WM3988HWA LG Washer - Instructions

Contacted LG customer service, not much help there. Watched a very helpful Utube video on how to find and repair the leak. The video suggested that the most common leak is in the drain hose with bellows. Removed the rear panel and removed the bellows unit using pliers for the clamps and screwdriver for the bellows part. This was pretty easy. The rubber bellows was leaking in the exact same place as the youtube video showed. This is a Design Flaw that LG needs to fix. Ordered the new part and installed the bellows portion of the part first, as the angle for that installation needs to be correct. Then attempted to install the end of the hose (very inaccesible) to the pump drain. Very difficult to position the factory supplied spring clamp with pliers so I purchased a screw-type clamp (using the nut-driver rather than a screw-driver to tighten the clamp was helpful) at the local hardware store and that made my job much easier. Note: My unit is mounted on a pedestal, so it was a little easier to access the part location (about one foot off the floor, rather than at floor level), but it may be that the part should be replaced from the bottom of the unit, which would make it much easier to access. Then I installed the other end of the hose to the drain line using a screw-type clamp. I am 69 years old, and not that flexible anymore, so getting down on the floor to reach inside the unit was difficult. You need patience to do this job and you have to make sure all the clamps are properly installed so you don't start the machine up and end up with another leak. For me, this process was difficult and took more than two hours to complete. Limited access to the area made it more difficult and I hate the factory clamps they use. Overall, the repair costs about $25, compared to the $125 just to come look at the machine, then more money to fix the unit. It was satisfying to complete the repair for a small amount of money, but not sure it was worth the aggravation.

Followed the manufacturers instructions to disassemble the washer from the top. There was a video on youtube of a guy who was able to replace his bellows hose from the back, but maybe my arms weren't long enough, I couldn't reach all the way to the front. The washer was pretty easy to take apart, except for taking off the top, where there were 2 extra screws not mentioned in the instructions. Replacing the part was really easy. HERE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: LG DOESN'T MENTION IT IS REALLY HARD TO GET THE CLAMP ASSEMBLY BACK ON THE GASKET WITHOUT A SPECIAL TOOL. You can buy the special LG tool, or you can do what I did (and others on the internet) and buy an $8 "Brake spring spreader" tool at your local auto parts store. Repair was a success. No more water leaking!

Hardest part was getting the correct part. Due to some glitch somewhere there was a mix up in the database for the correct pump number. This unit has two pumps mounted to the same housing. One is a recirculating pump and one is discharge pump. I ordered the discharge pump and kept receiving the recirculating pump. Discharge pump is LG PART#4681EA2001T and recirculating pump is LG PART #4681EA2002H Once in hand the install went fairly smoothly. Removed top - two screws on back of unit. Removed control panel with one screw on upper right inside corner, associated plugs and snap clips. Removed soap tray and drained water through filter tube. Removed screws in front of filter. Using Vise grips stretched spring from around front seal. Removed screws holding front of washer to top frame (2?)[accessed after soap tray removal]. Pump assembly located in bottom left, removed associated hoses, Marked wired colors on pump housings and removed. Removed assembly. Unscrewed pump, installed new pump and reversed procedure to reassemble. Struggled mostly with replacing spring around front seal. Stretch it as far apart as you can as you "roll" the spring in and then massage the seal to get the spring into correct position. Definitely a doable repair. Good Luck.

Did the repair entirely from the back.- 4 screws back cover comes off. Once you see the Bellows it is obvious what needs to come off and there are other videos on the net showing this. The main things I did differently were 1) Leaned the washer forward and placed 3 2x4 blocks of wood under each back leg. This allowed me to reach under the washer with one hand, and through the back with the other. You need both hands in there ! 2) Uninstalling is easy with just pliers. But on the way back in, I used a pair of Locking Pliers to keep the circular clamp squeezed as much as possible. That seemed the only way to get the bellows back in. Another option would be to switch to screw on Pipe clamps instead of the spring clamps.

Used a screwdriver to carefull lift the top of washer. Reached in and unplugged old assembly from wir harness. Unscrewed old one (2 screws) from washer screwed in new one connected it to wire harness. Closed top of washer and plugged it in and it was ready to use. I am a 53 year old female and had never done this before. The repair shop wanted $150 to install part plus the part cost more from them. I' m sure a guy could do the job in 15 minutes or less.

remove the front part of the machine to get to the door hinge.

I received the part needed within a few days from ordering. I immediately removed the leaking part with the new part. It was a very simple install, and my washer is now leak free. If you think you cannot do these simple changes, think again, it's much easier then you may think. Remove the top cover of your washer machine by taking off the two screws in the back. Remove the hose clamp with a pair of pliers and pull off from the intake valve, of course make sure your water valve is shut off before starting. Remove the two prong clip. Using your pliers, disconnect the main hot water hose. Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the two screws that holds the valve in place. Remove and discard it and replace with the new valve. Follow the steps and your done, it's that easy....TC

UNPLUG WASHER.Unscrew 4 screws holding silver plate at back of unit. Remove plate to expose inside of unit. Locate drain hose at bottom of washer tub. Hose connects at front drain, bottom of tub, and at rear at the pressure sensor. Front and rear simply slide clamps down by grasping clamp tabs and sliding clamp off connection point. Disconnect from tub bottom by loosening main clamp with Phillips screwdriver and pulling downward. Have a towel handy as there will be water in the hose, and it will pour out when removing it from the unit. Installation is the reverse of removal. ATTACH THE HOSE ASSEMBLY TO THE DRUM FIRST, THEN FRONT, THEN LASTLY REAR. This order is the easiest way, otherwise you will spend extra minutes trying to get the tub connection to seat properly. Plug it back in (duh), then you're good to go for another 4 years or so until another hole wears in the hose. I have performed this repair on 3 different units, with 4 years being the average lifespan of this part.

Followed the instructions that a fellow DIYer posted in PartSelect and a few I watched on Youtube. Pull out the detergent drawer, remove the back screws, slide the top off, unclip the control board, unplug Power & One more switch so that I could move it aside. Take the gasket retention wire off the door gasket & tuck it inside. Remove the screws in the bottom & top. Then slide the front panel, including the door up (not easy) and out. The part received was only the pump motor so I had to take a few pictures before so I knew I got it together right. Remove drain houses, pump screws, slide pump back and remove pump. A few more screws to remove the pump from the housing & replace with new pump. Put it all back together. It works! It only took about 45 minutes

Tipped the washer on its side to expose the bottom, removed the plastic lid adjacent to the pump after removing the screws holding it , then, using a flat head on a pry tab pulled out the pump, removed the hoses with pliers to complete the extraction, swapped the pump on my bench. . assembly is reverse of disassembly. .

ordered part from Part Select and it was here very quickly,but the part came damaged (not the fault of Part Select). I ordered another one and PartSelect had it here the next day. I watched the video on how to replace it and it was very helpfull.The particular part I replaced (pump motor) does not seem very durable. I will buy an American made washer the next time I need one. I will use Partselect in the future and recomend it to others.

We drained the water from the washer via the tiny hose/filter located at the lower left corner of the washing machine. The unit was then pulled away from the wall, unplugged and the hoses disconnected. At this time, we used the wet dry vacuum to suction the water that remained in the drain hose. We tilted the washing machine back until the front of the unit was 18 inches or so off the floor. We used the foot stool to hold the washer up in the air so that we could work on the pump. Replacing the pump was as easy as removing a few screws, unplugging the electrical connections and removing the faulty pump assembly from the plastic housing. (Be sure to mark what connector goes in what terminal). Re-assemble. Re-connect. You are ready to go. It took more time to ready the washer than it did to replace the part.

I watched a video of how to replace the pump and it showed taking the top and front off to get to it. I actually found this could be done by removing the back panel from the washer. There were two hose clamps you have to squeeze and slide up and two wires going to the pump. There are three screws holding the pump that need to be removed from the front of the washer. Once these are removed all you have to do is push a tab down and the motor slide right out. The pump assembly can also be reached from the bottom of the washer.

This was very easy to instal. The aplaiance repair co. wanted $240 my LG is six years old and would rather buy a new one if I had to spend that much, so I gave it a shot and it took me 20 min to install the part. Told my wife she owed me $ 180 for my labor.

Unplug washer!!! 1. Remove retaining ring around rubber gasket with flat head screwdriver. Just slightly pry off and it will easily come off. 2. Just peel back rubber gasket on the side that the lock is on. 3. remove 2 screws from the front off the lock assembly. 4. gently reach in and lift the little plastic clip holding the wiring harness and lift straight off. If the clip is lifted it might be a little tight just use even steady pressure to pull off. 5. Reverse these instructions to replace. Note: replacing the retaining ring on the rubber is a pain. The spring has to be in the bottom. Using a couple of flathead screwdrivers you can wrangle it back in place after awhile. There is a tool that looks like a large reverse pliers that may make it easier. Anyway thats it, pretty easy. There is a youtube video that shows all of this.