broken drive belt
To diagnose, first I unhooked the washer: power, water supply, and drain pipe. I then slid the washer out, laying it on its front. With nutdriver, I unscrewed two screws that held the other end of the drain tube and removed it completely. Then, again with the nutdriver removed 4 screws from the back near the legs, two in between the legs in the middle, and approx. 4 to 6 on the bottom. This let me pull the bottom off partially to access the motor area. (I did did not take the bottom completely off, only about 2/3 off and let it bend over, as it was flexible tin) The belt was broken. After receiving the new belt, I positioned it between the pulley and the motor and between the drum and the big pulley. Then I rotated the big pulley, pulling the belt onto it as I rotated. At the same time, as I rotated, I pulled the other end of the belt on to the little pulley. Once it was on, I would put pressure on it as I turned the pulley, to jump the belt to the appropriate grooves on the little pulley. Note: the replacement belt had been modified, so it had one less groove than the pulley. I would have known this if I had read the insert that came with the belt first! Anyway, this was not a problem, only a design change. Also it was important to start the belt on the inside, so if it slipped, you didnt loose your bite. Total diagnostic, repair, and reassembly time: 30 minutes plus or minus. I had read other online forums that said you had to loosen the motor, etc. And I do know some type of a belt installation tool was offered on line, but I got along fine with my installation method. An extra set of hands would have been helpful, but not necessary.
