2DWTW4840YW0 Whirlpool Washer - Instructions

Removed top portion of agitator to expose the nut which held it to the shaft and removed the nut with a socket and ratchet. Removed the entire agitator and carefully took apart the plastic part which held the old directional agitator cogs (4 of them) and removed them and replaced with the new ones which I had ordered. I then reassembled the agitator and dropped it in place and fastened & tightened the one nut which I had removed earlier. The entire process probably took about 10 minutes and we immediately tried the washing machine and observed that the top portion of the agitator was turning exactly as it was supposed to and I am extremely pleased that I was able to make the repairs myself. This was a very pleasant process and I would highly recommend your business to my friends and relatives. Thank you very much for your efficient help.

Sincerely,

Ken Lancaster

I removed the center cap from the agitator, which then exposed an inner cap with rubber seal. These were both easily removed with no tools... just a slight pull. Then the center screw was exposed. I removed that "one" screw and pulled the upper agitator assembly off. The old dog ears literally fell right out. I simply ensured that I placed the new dog ears in the same direction as the old, which is not hard to remember because the little housing piece that holds them is molded in the angle of the ears. Putting it back in took the most time because the new ears can easily fall out. In order to overcome this I had to assemble the pieces that had been removed and carefully put them back in place. At that point I had to manage to get the screw back into position and tighten it up. I put the inner cap with seal back in place and then the agitator cap... Done! It's an old machine but works great with a simple repair. The dog ears were so inexpensive that I purchased two sets. Great site!

Pulled cap off top of agitator, loosened bolt down in center of assembly and pulled collar up with pliers.
Removed old dog ears and replaced. Need to be extra careful on direction of dog ears.

Very simple; even a cave man could do it!

First I removed the pop off cap at the top of the spiral shaped top agitator. Then reach down inside and pry off another pop off water tight cap exposing a 7/16 or 1/2 inch nut. A deep socket would probably be easiest but I didn't have one so a nut driver and luck got it unthreaded- it was pretty tight and yoiu have to hold the agitator from spinning while you unthread. Then the upper agitator asslembly lifts out and the cog assembly falls apart but it's only like 3 or four housing pieces and it only goes together one way to hold the four new cogs in place. reassemble and the machine works great again

I took out the fabric softener dispenser, then pulled of the plastic plate. There is 1 big bolt that has to be unscrewed in there. After that gets unscrewed, the whole agitator will pull out of the washer. I put the agitator on the ground, stepped gently with both feet on th bottom (mostly flat part). then I pulled on the top cylinder part, and the 2 parts separated. There is a little disk in the cylinder part that pops out. remove the top and replace the cogs. then put the disk back together. Push the two big main parts of the agitator back together...snap the disk back in and put the whole agaitator back in your washer. pop it back into place and screw in the bolt.....DONE! I have to replace these cogs about 1ce a year...it costs me about $5 and 15 minutes...but it keeps my waher running great!

Very easy repair. Popped off the top cap on the agitator with a flat head screwdriver. Then took a half inch drive socket set with the extender and removed the assembly where the cogs were housed. Inserted new cogs, put it all back together and the thing agitates like new. Simple. Saved huge dollars.

I noticed the agitator didn't "lock up" in one direction to properly agitate the load (which in turn "agitated" my girlfriend. I took the agitator apart to find the dog ears were worn. I ordered some new ones at a cost of about $12 delivered fed-ex and had the new dog ears installed in about 15 minutes saving me a bag of money from the repair man.

disassembled two halves, cogs just sitting there, replaced, re-assembled

We took off softner cap and then took off the agitator with a nutdriver and then pulled the top off and the central agitator that the cogs were in pulled it out took the cogs out and replaced them with the new ones . Then we put the agitator back on and tightened the nut and replaced the softner cap and we were all done.

remove top of adigator and remove bolt. remove plastic clip and cogs.replace in reverse order.

Using the IPB I removed the upper assembly to gain access to the cogs. Turned the assembly over and incerted the new parts and reassembled the pieces in reverse order.

To replace the dogs that cause the ratcheting motion:

I removed the softener cup by pulling straight up. (You've probably found, as I have, that the softener cup and the bleach dispensers are problematic: the softener cup must be cleaned with every use or the old softener liquid turns to glue, and the bleach dispenser mechanism plugs and distributes bleach onto your next load, ruining entire loads of clothes.)

Then I lifted the cap covering the retaining bolt by inserting a screwdriver alongside in the square holes provided, loosening it, and lifting it out.

Then I used a socket and a very long extension to remove the retaining bolt. I lifted the agitator straight up.

The next step can be a problem: I survived it (though I did strain my back). What's required, as you can see by reading the preceding letters, is to lift sharply on the upper agitator while holding the lower agitator with your bare feet or some soft shoes. What this does, at least on my model, is to break off the tabs that are fused together over the ratcheting-dogs, which are the focus of the repair. (These tabs hold the upper and lower assemblies together, moving the dogs assembly with the lower agitator.) In my case, one of the tabs broke off a half inch below the top, but that wasn't catastrophic and I didn't lose the rest of them, so when I reassembled the two halves still snapped back together.

One problem was that when I jerked the two assemblies apart, the parts of the dogs assembly went flying. Everyone had said to make sure everything went back the same way it came apart--for me there was no way to tell what that way was, but common sense tells you which way to reinstall the new dogs; they have to catch every stroke.

To reassemble, position the dogs with the retainer cup inverted. Then hold them upside down while sliding the upper agitator down over them. This holds them in place. When sliding the upper agitator down onto the lower, make sure the slots line up and use a smooth even pressure. Snap the two halves together, bolt the agitator back into the machine, replace the cap with the large o-ring (make sure you clean and/or replace the o-ing), and reinstall the softener cup.

Et, voila! You're back in business.

I just took the bolt out of the top of the agitator which allowed me to pull the agitator straight up. Then I turned it over so the sleeve that the cogs go into could fall out. I took the old cogs out, put the new cogs in, held it upside down and lowered the agitator down onto as to not move the cogs. When it was all situated correctly I held it by the bolt as I turned it upright. Then I just lowered it back down in place inside the drum and tightened the bolt back down. Done.
The washer works just like new.

I unscrewed the top cap by hand and used a socket wrench to remove the main center unit.
the rest was very straight forward.

Took the cap off the agitator, loosened the nut with a wrench, and pulled the agitator out. The agitator pulled apart easily, revealing the piece containing the dog ears, which were clearly worn out. Simply replaced the dog ears and reinstalled the agitator. Piece of cake!