Not pumping all the water out
This was an excercise in futility, basically. First report was that there was a burning smell and it wouldn't spin all the water out on final spin. Suspecting a burnt belt I ordered the 2-belt set. The belts seemed VERY loose and floppy. I replaced them both and they were still loose. Someone online suggested replacing the motor tension springs and/or adding a third spring. Ordered the Glide and Spring Kit. The springs were made from a MUCH lighter gauge of wire, so I decided to put them both in, using the third set of spring holes. Now the belts were nice and snug. However, upon trial I found that the drum began spinning right away, no slow start! This caused the water to overflow the tub, ( I learned later) spilling onto the floor underneath. It took me quite awhile to figure THAT out! I spoke with an appliance repairman who suggested removing the inlet hose to the water pump, looking for a sock, a coin or other obstruction. He said to insert a screwdriver into the pump and turn the pulley by hand, to see if the impellors were turning. When I took the hose off and turned the pulley I saw something strange and pink inside the pump. It is translucent plastic. I took my longnosed pliers and inserted them into the pump and pulled out a cute little no-seeum sock! I hooked the hose back up, thinking THIS time I got it! Well, the first spin did the same thing, water on the floor! After that, I tried all kinds of things: a new piece of vinyl hose from the tub to the pump. (No change) I thought the washer was leaking, but I could never find out WHERE! Finally, in a moment of desperation, I opened the lid while it was spinning and I found the culprit! The tub started out spinning so fast that the pump didn't have time to empty before the fast spin! So, the water, only having one place to go, flew up over the top of the tub, down inside the cabinet, onto the floor! I had already taken one of the new springs out, so I took the other one off, too. Floppy belts and all, again. I ran two cycles using water only and it seemed to be working fine. I told my daughter to go ahead and wash to her hearts content! Soon after she informed me that it was STILL leaking. She put a towel on the floor and washed her clothes. At this point I came to the conclusion that the sock in the pump probably damaged the pump, possibly breaking off one of the impellor blades, reducing capacity to pump water. During all this work (a week and a half!) we had already decided it was time to just buy a new one with our tax refund. A new pump cost's $78 and looks to be a REAL fun job to replace! While observing many loads (of clothing) I found that if you let one of the spin cycles start and wait about 15 seconds before lifting the lid, it will pump out a lot of water before the tub spins fast enough to overflow. I then wait till it all stops moving, noting how high the water level is. Then I close the lid and let it spin some more, as needed, watching the water level each time. Once the water level drops below the 4 holes in the agitator I just let it spin. It may take 4 or five time to get there. When it's pumping water I can usually hear something rattling inside, like maybe a broken impellor? Or a nickel? Whatever. I am now a MUCH smarter wahing machine fixer than I was before! NEVER believe everything you read online! Had I known to check for a sock in the pump I would saved myself $50 in unneeded parts! Also, a TON of time, aggravation and cuts and scrapes on my arms! The 'fix' is a real pain, but it's only for a few weeks, till our tax return arrives. I guess I can handle that. I also found out that my daughter thinks that when her LARGE laundry basket is full, REALLY full, it's one load for the washer! I told her, that, yes it IS a super large washer, but it will only hold so much. It does say not to pack the laundry down! Maybe she has learned something. No wonder her last three washers only lasted for a short time! One brand new one lasted until the one year warranty expired! It still has the water and dirty clothes in it, after three years! No way to pump it out! I hope she has learned something from this! I certainly have! I didn't call a repairman for two reasons; one, I thought at one point it was the motor, then the transmission, both of which are quite expensive, especially since the washer is 21 years old! A new pump probably WOULD fix this problem. But, I hear a grinding sound now and then at the start of a spin cycle, so is the transmission ALSO about to go out? It's like working on an old car, it just nickels and dimes you to death! Another thing I learned was that there is NOTHING online that covers this problem! The fixes that were offered did NOT fix it and just caused me more time, trouble and expense! I betcha the guy who added the third (right-sized) spring to his ended up with water over the top, too! He didn't say. however, is THE place to get the needed parts! With a one year warranty and decent prices,
