I have a toploading GE clothes washer model wksr2100t. It has been leaving the clothes wet, so I watched it cycle, and it did spin great during midcycle removing all excess water from the clothes, but it did not spin at the end of the cycle. When I turned the knob and moved it back to the part of the cycle where it had spun, it wouldn’t spin again for me. I do hear the motor running at the time, but the tub just doesn’t spin. The lid switch seems to be working as I do hear the motor go on when I close the lid. My question is whether this is typical for a clutch problem or is this more likely to be a timer or other electrical problem. Thanks for any help.
Remove the front cover by inserting and pushing a putty knife into the top groove in line with the lid opening on each side to release the clips. Tilt the panel outward and lift from the bottom tabs. There is a pulley on the bottom of the motor with the motor shaft extending beyond with a clip on it. During spin mode, if the clip and shaft are spinning but the pulley is not, then the clutch is slipping. If the pulley is spinning but the larger transmission pulley is not, then the belt is slipping. If both pulleys are turning but the transmission is not (the whole transmission rotates around during spin), then the LGS spring on the bottom of the transmission is either slipping or broken. If the transmission is rotating during spin but the basket is not, then we move to problems with the basket hub attachment.
Eric
Great post, thanks! It looks like the belt is loose and is slipping. Is there a way to tighten the belt or do I just replace it so the new belt would be the right size and so no longer loose?
Yes, you can tighten the belt by loosening the four nuts that hold the motor in place. The holes that the motor studs go through are actually slotted so you can slide the motor back and forth. The nuts have an integral washer so before you loosen them, take a short sharp nail or something like that (not much room under the motor) and make a scratch mark on the mounting platform around the washers of the outer two nuts so you know exactly where it was from the factory installation. The preferred method is to just force the old belt off (or cut it off) and install the new belt by first placing it around the motor pulley and then start it on the large pulley and forcibly rotate it onto the large pulley. If you decide to tighten the old belt, just loosen the nuts and pull the motor towards you and hold while tightening the nuts. Don’t overtighten (the belt) , it doesn’t really have to be all that tight. Your old belt might be glazed a little and that combined with a little stretching over the years is causing it to slip.
After you tighten it or install a new belt, check that you can rotate the large pulley freely in each direction. In one direction, it drives the transmission input shaft and cause the agitator to rotate back and forth while the brake holds the transmission from turning and in the other it engages the brake cam which releases the brake and rotates the entire transmission and basket. It will be a little more difficult to rotate in the spin direction but it shouldn’t be too hard to do so. If it seems really stiff, there may be a piece of clothing stuck between the inner and outer tub or other problems. Hopefully, just tightening or replacing the belt will fix the problem. That’s about a 20 year old washer isn’t it?
Eric
Thanks again Eric for the excellent reply. Your two replies are the best I’ve seen on this topic on the net and I wonder if there is a way to flag this thread for reference for others with this same problem.
This washer was left in the house when i bought it 16 years ago so I’d think 20 years is probably about right. I followed your instructions and now the washer works great. When I tightened the belt, I ended up pulling the motor to the end of the slot - I would say I pulled with 10 - 20 pounds of traction. There was still about 3/4 inch of play in the belt on the right side of the motor pulley but less on the left - I hope I didn’t over tighten.