Yes, I can have to tell you that the fix was at the very bottom of it. All but standing on my head and the wall trying to fit my fat backside between them so I could get at the problem. . But I am happy that I didn't have to buy another machine just now.
Digging up an old thread to bitch about kenmore washing machines... This is the second time the same part failed. The first time the 'spider' support bracket disintegrated into a million little pieces. Apparently the updated part is made out upgraded chinesium. This time shaft separated from the bracket... I figured no problem I'll order a new spider bracket and be back in business for $50 for another 3 -4 years. Except the part is NLA with no known replacement. They will sell me the whole tub assembly for ~$500; Time to try a half azz fix. The bearings and shaft seal are also NLA. I ordered generic bearings as the originals aren't in great shape. One of the originals had an oem specific part #. Hopefully it didn't have some special weight rating.
Mike, you might want to try those two appliance forums I mentioned in post 32. I had a repair person tech jump in an provide me sound advice to locate and fix my problem. Good luck.
It really bugs me that parts are NLA for a 7 year old washer... Not really wanting to spend the money on a new one I expoxied the shaft back in place. I started to use a wire wheel on the chinesium but it was taking to much material off. So I cleaned it the best I could with sand paper and will hope it holds when I drive the bearings back on tomorrow. It was originally put together with some sort of expoy so it should last for a little longer... But it's not a great design the shaft and bearings support all the weight of the clothes and water in the tub. And take quite a beating on spin cycle.
Funny thing is I had picked up a 5-6 year old kenmore he3t washer on cl for free this summer. The owner said that it started leaking a little from the front door seal. The sears repairman said it wasn't worth paying to have fixed. The tub spun nice and smoothly so I put it in my basement. I Hooked it up and started using it when my upstairs one broke... It worked great for 10 days but it broke something similar and now barely spins. I have to run it on low speed and delicate settings so it doesn't screech too badly.
I have the same set of machines you do. So far, I have been frustrated with them when they broke, but being as "cheap" as I am, I kept at it until they were fixed. Only the wife and me here. Neither of us work outside the home and neither of us get dirty much, so our laundry loads are limited. Today's machine are NOT build to last 20 years like my mothers' old GE was. We bought those front end loaders to save money ESP. on drying time because the spin out so well. New top loaders are now available that are reported to be just as efficient. I'll be keeping an eye open when I'm no longer able to reserect them.
I'm too cheap to go buy a new one and will keep fixing these two as long as possible... after having taken a front loader apart it's easy to see why they won't last as long as a top loader. Nothing seems to last anymore. I have a 7 year old ge fridge that has broken down three times. In order to be more efficient GE switched to a digital control system instead of a mechanical defrost cycle. I had to replace the $250 main control board right after it was out of warranty. And I've had to replace 3 of the 5 $20 temp sensors because when one goes bad it won't go into defrost and the freezer ices up to the point it can't blow cold air into the fridge side. I've spent far more on repair parts then then I'll ever save in energy costs.
