Kenmore won't agitate or spin Help!

Washer Repair
,
1

I need help with this washer that won’t spin or agitate. It just stopped in the middle of the rinse cycle (but with no water in it) and won’t start again. I took the whole thing apart and can’t find the problem. When I bypass the lid switch for the spin cycle it just makes a humming noise.

I can spin the metal tub with my hands one way but it kind of whirs while I do it. I can sort of spin it the other way but it makes a squeaking noise.

I took off the pump and the outlet hose from the tub and they’re fine. I took off the motor and it spins fine. The coupler is fine too.

I took off the transmission but I’m not sure what to look for. I pulled the shaft out so the metal circle with the spring thing wouldn’t match up with the plastic arm that turns the tub and I could spin the transmission freely in both directions. In one direction I could see the shaft turning one way then back the other slowly, and in the other direction I could see the shaft turning faster the other way. With it on its side I could turn the tub from underneath using the plastic arm.

I took off the plastic parts from the agitator but couldn’t get off the metal nut with the 4 slots. There wasn’t anything stuck underneath the plastic but that’s all I could figure out there.

Does anybody know what else I can try? I don’t want to throw the thing out if I can fix it, but I’ll just buy something newer if I have to spend a couple hundred dollars to bring somebody in that might not even get as far as I did.

3

Hi Jeff

Well this is a bit of a mystery. I would say it is the lid switch, but if you correctly by-passed it then that rules it out. I would say it is the transmission but that does not sound like the a problem either. I would say it is the clutch, but that would not stop it from agitating.

Here is what I would do if I were present. I would put the machine back together, but leave the cabinet off and by pass the lid switch and with it empty of water move the timer to the spins position and see if the motor is turning the pump. If it does not then your problem is probably electrical, either wiring or the timer.

If it is turning the pump I would then move the timer to the start position and start the machine. Then I would see if the machine fills up with water and see if it stops at the point it is filled, or if it does not fill up with water.

If it does not fill up with water, take off the water pressure tube and blow into it and see if that will cause the machine to start agitating.

Report back and let us know what you find out.

4

The problem was a baby sock stuck in the pump. I was talking to my wife while I checked it the first time and I must have only tried the inlet hose and not the outlet. Good thing it was the first thing I checked the second time around!

Thanks for the help sidfink, and all the other repeat posters. I would never have kept trying after the coupler was OK, if it weren’t for the information here.