LA5243XYW1 Whirlpool Washer - Instructions

First I turned off the water to the washer and then removed the hot/cold water hoses going to the washer, unscrewed the water hoses from the washer, and cleaned the wire screens located immediately inside the inlet water valve. This did not solve the problem. Second, I loosened the hex head screws on the back panel of the washer. This allowed me access to the valve. I tested the valve solenoids with my ohm/volt meter and all checked out OK (but this did not make sense). Third, I surfed the web to find out if the symtoms of the washer's problem were the same as experienced by other people. I found several reports of the same symptoms, all which were solved by replacing the water inlet valve. This conformed my original diagnosis although the valve tested as OK. Fourth, I ordered the part from PartSelect, and removed the hose clamp and two mounting screws holding the old valve to the back panel of the washer and removed the old valves. Last, when the new valve arrived, I assembled the new backing plate to the new valve, attached it to the washer's back panel, attached the water hoses to the valve after fitting new rubber seals to the inside of the hoses, and reattached the washer back panel. The washer is working perfectly again.

First, I unplugged it and disconnected the water hoses (the water has been off to it for days). Then, I tried taking off the back of the washing machine. This didn't work, and I actually ended up googling instructions and found pretty detailed, illustrated instructions at Popular Mechanics.
You need to unscrew the front panel that contains all of the controls first, flip it up, and unhook it from the back of the washer (via an electronics clip and 2 metal clips). The outer cover can then be taken off. I recommend undoing the internal hose next -- I used adjustable pliers to squeeze the connecter and loosen the hose. Then, unscrew the water inlet valve and take it off.

Putting everything back together literally just means reversing the instructions.

My washing machine is on a raise service, and I still haven't gotten the outer frame completely back in place correctly, but it's not touching anything or creating any problems. It's really only to safeguard parts anyways, so no worries if it's not perfect -- at least it works now!

Removed the hoses from the inlet valve. Removed screws that hold control panel in place . Removed control panel which exposed two clips that hold the top of the back panel. Removed the ground screw freeing the ground wire, removed the plastic loom which holds a bundle of wires. I next removed the plastic plate that protects the fill valve from splashed water. Removed the screw that holds the valve in place, then removed the wires and the fill hose. Reversed steps to put back together.

I watched the video provided and followed the same steps in taking the washer cabinet off. The valve was very easy to replace and I took the opportunity to really clean and inspect everything. A little tricky to get back together but not bad. My 25 year old kenmore is working like a charm.

followed the video i found on Parts Select. Most difficult part was getting the frame back on correctly. Everything else was a breeze. Works great now.

First I unplugged the washing machine and turned off the inlet water faucets. I prepared my tools, spead a drop cloth, and had ready a towel and small bucket to catch water from the hoses.
I pulled the washer away from the wall and removed the screw holding the ground wire. I disconnected the inlet hoses and the drain hose from the wall and put the loose ends in the washer tub. Then I completly turned the washer around for easy access. I removed the inlet hoses and the drain hose using the bucket to catch the little water that was still in the hoses. I removed 2 screws holding the top control panel to the back place and removed the 3 screws at the bottom of the back plate. I also removed the two screws holding the control panel to the top of the washer. The water inlet valve is located on the left side looking at the rear about half way up. I was able to move the left panel of the washer out of the way an inch or so, and pull the left side of the rear panel away a few inches so I could stick my hand in and unhook the cold and hot wire cables. I memorized which went into which slot. Then I unscrewed the water inlet valve and pulled it out the opening to the back and using a pair of pliers I loosed the water clamp and removed the rubber inlet hose. A small amount of water came out which I was able to catch in my small pail.
The water inlet valve comes with a separate mounting plate. I attached the mounting plate with one of the screws provided. The screws are identical except one has a flat slot and the other has a special star slot.
I reattached the rubber inlet hose using the pliers to hold the clamp then positioned the water inlet valve back in place on the back panel. I put a screw in to hold it and reattached the wires for the hot and cold control. Then I tightened the screws.

I repositioned the panels and put the lower screws holding the back panel to the washer back in loosely. I positioned the control panel back on the top of the washer and reattached the two screws on the back and then the two screws holding the front of the control panel to the top of the washer. Then I reattached the inlet hoses and draine hose.
I used this opportunity with the washer away from the wall to clean the floor and wall behind it. After cleaning under the washer, I moved the dryer over and cleaned under the dryer and made sure the dryer hose was still connected.
I put the dryer back, and repositioined the washer half way back into the opening. The I reattached the ground wire to the back of the dryer and attached the hoses to the wall. Then I pushed the washer back into place. Using a level I rechecked the level of the washer. I turned the water back on and ran a small load of wash to test. It worked fine.

Had no problem in disassembling the unit to get to the water inlet valve area. Very little problem installling the inlet valve but had somewhat of a difficult time getting the housing reassembled. There is a good flow of both hot and cold water which has cut down on the fill up time and washing time. Glad it is still working after 15 years. Instructions on the internet were extremely helpful. The delivery time of part was amazingly fast.

Unplugged the washer and pulled out from wall as far as hoses would permit. Removed and drained both supply hoses. Removed drain hose and drained. Any water left in the tub will drain here so it's best to make sure it's drained prior to repair. Used pliers to hold the hose clamp and removed. Took screws out of drain hose interface plate and pulled out far enough to disconnect it from the internal hose.
Removed the two front screws of the control console. removed the two top hinge screws on the back. Removed four screws at the bottom of the rear access panel. Had to lift unclip several clamps holding the level hose in the control console and a cable connector. Unclipped various clips in the back panel to free it from wire bundle and such. Lifted the back panel up off of the clips located at the rear base of the control panel.

Removed two screws to free the solenoid assembly from the back panel. Unplugged the connectors to the original solenoid assembly. Disconnected the internal hose from it. Installed screw and plate supplied with the replacement solenoid to configure it with the same orientation as the original. Connected the internal hose and electrical connectors. Reassembled the back in reverse order as diassembled.

removed the two screw that hold the inlet valve take hose of .the first was takeing the back of than the hoses from back hose on bottom of machine.

My son did the repair. Thank God for Sons who know how to repair things. Worst thing was figuring out how to get the back off, top where dials are had to come off too. the rest was easy according to him..

I followed the instructional video that referenced the water inlet valve. The steps I followed were identical to the video I watched. That was extremely helpful. The hardest part was removing the terminal wires that connected to the inlet valve, the rest was very easy. With the new valve installed the washer works exactly as it did before. This site is very helpful, thank you!

removed top panel and back panel
and then disconect the two wire fromm water inlet
fallow by removing screws.disconect water hose
then put back new part make sure i have all same conected as original put back panel top and back
conected hose for water back and electric .
then i turned 0n cold water perfect work hot water perfect warm perfect. problem fixed.
thanks. pedro

First - I saw the picture of the part on your site. It made all the difference.
Then, I turned off the water supply, unplugged the washer, removed the screws holding the backing plate on the washing machine to expose the valve.
After that, it was as easy as removing two mounting screws, disconnecting the solenoids (just two connections), pulling out the old valve and replacing it with the new.
Pretty simple and a lot less pricey when you can wait a few days for a part to come in the mail.

I wish I could be more specific, but I had a bit of trouble getting the back off the washer. I removed the control panel on the top of the machine and that allowed me to get to the two clips that secured the back onto the unit. The I removed additional screws on the back until I was able to pull the back away from the frame on the side where the valve was installed. after loosening the screws that held the valve to the back panel I was able to reach in and pull it out of the side. Once that was done, the rest was a breeze. I clipped the hose on the original valve and re-attached it to the new part. Then it was just a matter of reassembling and that went much, much faster than the disassembling. I reattached the water lines, plugged in the washer and it worked like a charm. I was very pleased with the whole thing. Also, I paid for standard freight, but received the part the following day after placing the order. Sweet.

Opening the washing machine, and removal and replacement of the water inlet valve were both trivially easy. However, getting the cabinet back into place was a bit tricky, only because I did it by myself. It was surprising how flexible and flippy-floppy the cabinet became when free of the structure of the machine. It would have been a huge help to have had a buddy over to just help place the back corners of the cabinet into place. That would have made the whole job totally easy.