MGT3800TW1 Maytag Washer Dryer Combo - Instructions

The job looked intimidating but turned out to be very easy.
First take off the water pump by removing the two clips that hold it in place. Place a shallow pan under the pump to catch the water that is in the pump and hoses. Open the hose clamps with a pair of pliers or channel locks (better) and slide the hoses off of the water pump.
The motor comes off next. Unplug the electrical connector from the motor and two wires from the capacitor. Remove the two screws holding the clamps in place and then pop off the two clamps. You will need to hold up the motor with one hand while you remove the clamps or it will fall to the floor once the clamps are removed.
One piece of the coupling assemble will be attached to the motor and the other will be attached to the gearcase drive shaft. If you want to clean up the mess created by the shredded rubber center piece of the coupling assembly you will have to take off the motor mounting plate. It is held on by two bolts and removing it makes installing the coupling easier but probably not necessary.
Push the back half of the coupling on to the gearcase drive shaft until the shaft is flush with the face of the coupling. Install the new rubber center piece on to the coupling then re-install the motor mounting plate. Install the other half of the coupling on to the motor shaft and lift the motor up to the coupling. You have to rotate the motor shaft by spinning the fan blades until the coupling lines up so you can slide it into the other half of the coupling. Then just reattach the motor, connectors and water pump in the reverse order of disassembly.

researched potential causes, found cluch dust under the washer and determined that it wouldn't engage because clutch was too worn. ordered the assembly, removed agitator from inside the tub as it is connected to the gear shaft, turned washer on it's back for access to motor, unattached the direct drive water pump from the motor drive, unbolted the 3 gearcase mounting bolts and took the entire gearcase, shaft, motor, etc... together, out from under the washtub. the clutch slides off the gearshaft with a little fidgeting and the new assembly is easily installed where the previous was. put everything back together... then... spin spin! worked perfectly

PartSelect showed seven different possibilities why the dryer wouldn't heat. I removed the two screws to remove the bottom panel and turned the dryer on and noticed that the heating element that ignites the gas was working fine. This meant that it was not getting gas so it could be the gas valve or one of the two gas valve coils which are located on top of the gas valve. I borrowed my neighbor"s ohm meter and touched the two probes on the coils terminals to check for continuity and found that one of the coils read zero. I then took both of the coils out by removing two screws and tested each coil again. One coil read 500-850 and the other read zero. This meant that it was no good so I called for the part and received it in three days. I reassembled the parts and turned the dryer on and it fired up after a few seconds. It works as good as new. The part plus shipping was less than $30. My repairman would have charged me $150-$200. While the dryer was apart I gave it a good cleaning with a vacuum and a toothbrush in delicate areas. I also removed and cleaned the lint trap housing by removing two nuts. I didn't know much about gas dryers, but thanks to PartSelect I easily fixed it myself.

If you load a washing machine unevenly, it will spin out of balance. But our washer seemed to make noise during the spin cycle regardless of how the load was distributed. I suspected that the suspension or balancing springs were getting tired, and ordered a replacement set.

First I disconnected the washer from the water and power supply, then I laid it on its back.

The tub rested on the back of the washer, making two of the three suspension springs relax, and they were pretty easy to pull out with pliers. After the first two were out, I had to support the tub with a couple 2x4s to relax the third suspension spring.

Installation was the reverse of removal - install the lower suspension spring, remove the 2x4s, then install the two other suspension springs.

The tub balancing spring was easy to replace, and probably wasn't the cause of the problem.

With $25 in parts and about 15 minutes, my washer spins much more quietly.

Diagnosing the problem was the toughest part. I originally called a repair man - described to him the problem and he said it was most likely the transmission (gearbox)... of course that is one of the most expensive parts! I asked him if it was maybe the clutch... he said there was no clutch.. only a brake... I knew he was wrong after researching. The fact that the washer would agitate fine and spin very light loads but not spin anything heavy told me it was NOT the gearbox.. or the brake.. it was the clutch.. it had to be... so I called the repair man and canceled the appointment I had made then ordered the clutch assembly. Showed up very quickly. Now to the repair. I realized that I did not have to take apart the cabinet section of the washer.. I only needed access to the bottom. My washer - a 5 year old Whirlpool Gold Ultimate Care II had just a piece of foam blocking off the bottom of the washer... Easy access... I disconnected the hot and cold water and the drain tube. I removed the hot and cold water tubes from the back of the washer also so they would not get crushed when I laid the machine on its back. I unplugged the washer also. The drain tube I left connected to the washer.. I was afaid of it getting crushed while on its back, so I bunched up a large towel put it on the floor and tilted the washer slowly back onto it... the towel was enough of a spacer to keep the drain hose from getting crushed. I used a couple pieces of Duct Tape to hold the lid shut while on its back. I then removed the foam insert on the bottom. Then I unplugged the wiring harness. and a single wire that had a spade connector in the same area. I then removed the clips from the plastic water pump and slid it off the motor (I used Duct Tape again to suspend the water pump up and out of my way while I proceeded) I did NOT have to remove the motor from the gearbox. I used a socket wrench and unbolted the 3 gearbox bolts. I was able to take the whole unit, gearbox and motor out in one piece.. it slid right out (you will have to unscrew the the bolt in the top of the agitator/dispenser shaft - then the gearbox unit with the shaft will slide right out, I did this before I put the washer on it's back) Once it was slid out, I removed the clutch then reinstalled the same way I took it off. The only hard part was the circular wire retainer install for the clutch. It CAN all be done .. I ended up using 2 screwdrivers to put the new retaining ring into the new clutch assembly.. One screwdriver would hold down part of the retaining ring and the other I used to continue pushing the ring into place.. don't give up! You will get it in.. even with normal tools (This was the hardest part of the whole install) It took me 5 minutes with some force and fiddling. I also swapped in the new plastic piece that came with the clutch assembly... you will see where it goes... the old plastic piece looked fine, but I changed it out anyways - it hooks the clutch to the brake system it looks like. After the new clutch assembly was installed I just put it all back together the way I took it apart. One thing I will add was I was not sure if the clutch had to be lined up when I slid the shaft back into the washer.. It does not have to be.. It will align itself automatically. You know when you hear that click/pop when the washer is about to spin?.. well that is that plastic piece engaging with the clutch... there was a piece or two that fell off the shaft when I had removed it.. While sliding the shaft back into the washer I had to just put the pieces back on the shaft before I put the bolt back into the top of the agitator/shaft...

Summary:
Get the washer on its back - unplugged!
remove wire(s) Harness from motor
remove water pump
unbolt 3 bolts holding the gearbox
slide gearbox and motor out as one piece ( a bit heavy)
remove and replace clutch assembly (pay attention to how things are removed)

Done! put it all back together... hope that helps. It worked perfect for me.. and m

Very easy -
1. Removed hoses from the pump
2. Removed Wiring harness from the motor
3. Unscrewed saftey screws from both clamps which hold the motor against the motor bracket.
4. Using a screw driver I easily removed/pryed the clamps from the motor.
5. I then removed the broken plastic coupler from the motor shaft and installed the new one coupler.
6. I did the same thing on the clutch side.
7. I set the Rubber coupler in clutch side.
8. Put motor back on until couplers joined together.
9. Placed Brackets back on Motor (patience here).
10. screwed back saftey screws on clamps.
11. connected hoses back.

Thats it... 45 minutes at most .. Save me from having to buy a new easher. I was convinced I was going to have too until I peeked underneatch the washer and saw the rubber coupler on the ground...

There was no problem with lint build-up within the dryer & the exhaust vent. I removed the gas cycling thermostat & thermal fuse from system & dryer still was not operating correctly. The radiant sensor & hi-limit thermostat both seemed to be operating correctly. That left either of the two coils as the culprits. I replaced both coils & the problem was corrected.

Timer wasn't working on the regular cycle so I replace it with a new one from partselect. It still wasn't working so I ordered and replace the cycling thermostat, the thermal fuse I also cleaned the vent and dryer it still didn't work so I read the diagram for the electrical and found that a coil for the gas valve is line with timer. I ordered the coils for the valves, replaced both valves and tested the dryer and it work just like when I first bought the appliance.

Determining the problem was the hardest part. With multiple parts (coils,thermostats...)possibly causing similar symptoms, I narrowed it down to the two coil valves.
Un plug the dryer. Remove two screws at the base of the front panel. Turn the front panel 180 degrees to avoid disconnecting the door switch. Gas valve with coils on top are on the right in front. Remove two screws in bracket holding coils, disconnect the wires, replace with new coils and reconnect wires. One coil has 2 terminals the other has 3 no chance of crossing the wires. I used an offset/right angle screw driver for one of the bracket screws due to close proximity to the drum. A stubby phillips head will work. You can check the burner operation with the front panel off as long as the door switch is still attached. Swing the front panel around and lift back into place securing with the two screws. Dryer works fine now.

Turned off water supply, disconnected hoses so I could lay on its back.( drain hose also ) have something to catch all the water in. There will be some residual water so have something to wipe it up. Removed agitater, then I removed the spanner nut with hammer and punch. layed it on its back, removed the three mounting bolts that hold the gearcase to the tub support. Removed wire harness and ground wire , pulled gearcase and shaft out . Removed spin tube thrust washer, removed support ring from groove in shaft , removed retaining ring , slid clutch off shaft ,installed new clutch. Take care to watch how parts are removed so that they are installed in proper orientation. Since I had it this far apart I decided I should replace the coupling. I removed the two motor retainers , seperated coupling , pulled both halves off shafts , installed new halves , they go on a lttle tight , newer couplings have metal inserts , aligned coupling halves , inserted together , put motor retainers back on , tightened small screws,done.

I replaced the clutch and coupler. The clutch was well worn. My wife had washed three or four loads of heavy rugs and we think that was the cause of the premature wear. We now take the rugs to a commercial laundry. The coupler was OK but the new coupler has metal instead of plastic inserts so I decided to replace it while I had it torn apart. The machine is now running like it was new.

0.Disconnect supply hoses and electrical. Refer to the parts breakdown pictures on the PartSelect website. I refer to only the numbers so you may have to match the part to a particular diagram.
1. Remove the agitator by pulling up on the fabric softener dispenser #1. Clean out the excess liquid and "residual gunk". Grab one off the tabs of the plastic cap #23 and pull gently. The plastic cap (~ 3" in dia) is held in place by a rubber O-ring #24. The cap comes out easily exposing the bolt that holds the agitator to the drive shaft. Remove the bolt. and the agitator comes right out.
2. Turn the machine over on its front. You do not need to remove the back panel.
3. Get plenty of rags to soak up the water before you remove the hoses from the water pump #22 on the end of the motor. A quart or more remains in the pump and hoses. Remove the two hoses.
4. Disconnect the wiring harness from the motor#29. There is a small plastic "catch" on the bottom of the connector that must be lifted to remove the connector. It's kind of hard to see but it's there and it's part of the connector.
5. Remove the three bolts #10 that hold the gearcase #9 to the bottom of the tub assembly.
6. Remove the gearcase, the drive shaft, the motor, and the water pump as one unit. You will need to lift them a little to get clearance because the tub has settled down. Just lift the tub and all and pull the assembly out. Get them out to a spot where you have room to work on them. The water pump may still have bit of water.
7. Replacing the clutch. Remove the clutch parts from the bag and lay them out where you can see everything. Refer to the instructions in the bag to select the correct spring and to see how the keeper spring is installed. Remove the washer, keeper ring, and clutch assembly, and plastic clip#15 remembering the order and the orientation. Install the new clutch in reverse order.
8. You will have one plastic part #15 left over. It goes on the bottom of the tub after you remove a key ring.
9. Replacing the coupler. note the orientation of the water pump#22 and remove it by removing the two retainers #21. set it aside.
10. Remove the screws#23 and retainer clips#17. Separate the motor#20 from the gearcase#9 to expose the coupler. Replace the coupler, reattach the motor to the gearcase, and the water pump to the motor.
11. The reassembly is pretty much a reverse of the assembly.

I took the two screws for the control panel out and tilted it up and back. Then remove the two metal clips which held the outer panel to the back panel. After disconnecting the power and water I tipped the washer on its back. I had to remove two clips to take the water pump off of the motor, then removed the two screws and clips which held in the motor. After removing the motor, I found the coupler was bad. To remove the gearcase, I took out the softener dispenser and removed one bolt to take out the agitator. Under the agitator was a clip. Three bolts held the gearcase to the frame. After removing them, the gearcase pulled straight out the bottom. Replacement was just a reverse process, with the addition of a light coat of grease to the gearcase shaft.

Unplug from the wall ,remove upper back panel ( watch out for the grounding wire screwed to the panel), pulled off front knob, then twist and pull the switch out. Unplug the burned out switch, plugged in the new one. Re-assembled what I took apart, plugged her up and dried the load that was in the washer. Note: if yours is burned out due to house power surge make sure the timer is working after you replace the switch, you might need one of thoes too.

The door had always opened with the wrong swing and it wasn't til I needed to repair this that I noticed you could change the swing. I changed the swing of the door and then noticed that the clip was included on both sides so i did not need to repair the catch. I still have the part so when it breaks again, I can just pop it in.

I removed the two screws holding the front panel to expose the lower works and verified the heating cycle failure. After a check of the vent system, checking the sensors for continuity and coils for resistance, I retired to the 'net for support. Accepting the general consensus that the most frequent, common and likely failure to be the coils, I rechecked them with the meter and found the two pronged coil to have significantly more resistance than the three prong coil. That was enough evidence to point to the coils. While I waited for the part to arrive, I replace the vent ducting. When the parts arrived I removed the two Phillips screws holding the coils, removed the old ones, installed the new ones, replaced the bracket, put the front cover back on and in less then ten minutes clothes where drying.