A Challenge

What ya doin' Nanni?

Cryin', sweetie, cryin'.......

What have I done?

Believe it or not this is our washer.
Look past the grungy grime that was hidden under the console.....oh, how gross...yuck,

and see a water pump that needs to be taken off and replaced.
It had been leaking a long time, and was frozen on.
OK, pump.....we can do this the easy way....
or the hard way.......

No cooperation to be had.....
time to bring in the big guns....

an angle grinder.



Yay! it's off!

This rusty motor shaft has to be cleaned completely up, using a file and sandpaper.

The new pump has to be able to slide easily on and off.....can't believe the old one EVER slid anywhere!






Got the new pump on and everything back in place!

Did a trial run, only to have to take it all apart again....

No...no more leaks, but the spin cycle had brake lock-up.

After lubricating the brake,

and

putting it all back together....

again.....

It's good as new!

Jim and I started to do some repairs and changes in the laundry room on Monday, but before we could even get the dryer moved out of the way, he got very sick. I was really concerned about him, and monitored him all day, not sure if we were going to be heading to the Dr. or E.R. or not. **Update: (He's better now)***
In the meantime; I started trying to problem solve the leaky clothes washer. It's been leaking for a long time and I've just kept a towel down. The Internet is such a great resource! I used several different sites to assist me in this little adventure, but the main one was Dave's. He advised about the brake lube, before putting it back together, but I didn't have the stuff, so risked it. I was a wee sad lassie. The luck of the Irish wasn't with me yesterday, I guess. This morning I picked up a little tiny packet of the sil-glide and it did the trick nicely.

I'm not going to kid ya, this could've been much easier, had it not been leaking so long and rusted til it froze on. It took about 2 hours of hard work, just to get the old pump off. If I had to do one again, it wouldn't take as long, because I would know more how it was supposed to look, and what was safe to do, and not be afraid of breaking something I shouldn't.

Having been a military wife, and then after we moved here, the wife of a commuter (dark when he left in the morning and dark when he got home, + he worked Saturdays), I've learned to take on some "UN-girlie" tasks. We live in a house that is more than a century old, and things need done/repaired... often. I believe strongly in men being men, and ladies being ladies, but I don't adhere to the belief that a man is incapapable of loading a dishwasher, and that a woman needs to wait 'til hubby gets home to hang a picture. God gave us all brains, and abilities, and the ability to continually learn new things, right? I will say, I have been blessed beyond measure with a husband who has given me a wonderful gift.....the freedom to fail. I know that not everyone has a spouse who will do that.

We used to pay dearly for maintainance agreements and repairmen, but through the years, we have been in the process of learning how to do things for ourselves. I would like to encourage you to be safe for safety's sake; but don't give in to "gender" helplessness, and do try to venture into new areas of expertise...

ha ha..listen to me... Jill of all trades...MASTER of none.

I'm wanting some comments here.....

What is something at your house that needs done, that you are intimidated by? Are you willing to "go for it"?