, had fewer moving parts, and also didn’t need that big-ass counterweight like the Newton Drive did. So cheaper to produce too, as always happens…
March 15th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
What year did the Orbital replace the Helicals?
March 15th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
i would like to see the dials on this machine. looks to be in perfect condition.
March 15th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
love it
March 15th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
My uncle had a “Norgetag” and he got a solid 15 out of it, and him and my mother got a Norgetag and they are running okay. They are decent machines, but no where near the powerhouse of these maytags, or even the Borg Warner Norges.
March 15th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
This Maytag seems to have great suspension during the spin. The “new” used Frigidaire toploader I just bought seems to shake and jiggle on the spin, no matter what I’m washing!
March 15th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
My Great Grandma replaced the helical drive with a Norgetag but she does very few loads of laundry a week. I’ve only seen it in action twice in one night last december the only problem she has with it so far is that it shakes hard. still I wonder how long her Norgetag would last.
March 15th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
I agree, a Norgetag or new Whirltag wouldn’t have lasted that long, the helical-drive was one of the last good designs in my opinion. The Dependable Care is still going strong in the laundry room, averaging 12-14 loads per week. The Power-Fin agitator I installed in it over 4 years ago has had no effect on the Orbital tranny, either, even though repair literature suggested otherwise. I’d say not bad so far, wonder how many ‘03 Duets or Neptunes are still in use without any repairs?
March 15th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
My Great Grandmother (who is still alive) owned a avocado colored Maytag Helical drive from sometime in the 1970’s until it died in late 2005 or early 2006 and she never had a problem with it. todays Maytags wouldn’t even last a decade. What’s the staus of that 2003 Maytag dependable care you own Austin? I’m just asking.
March 15th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
That might be true but this Maytag is a REAL washing machine, unlike the expensive toys they sell at Best Buy, LG and that other crap. And the normal spin speed for all Maytags, both AMP and helical-drive, is 618 RPM which isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. This particular load I washed (1 set of sheets, 1 bath towel, and 1 hand towel) was dry in about 35 minutes.
I challenge you to get 27 years out of your LG or Duet without a SINGLE repair…’nuff said.
March 15th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
my spincycle is way faster
March 15th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
really nice looking machine
March 15th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
As always the helical drive hum is what I love about these washers.
March 15th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Yes, the first of the timer-right designs introduced in 1980 and my favorite control panel aside from the center-dial. 4 water levels, 3 speed combinations, 4 water temperatures, as well as Regular, Perm. Press, Soak Only, and Timed Soak (up to 27 minutes) cycles. This isn’t the first machine of this type I’ve found, my A511 that I converted into a “bojacked” A408 had this style panel as well.
March 15th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Absolutely, I agree 100%!
March 15th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
isnt this the washer with beige buttons and brown control panel?
March 15th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Shaky GE’s LOL you probably wouldn’t have wanted to see the really wobbly GE coin operated washers in a local apartment complex in Federal Way, Washington I used to live in when I was little.
March 15th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
yep my parent’s old maytag washer had that same bleach despencer,but only 1 speed motor(no gentle speed)
March 15th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Yay Maytag. Much nicer than those water-hog, shaky GEs and those neutral-drain, slo-spin Kenmores! (ducks and runs!)