MAH55FLBWQ Maytag Washer - Instructions

Removed tub replaced bearings. Put in new seal. Be aware drawing on instruction shows seal cup instaled from wrong side of seal. Other wise went well. Got bearings from McMaster Carr.

Follow the suggestions on the rope tied to the side of the washer, then mechanically lever the spring open. Only change I would incorporate is using a block of wood to keep the wash drum from moving over as you pull on the rope to open the spring up. GREAT AND EASY FIX!

Followed the video, besides the spring, everything was easy.

I went on your site and found out the Bearings were not sold separately by Maytag and that they wanted $800.00 for the entire outer tub in which the bearings are pressed into. I read another post on your site where someone referenced some NSK bearing part numbers. I went to my local auto parts store that cross referenced the NSK number to Timken Bearings (a high quality automotive bearing). Following the instructions I hammered out what was left of the old bearings cleaned everything and pressed in the new bearings. When the Lip Seal kit arrived I pressed in the new seal following the instructions provided, reassembled the washer and it’s as good as new. Total cost just over $100 in parts and a few hours labor. Removal of the old bearings was a difficult task especially since mine were in such bad condition as water must have been slowly leaking into them for some time. If you have some basic automotive repair skills and or some knowledge of how to remove and replaced pressed in bearings I would recommend this repair. In my case money was the motivating factor with 2 kids in college and a wife who would have insisted on a new matching set of a washer and a dryer instead of just replacing the washer.

Followed the instructions that were supplied with the Lip Seal Kit, for removal of the inner drum. As expected, once into the project, I found that the bearings that are part of the outer drum, were bad. Reading other installation blogs, prior to starting, I knew the bearing sizes, 6206-2RS & 6207-2RS, and I purchased the bearings, from Motion Industries, before starting the project. Taking a hammer and long 1/2" socket extension I was able to remove both the inner and outer bearings form the outer drum. (Bearings were all but seized up) Once I had cleaned up the aluminum hub which is part of the outer drum and where the bearings mount, I was able to start the process of installing the new bearings and completing the project. Timing could not have been any better to take on this repair project because the aluminum hub was showing major signs of corrosion on the inner side of the hub. I was concerned that the new lip seal would not seal off the inner drum from the bearings/outer durm. This project was competed on 8/21/12 and so far and 6 loads later I have not found any leaks.

I just followed what others have already noted. The only challenge was the spring as others have already stated many times. You will need help but be patient and you'll make it work.

This is a stacked Neptune washer. You must take the door, front covers of the machine, plus remove the light and wax motor section to the side. You must disconnect the bleach and softener dispenser connections near the bottom of the washer to get the front portion off so that you can get to the boot. Catch the excess water in a pan to avoid getting the electrical circuit board wet. Take the boot off. This is easy, but the spring that holds the small cable around the boot is a bit tough. You can do this with the needle nose vise grips. Place the boot on the tub first making certain that the small notches in the boot line up properly onto the washer ridges. I had to use a 2 X 2 to pry the tub down so that my friend could get the boot lined up on the tub. Some stretching of the boot is required. Place the cable around the boot on the washer and use a strong mason's cord or similar cord and tie the ends of the cable as tight as you can get it so that the cord holds the cable in place. Place one end of the spring into the cable end and taking the needle nose vise grips pull the spring until it can be placed into the other end of the cable. When finished, take a knife and cut the cord and pull it out. The spring is very strong so it is difficult to pull it into place. Since I am old, I had to enlist a friend who is an appliance repairman to get the spring on. That is the most difficult part. Lastly, you get some dish soap and place around the inner part of the boot where it fits onto the other section of the washer so that you can get it on easily. Reassemble the parts and everything should work OK. Don't remove the plug at the bottom of the new boot unless your washer happens to have the drain connection.

Using online disassembly instructions removed and replaced front and rear bearings. Then attempted to install the seal kit that was purchased online from partselect. Com. Was supposed to receive both seals plus lubricant so that no matter which seal I needed I would be covered. The kit I received had 2 seals that were identical. . . I needed, as it turned out the early seal kit, but unfortuneatly I had 2 revised kits. Of course I tried to assemble one but it just won't work. The seal kit must be the correct one. I didn't give up. I ordered another seal kit online from appliance partspros. Com and received both kits as advertized. . . One being the early version plus a small packet of grease along with all the other required loose parts and was able to complete the repair. The second time around proved much easier because of the experience factor.

On-line instructions were found easily enough. And followed easily. Hard part was placing the cable and spring which secures bellow on drum. One instruction said "you cannot do this by yourself" (I couldn't see how help would have "helped") the other said "this was the hard part" of repair. I weight 115 lbs and it took me 1/2 hour to finally get the spring hooked through cable end it's a very STIFF spring! I only had a short pair of needle nose pliers - an 8-inch pair would have given me more leverage and shorten "hook-up" time.

1. ReMoved spring and cable from tub, 2. Remove bellow drain hose clamp at bottom of bellow, 3. Remove bellow from tub side and door frame, 4. Wet door frame with water and dish soap solution, 5. Press door frame side of bellow into slot. Align grooves, 6. slide tub side of bellow over tub edge, 7. Say a prayer to the good of your choice, 8. Reattach bellow cable with spring. This required use of double stands of 60lb braided fishing line to chinch most of the way and then use of a spring hook took in one hand and needle nose in the other. No less than 12 attempts. Be sure to have another pair of hands ready when doing and the whole job will take about 15 to 20 minutes.

I followed the video which I might say is somewhat misleading for the Maytag Neptune washing machine. This is the one with a recall due to mildew and mold build up on the Door Seal (Bellow). First to take it apart you really need a 8mm socket in order to get into tight spaces. Once you start using the socket everything will come apart quickly the last being removing the old Bellow. I found this is easy if you just roll the spring toward the front using a screw driver. Once it clears the front of the Bellow, the cable will fall off along with the spring. You can now remove the old Bellow. The next step is to insert the new Bellows on the rim of the tube. I started by attaching the drain hose at the bottom and then from the video, started at the top make sure you have it center correctly and worked down one side pushing the Bellows on the rim and then do the same thing to the other side part way. Alternating from one side to the other until you reach the bottom. The Bellow is now on the tube, NOW the hard part. First, the old spring was stretched. I bought a new spring at Home Depot. I next took the cable and placed it around the tube with the ends at the top. Make sure to thread the cable carefully so it is in place. Watch out for plugs and the drain at the bottom of the tube. I attempted to attach the spring by myself using a long nose plier and a Grip plier but just could not stretch is far enough by myself as shown in the video. I next took a 16 ga insulated wire you could also get at Home Depot and attached it to each end of the cable and twisted it together in the middle with pliers so it was tight and cut off the excess wire. I attached one end of the spring through the right eyelet on the cable and using the grip pliers and BOTH hands on the grip pliers pull the spring and threaded it through the left eyelet. Hold the spring in place I now pushed the stretched spring against the back lip of the tube. I removed the 16 ga wire buy cutting off the ends and carefully pulling it away. Next, I just followed the video. I pushed all the tabs on the Bellow in to the holes on the tub and then screwed the parts back in reverse order. Good Luck Al

Had to remove the door, the face of the washer, and two face pieces between the washer and the stacked drier. I then removed and replaced the bellow. The installation of the new bellow was difficult, the first time. Getting the silicone part onto the tub is tricky as is re-installing the cable and spring. I must have not gotten the cable properly seated on the lower lip as it leaked and I hade to repeat the job the next day. The second time around was much easier. There is a learning curve, even for me, a retired electro mechanical tech. I thing someone who is not very handy would have trouble with it. This repair should be considered only by someone of intermediate or better skills.

Basically the problem was the bearing replacement. Although you cant get them on PartsSelect, I got the seal kit on the site. The seal kit is easy, the bearings took two days and an air hammer to extract them and a big hammer to get them back in. All in all it was worth it,

Set my iPad on the dryer and played the video. Could not have done it without it. Putting spring back on was the hardest, fell off once. Took that long because video connection timed out and had to get another coffee. Part delivery was quick. Found the drain tube out of the bellows was clogged. If it wasn't for the mildew on the bellows could havw fixed the problem if I had known about a drain at the bottom of the bellows.

Parts Select suggested the fix with a 99% rating that it was the drain pump motor. When I got the old pump out it was clearly not working. It took 4 days to get the part, but after getting the part it was just plug and play.