My Maytag has a couple of issues, but the issue of late seems to be VERY loud operation when spinning out or agitating in general. A lot of troubleshooting I see points to things disabling the machine, and while mine could be, it hasn’t yet and still operates, just loudly. Knock on wood.
I got under the machine, inspected the belt, it looks good. I manually rotated the washer pump and motor pullies, no significant play or noise coming from those. When I turn the central pully connected to the transmission and drum, enough to start it spinning, there goes a roar of sorts. It didn’t seem in the pully itself, but in the drum/transmission assembly within the machine. I’ve always thought this was a bearing issue, but this either points me to the Lower bearing assembly, or the Tub seal. Short of disassembling it, and possibly making the issue worse, I’m unsure how to diagnose further without rolling the dice on a guess and grabbing a part and potentially replacing it, only to find another as the culprit. It leaks NO water, pointing at a tub seal, it’s just loud when the drum is operating.
If it’s the transmission, it’s going to the scrap yard, I’m not sinking $300 into a washer for parts. But based on the fact that the operation is going smoothly, and normally, and that this isn’t the typical failure point, I’m fairly comfortable it’s not the transmission.
On another note, I did put the evidence together from my reading on here that I also need a snubber ring. That would explain the fine white residue I saw around the bottom pully and the brief period of time my washer tended to erratically spin off balance it seems and walk around a bit. That has subsided and I found no springs broken.
Does anyone have inclination to the potential culprit between the lower bearing and my tub seal? I need some reassurance before I order parts, and want the wife to see a successful repair of course, and get back to being able to have a conversation when the washing machine is running. Thank you in advance for your insight! I appreciate the help!
John