LA5243XYW1 Whirlpool Washer - Instructions

I own a small, local handyman service as a Father/Son team. This repair is PERFECT for an apprentice to do as a confidence biulder. He learned the safe way to service a machine with garanteed success. This is a job anyone with basic knowledge can easily do with a little on-line homework on their machine. -Jim & Tom W.-

This was a thirty year old Kenmore washer. I removed the control frame, and then removed the two nuts holding the water inlet valve. The valve itself was easy, two water lines and one fill line. Reassembly was problematic as this valve was not exactly the same, I just tied off the valve to the water lines so it would not move.
Of course what took the most time was a run to Home Depot as the hot and cold water hoses were old and I replaced them with new.

Followed the instructions on the Part Select video which were very clear. I removed control module from top of washer, pulled the washing machine outer housing forward slightly and disengaged the rear closure panel slightly. I disconnected the electrical harness and then I was then able to remove the existing inlet valve. The new valve was then installed and the precess reversed to complete the installation.

Piece of cake!! (The water comes pouring into the machine now)

I replaced the water inlet valve. First I watched a YouTube video on the repair; surprised to learn that you take the machine apart from the front, not the back.A few tips; pull the washer all the way out first; have extra tools in case you have the same problem as I did that the flathead screws holding the old valve on the back were too tight and had a shallow slot; it took several wrenches and pliers to get them turning. Do NOT forget to hook the internal hose back to the valve before reassembling the machine;and pay close attention to how the housing of the washer fits onto the frame, so that you can more easily put it back together. It would be helpful to have a second person for that step. All said, it was pretty easy to replace the part and I probably saved $200 and didn't have to sit around for a repairman.

I'm a 61 year old single woman, rather handy around the house. I followed the video which was very helpful and everything went together fine until it came to putting the body of the machine back on. I did the repairs all myself which took about an hour but when it came to the machine body I couldn't get it back on there after numerous tries. I had to call my brother and it took him just one try but then he is 6'2" and could look down the little hole to see where the tab was to put it on and hold the body at the same time. BTW - he did inspect my work before finishing the job and said I "did good!" Thanks for the video but could have used some hints as to how to put the body on with some close ups as to what he was doing with his hands when he did it.

Our washer's cold water flow became very slow. We were living with just hot water washing for about a month. I had used PartSelect in past and have always been very satisfied with the outcome. So, I went on the site and within a couple of minutes of navigating, had the part (water inlet valve with mounting plate) on order.

I watched the repair video on the water valve ordering page. My installation went pretty much to this procedure, with one exception, I had to use the mounting plate, which I don't think was covered in the video. You have to read and follow the instruction sheet that comes with the part. Therefore, my installation instructions are to a) watch the video, b) get together all the recommended tools described in the video, c) be prepared to use the mounting plate (which uses the same 1/4 nutdriver the video says is needed).

I did the complete valve replacement and had the washer back in place in just at 30 minutes, the tight closet quarters added a bit to this time I'm sure. Working in a basement or open utility room would have been a little easier and quicker. My shortfall though is, I should have done the hose connection check (turning the supply valves back on) before making the move back into the washer space, as once I performed what I thought was my last step, turning on the supply valves, I heard a water leak. This was resolved with another 10 minutes worth of moving the washer back out, disconnecting the hose, removing the rust debris which apparently caused the leak, reconnecting the hose, and this time, checking for leaks BEFORE moving the appliance back into place. I think the time estimate of 30 minutes is good for individuals with moderate experience in appliance repair, and probably good for the novice in conjunction with the video.

I diagnosed by reversing the plugs on the hot/cold valves. I then removed the valve , cleaned it up and sprayed the electrical contacts with (Corrosion Block) and re-assembled. It still only had hot water. Ordered part, received part next day. When I went to install it I discovered that the (Corrosion Block) had penatrated and all was working! So now I have a spare valve.

Opened back panel and replaced valve - very easy

I removed the faulty valve after unplugging the AC cord. Two screws, the two water hoses were removed, and the electrical connections were unplugged. The old valve could then be rotated so that the clamp on the fill tube could be loosened and the tube pulled off the valve.
The new valve body seemed to be an exact replacement, but the mounting bracked was slightly different and required drilling two new screw-mounting holes; an easy job.
Before securing the mounting plate to the machine, the fill tube and clamp were reattached, and the electrical connectors plugged in. After connecting the supply hoses and plugging in the AC cord, the machine filled with water properly and everything seemed to be back to normal.
I might have been able to use the original mounting plate, but it had been taken to a different location which was too far away to easily retrieve.

I just followed the instructions from a previous customer. Worked perfectly.

i removed all screws for back of washer and removed top washer controls. then removed the valves and replaced with new one. reinstalled back in reverse order.really easy job. you just have to pay attention how you took it apart and study how it works , thanks!

As I tore my ACL, my wife actually did the actual repair while I talked her through it. The video on your website was such a great help. Our repair went exactly as depicted.

Loosing back cover to reach in and remove valve

I watched the video on changing the valve. Then ordered the part. The video showed exactly how to do the repair and it was so easy.

I notice a screetching sound started and as time went on the water that flowed out to fill water drum was not working properly, unplugged washing machine electrical cord from outlet. disconnected water hoses, removed screws from control panel, pulled out front cover off wachine machine to access water valve, removed by unscrewing 2 screws, placed bracket on new part(placed over valve and pushed bracket up to slide and align srew to tightenbracket), put everything back in reverse order, helpfull video on video web site for visual