# Washing machine broke, technically minded help please!



## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Mar 21, 2015)

Ok, so I'm frugal and will fix my crap when it breaks vs buying new. My washing machine is top load, and stopped agitating and spinning.

I ordered the coupling and changed it (damned heavy motor!), and it worked again for two loads and has broke again. In the original coupling, the white pieces with prongs that go in the rubber peace between the shafts were not broken off, only one of the white pieces was broken in the "ring".

Anyone have any idea what could be wrong? I've asked my fellow ME's at work, and they don't know. I'd like to try to fix it. This was my third time working on this washing machine, first time changing the coupling.


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## P-E (Mar 21, 2015)

My wife will be right over.


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## Ramnares P.E. (Mar 21, 2015)

Why is your wife going, is the dishwasher broken too?

Ba dum tiss.


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## mudpuppy (Mar 21, 2015)

Can you post some pictures?

There's more mechanically-inclined people here than me, but my first thoughts with it breaking so quickly after being replaced are either something wasn't put back together right, the replacement part was junk, or something is binding putting extra stress on the coupling.


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## P-E (Mar 21, 2015)

No further comment


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Mar 21, 2015)

I haven't taken it back apart, it's a pita to do. So no pictures of my actual machine. (Small laundry room)

The washing machine is a kenmore 70 series 110 model.

I was thinking that, about not getting it on right, but I made sure it all fit, as best I could, like it was supposed to be.


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## P-E (Mar 21, 2015)

Coupler issue if it doesn't agitate and spin.


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Mar 21, 2015)

I just wish our local Sears parts store hadn't closed.


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Mar 21, 2015)

power-engineer said:


> Coupler issue if it doesn't agitate and spin.


That's what I figured. I may try to take it apart again today. See what broke and where on the new one.


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## P-E (Mar 21, 2015)

You prob already did all this, but maybe you missed something.


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Mar 21, 2015)

Thanks! That's exactly what I did. I'll just take it apart again and see what is going on.


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## Road Guy (Mar 21, 2015)

I went round and round with ours and after ordering $150 bucks in parts and it still didn't work I just broke down and got a new one before I wasted anymore money....


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## P-E (Mar 21, 2015)

Solid advice but we're mech engineers. We can't help it.


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Mar 21, 2015)

View attachment 7211
I had to take a pic of the pic to get it to upload.

When I got it apart, this is what it looked like. This was a brand new coupling.

I've had the washer/dryer set for 10 years now. And it was used, given to me by a friend who bought a house and the house came with a new set.

For a free washer, I think I've spent right at $100 in the past ten years keeping it fixed. If it breaks after this second coupling change, I will be looking at a new one.


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## P-E (Mar 21, 2015)

Uh oh. Something is wrong with the basket. Might have seized up. Can you turn it by hand?


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Mar 21, 2015)

Seems to be working ok now.


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## Ship Wreck PE (Mar 21, 2015)

Did you check for some clothing stuck between tub and drum??


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## matt267 PE (Mar 21, 2015)

SNAPE/SMOTT PE said:


> Seems to be working ok now.


Did you use a hammer? That's what I would do.


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Mar 21, 2015)

matt267 said:


> SNAPE/SMOTT PE said:
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Well, of course! Everything needs a good beating every now and then.


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## matt267 PE (Mar 21, 2015)

SNAPE/SMOTT PE said:


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:eyebrows:


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## The Wizard (Mar 22, 2015)

You need to be way more clear than it "broke again". Are you saying it turns off mid cycle? Or won't even start up once the button is pushed? Once I have specific details, I can give you some pointers and things to double check.


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## NJmike PE (Mar 22, 2015)

SNAPE/SMOTT PE said:


> matt267 said:
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Fixt

:thumbs:


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Mar 22, 2015)

Ended up with dirty laundry water flooding my laundry room and kitchen. One thing gets fixed another one breaks. Now it won't drain and only fills up, and overfills.

Screw it, time for a new one.


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## matt267 PE (Mar 23, 2015)

Can you take pictures while you beat it?


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## Ramnares P.E. (Mar 23, 2015)

matt267 said:


> Can you take pictures while you beat it?




Sounds like something for a NSFW forum :/


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Mar 23, 2015)

matt267 said:


> Can you take pictures while you beat it?


Being a female, I don't have the equipment for that. And didn't know you swing both ways, too.


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## matt267 PE (Mar 23, 2015)

SNAPE/SMOTT PE said:


> matt267 said:
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Well played SMOTT, well played.


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## Ramnares P.E. (Mar 23, 2015)

Monday morning and SMOTT is on the ball!


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## csb (Mar 23, 2015)

NJmike PE said:


> SNAPE/SMOTT PE said:
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NJMike is super charming with his domestic violence jokes.


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## Ship Wreck PE (Mar 23, 2015)

SNAPE/SMOTT PE said:


> Ended up with dirty laundry water flooding my laundry room and kitchen. One thing gets fixed another one breaks. Now it won't drain and only fills up, and overfills.
> 
> Screw it, time for a new one.


Don't buy a front load. I was given this advice and did not listen. Big mistake.


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## engineergurl (Mar 23, 2015)

Ship Wreck PE said:


> SNAPE/SMOTT PE said:
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> > Ended up with dirty laundry water flooding my laundry room and kitchen. One thing gets fixed another one breaks. Now it won't drain and only fills up, and overfills.
> ...


you must be taller than 5'3" I wouldn't trade my front loaders to have to struggle to get things out of the bottom of the washer again.


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## Ship Wreck PE (Mar 23, 2015)

engineergurl said:


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Google front load washer reviews and problems.

We gave our $1,100.00 two year old one away.

The mold and smell was tough to deal with.


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## Supe (Mar 23, 2015)




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## Supe (Mar 23, 2015)

Ship Wreck PE said:


> engineergurl said:
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I am always amazed by how if I forget to leave the door open after a wash even once, that f'ing thing stinks of mold/mildew so bad you can smell it throughout the downstairs.


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## P-E (Mar 23, 2015)

We have a front loader. Like a baby, we have to wipe the thing down after every load.


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## NJmike PE (Mar 23, 2015)

Matt prefers the load in the rear.

:dunno:


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## kevo_55 (Mar 23, 2015)

We have a front loader. Just leave the door open and run the cleaning cycle with bleach and you shouldn't have any troubles.

Also, don't buy one of those LG or Samsung washers. They leak from what my coworkers tell me.


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## engineergurl (Mar 24, 2015)

kevo_55 said:


> We have a front loader. Just leave the door open and run the cleaning cycle with bleach and you shouldn't have any troubles.
> 
> Also, don't buy one of those LG or Samsung washers. They leak from what my coworkers tell me.


honestly, on laundry day, I just wash the whites last and the bleach from that washer load must be good enough, I think I've cleaned the machine maybe three times in 7 years, and my husband often forgets to leave the door open but as long as I catch it with in a day it seems to be fine


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## Lumber Jim (Mar 24, 2015)

NJmike PE said:


> Matt prefers the load in the rear.
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> :dunno:


Wow, nothing is safe, not even a loaded washing machine...

(insert drunk joke here...  )


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## Lumber Jim (Mar 24, 2015)

engineergurl said:


> kevo_55 said:
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> > We have a front loader. Just leave the door open and run the cleaning cycle with bleach and you shouldn't have any troubles.
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We wash our clothes with a little bit of vinegar. It seems to help keep things fresh for some reason. I'm not sure what the chemistry is when mixed with detergent but the clothes and towels have a fresher smell for a longer period of time also. Probably the real reason why we hardly ever have to clean the front load washer is because it hardly goes a day without running. Before using vinegar, all of our clothes and towels had a musky smell (especially the towels after getting wet) no matter what we did. this was probably due the our well water chemistry but it's fixed now with the vinegar.


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## kevo_55 (Mar 24, 2015)

I did hear about the vinegar trick. I haven't tried it myself though. I think I'll try it next time I need to "clean" the washing machine.

Still, you do need to do some specific things for those front loaders if you want for it to work out for you in the long run.


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## Ship Wreck PE (Mar 24, 2015)

Seems like a lot of extra work for a very expensive piece of equipment. I will keep my top loader.


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## Lumber Jim (Mar 24, 2015)

The front loader works out well for us because we have the washer and dryer stacked. Our little house needed the pantry space and the front loader allowed us to be more efficient with our square footage. We previously had a top loader that didn't get the clothes as clean as the front loader now does. The clothes come out drier from the front loader as well. I think they are easier to work on as well. We had the belt that turns the drum go out on ours once and it was a half hour fix.

huh, it wasn't my intention to start sounding like a washing machine salesman... :huh:


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## engineergurl (Mar 24, 2015)

Again, I just enjoy being able to get the socks from the washer without having to dive head first with my feet stuck in the air...


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## csb (Mar 24, 2015)

Our machine was the machine I remember doing laundry in as a kid that my parents then gave to us. I hope it keeps up the good work for awhile. (pleasepleasepleasedon'tbejinxed)


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## cement (Mar 24, 2015)

we wasted a repair visit on our front loader before we threw it out (I'm a civil)

The repair guy said the old top loaders were built like tanks and would last forever with a little TLC.


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## Road Guy (Mar 24, 2015)

We've gotten 20+ years out of Maytag's..... The lower end models even...


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## P-E (Mar 24, 2015)

Lumber Jim said:


> engineergurl said:
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The vinegar thing works great. We do the same with our towels. So don't throw away that old wine.


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## The Wizard (Mar 25, 2015)

LG front loader here. No smell, no issues 4 years later. Cleans better than toploader and uses less water. It's not hard to remember to leave the door open after a wash...


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## Ramnares P.E. (Mar 25, 2015)

Same here. I have LG washer and dryer, both front loaded. The washer is one of the HG detergent machines. It's been installed about four years now and haven't had any odor or mechanical issues (knock on wood). I've followed, for the most part, the recommended maintenance which is simply draining and wiping routinely.


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Mar 26, 2015)

Planning on another top load. And I'm 5'3"....I don't mind the "digging" for clothes.


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## SNAPE/SMOTT PE (Apr 5, 2015)

Well, I kept my old one...for now. I ended up fixing it after all.

Just bugged me too much not to tinker with it, especially with all I'd already done.


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