Hello all,
I am in dire need of some help here. My washing machine recently stopped spinning and agitating. It drains and fills as it should. A few years ago I replaced the lid switch. I wanted to know where I should start troubleshooting the possible causes. There isnt a burnt smel or anything. When its supposed to agitate it makes a noise thats a bit rougher than when it was functioning properly. Same goes for when its supposed to spin. Any help would be incredibly appreciates as we are not in a position to buy a new washer. How do I take the casing off of the washer to get to the motor? Evidently a motor coupling would be an easy thing to check and a common issue. Again, I need help quick. Thanks in advance everyone.
I took the casing off, pulled the motor and the motor coupling was broken. Ordered it and should have it Wednesday at the latest. Should this be it or should I expect it to be a different issue?
If one half of your current coupler is still intact, place it on the gearcase input shaft and rotate it by hand. CCW direction is for agitation, CW is for spin. Spin direction will be more difficult to rotate. Hope you ordered a Whirlpool FSP replacement coupler. There are a lot of knock-offs around that are junk and won’t last. The new coupler should have metal inserts and they are more difficult to install. Use a socket and hammer to tap them on and make sure the plastic halves are flush with the end of the drive shafts. It’s a very common problem for people to not get them on far enough and then they complain of a burning smell after they run the washer.
Eric
I ordered one from appliancepartspros.com. It does have the metal inserts. If everything turns then its the coupler? How would I know other than putting everything together if its not the coupler?
If the gearcase input shaft rotates ok, at least the gearcase is probably ok. The couplers on these washers do fail especially if the washer is used heavily, if you overload the washer and age plays a part as well. Yours is about 12 years old so it may just be a "routine" failure. One thing that is hard on them is if the brake grabs after spin. If you notice that it stops hard after spin there’s a trick you can do to fix that.
Eric
It is used, heavily. My wife for reason does laundry every day, except for some reason mine only gets done maybe ever other day haha. I spun it CCW and CW. Like you said the spin was harder. I didnt notice a hard stop but I have no idea what I am looking for. What is the trick? Since its all apart anyway I figured I would do whatever preventative maintenance I could
Get a small tube of sil-glyde brake lubricant. What you need to do is to just get a very small dab of it onto the inside vertical surface of the brake hub in one place. A small screwdriver usually works ok for this but you need to get it onto the brake hub surface where the brake shoes are currently not in contact with. The next time you go into spin, the brake shoes will pick up and distribute the lubricant. This will prevent the brakes from grabbing hard when the tub stops but the brakes will still work sufficiently to stop the tub quickly and prevent the tub from moving when in agitation cycle. BTW, overloading the washer is the cause of most problems.
Eric
Thanks so much. When the part comes and I put it all back together I will update. Thanks again.
Real quick, you said the new coupler will be harder to put on. Do I want it to slide all the way down the drive shaft like as far as it will go?
No, the plastic parts should be flush with the outer ends of the shafts.
Eric
Gotcha, thanks a ton. Hopefully the part is here Tuesday and I can get this done.
Got it put back together. Seems that was in fact the issue. What a pain in the rear end was it to get the clips back on for the motor. Nice cut on my hand to show for it thanks to the jagged plastic. All in all a success and thanks for the advice and tips.