If you’re in the market for a new washer, you need to read this thread in the repair forum on this subject. Lots of useful information about horizontal-axis (a.k.a., front-loading) washing machines that you need to know.
I had the privilege of going on a job with my dad (the Samurai) last week. It was a stack laundry unit, and the washer wasn’t working. So we went to the lady’s house – it was a neat old Victorian house. We put on our booties (not our behinds, the things you put on your shoes to keep dirt off the floor) and she absolutely loved them. Probably three times she thanked us and said how thoughtful it was. We looked at the washer, pulled it out a bit, and scratched our heads as we thought about it. Then, the brilliant Samurai realized the circut breaker had tripped! Even though it was something simple, she was still honored that he could come out to look at her washer and respect her floor.
~~ Ivey ~~
2. New Blog Posts During October
3. The Samurai Appliance Repair Forums
The biggest news this month is the total make-over of Fixitnow.com. You can read about all the details in this post but what I want to emphasize here are the key changes in the site as they affect your efficiently finding the appliance repair information you need.
First thing is the new site search box, on the top right-hand side, just below the logo. This is a built-in search engine, not a third-party Yahoo or Google search. That means it’s much more detailed, comprehensive, and up-to-date than a third-party search utility could ever be. Use it! Alot! You can start with a specific search term, such as “Kenmore model 417.36465 dryer will not get hot.” If you don’t get any results or nothing answers your question, then zoom out to more general search terms such as, “dryer no heat.”
Just below the site search utility in the right-hand sidebar is the LivePerson box. If I’m online, you’ll see a face in the box. Click it and I can help you find stuff. For more detailed help, start a new topic in the repair forum. In fact, that’s the first of the three main sections just below the LivePerson box. Let’s go ahead and talk about those.
You’ll find the three sections immediately below the LivePerson box to be particularly illuminating. They are:
1) The Awesome Do-It-Yourself Forums
The first section is a link to the World-Famous Samurai Appliance Repair Forums where you’ll get personalized help from myself and other master appliance techs who can help you troubleshoot and repair any major appliance.
2) Appliance Troubleshooting Help
This is a list of links by appliance to the repair help section of our parts partner’s website. They have lots of great illustrations, diagrams, and diagnostic information at their site and you can turn around and buy the part right there. Hey, why reinvent the wheel?
3) Key Pages
These are static pages (i.e., non-blog pages) with commonly sought-after information.
Just below this is the section of Post Categories. Here, you can browse all the posts in a category, such as “Dryer Repair,” “Washer Repair,” etc.
Another change is that future non-appliance repair posts, such as my libertarian rants, Hillstomping Updates, and philosophical ramblings will be posted in my new personal blog, The Zenzoid Files. If you get bored jamming bamboo splints under your toe nails, come check out the train wreck at www.zenzoid.com.
2. New Blog Posts During October
October was a very heavy month for blog posts, 34 total, and almost all of them focused on some aspect of appliance repair– too many to list or summarize; to list them would be unusually cruel and boring, and to summarize them would be a frivolous exercise in wasting time. But you can easily and quickly browse them yourself by checking out the October archive. Here’s another cool feature of WordPress, the new publishing software I’m using for Fixitnow.com: the monthly archive pages contain summaries of each post during that month, not the complete, full-length post, a la Blogger, my old publishing system. While skimming the archive page, just click on the title to read the full article.
3. The Samurai Appliance Repair Forums
The Samurai Appliance Repair Forums are rockin’. Here are a few summary stats on the forum for the month of October:
Visitors, total: 2,266
Visitors per day (average): 73
New Posts: 2,705
New Posts per day (average): 87
Lots of folks are going to the repair forum and getting stuff fixed. And they should. It truly is the premiere appliance repair forum on the web with an unrivalled lineup of master appliance techs from all over the world who donate their time to help grasshoppers with their vexing appliance problems.
I always think it’s obvious that you can buy parts through my website; in fact, I don’t like to be in-your-face about it because it could detract from the ambiance of the site. But I’m always shocked when I find out, usually either in the repair forum or in an email exchange, that someone had no idea that they could buy parts through my website. This just in from the newswires: FLASH– IF YOU NEED APPLIANCE PARTS, BUY THEM THROUGH THE PARTS LINKS AT FIXITNOW.COM.
I know, you’re wondering why you should buy parts through my parts links instead of buying somewhere, anywhere, else. Fair questions, I’ll give you three reasons:
1) The prices are as good or better than you’ll find anywhere else.
2) But on top of great prices, you get world-class customer service and the best return policy anywhere: you can return any part for any reason. Period. Yep, even electronic or electrical parts that have already been installed and, oops!, that didn’t fix the problem (but allow me to remind you, gentle reader, of Samurai’s Ichiban Law of Appliance Repair).
3) My website and repair forum survive because do-it-yourselfers like you buy their replacement parts through my affiliate links. Whether you buy the parts through my parts links or go directly to my parts partner, RepairClinic, it doesn’t cost you any extra, the only difference is that if you go through my links, I get a small commission on the sale. Hey, a few pennies here, a few pennies there and before you know it, I have enough money for a bomber can of Bud.
But, in addition to the foregoing, they really do have some very good repair information over there. For your convenience (because that is all ever think about), I’ve included the list of links to the appliance repair troubleshooting sections at RepairClinic:
Finally I just want to thank you for visiting Fixitnow.com and making it a part of your Internet experience. There are bizzillions of websites out there and I’m glad you found ours!
If you’re one of those enlightened and extremely intelligent individuals who visits this site regularly then you’ve noticed the make-over. Yep, I finally got fed up enough with Blogger to convert my entire site over to WordPress. Much greater control over the site, the ability to group posts by category (dryer repair, gubmint, etc.), built-in non-branded site search engine, all PHP and MySQL-based, and dynamic pages which eliminate the need to republish the entire site (almost 1,000 posts!) when I make one little template change.
I’ll still keep the old pages on my server– they’ve all been indexed by the major search engines and there’s no sense in deleting them. If you’re new to this site, you can check out the old look here. Among the changes you’ll notice are the elimination of the main table to get you right into the most recent content; smaller font and fewer colors lending a more polished (dare I say, professional?) look to the site. Also, the site looks and feels best using the open-source browser, Firefox. (WordPress is open-source software, too, by the way.)
One of the many cool feature of WordPress is that you, the user, can start a post. You betcha, just like this post about dishwasher life spans and this one about a dryer that won’t work. To start a post or to comment on one, just register using the link at the bottom of the gray sidebar on the homepage.
Still moving in, though: have to finish categorizing the posts and setting up the static supporting pages. Should be all moved in in another two weeks. The final result will hopefully be a website that is more interactive and that makes it even easier for you to find the appliance repair information you’re looking for. Thank you for your forbearance and patience during this difficult but exciting transition for Fixitnow.com.
Grasshopper writes:
How long do dishwashers last? Specifically a Frigidaire Ultra Quiet I. What is the point (dollar amount) where you would buy a new dishwasher instead of repairing the old? Daughter dropped a glass in dishwasher – pump quit in agony after grinding on glass chips – dishwasher full of water.
I’ve used your website to fix my 20 yr old wash machine and drier. Your wisdom is appreciated.
According to my illuminating and inspiring epistle, “How Long Should Appliances Last?” the half-life for built in dishwashers is about 13 years. You should read the linked article carefully because the concept of appliance half-life originated here at Fixitnow.com and you’ve not heard of it before.
Another salient point to consider in your repair vs. replace deliberations is whether or not you’ll be doing the repair yourself. Obviously, doing it yourself greatly tilts the economics in favor of repair over replace.
Grasshopper writes:
I have a kenmore electric dryer. When I turned it on, it wouldn’t tumble. I checked the door switch and others all good. The thermal fuse had blown. Once replaced I tried it again and it still didn’t work. The unit was getting power. During the timed dry cycle it would count down; however, any other cycle didn’t count down. Obviously the timer is running fine. I tried it again and this time the unit attempted to move; however, immediately started to smoke. I unplugged the unit and looked for burnt wires. I pulled the contacts appart and cleaned them (some were burnt – they aren’t anymore). I checked the thermal fuse and other thermostats, all are still good. The door switch burnt out this time. I replaced it and and checked the unit again. Once again, it attempted to work; however, it smoked and burnt again. This is where I am. A dryer unplugged from the wall with a bad door switch in need of repair. I believe I have a short somewhere (which surprises me) because I haven’t changed anything that would cause this problem unless I put the wires on the cycle selector wrong (I drew them out before removing). Does anyone have a wiring diagram, repair manual, or suggestions where to look?
Awwite all you cool grasshoppers, go grab you a beer and the Samurai’ll tell you a story.
Once upon a time, in a place that was called the "land of the free," there was a big ol’ company called Dupont. Now, Dupont made a thang that we old timers held near and dear to our hearts and that was R-12, a refrigerant used in just about every type of refrigerator ever made, including beer coolers. But Dupont had a problem: their patent on R-12 was about to expire and everyone else and their momma was gonna start making it, too. Well, it don’t take a rocket scientist, like yours truly, to figger out that once this happened, the price of R-12 was gonna take a nose dive.
Now, Dupont, being a company with lots of money to throw around, paid off a bunch of fancy-pants scientists and engineers at these high-dollar universities to show that R-12 was reeeel bad and needed to be banned. So these fancy-pants university types cooked up some numbers showing how all them nasty little molecules in R-12 was eatin’ up the orzos in the atmosphere…er somethin’ like that.
Anyway, Dupont goes and presents all these high falootin’ studies to one of the fourth branches of the gubmint, the EPA. The EPA said, "Hmmm, we can’t be eatin’ up all them little orzos like that there. Gubmint has to do something about that!" So they came out with a big ol’ riot act of new regamalations where they said everyone what works on beer coolers has to have a new-fangled recovery unit to catch all them bad molecules.
Well, I didn’t know no better and besides, I didn’t wanna hurt them little orzos ‘cuz, heck, they ain’t never done nothin’ to me. So I lined up with all the other suckers, er, I mean, tradesmen and plunked down a bunch of money for a fancy new recovery unit.
Funny thang happened though. When the EPA got into the bidness of regamalating refrigerants, their prices all went sky high. So the cost to replace the compressor on your average beer fridge went from $150 to, oh, say $400, once you figger in the higher refrigerant cost and a refrigerant recovery charge. Well, at that price, people were just hauling their old fridges off to the landfill and buying new ones. Lots of good fridges piling up in landfills today. But, hey, the gubmint knows what’s best ‘cuz they here to help!
Meanwhile, Dupont is back in bidness, happily raking in the big bucks selling it’s new line of R-12 replacement refrigerants. Ain’t gubmint great? I think everybody awwta own one!
And so the gubmint and the big shot corporations who benefit from their regamalations all lived happily ever after.
The End
I can tell you that my recovery unit makes a reeel spiffy footstool in my workshop ‘cuz that’s all I ever use it for. Never even used it once. Wanna buy one cheap?
Sue wrote:
We saw what you said about a Leak from a Frigidaire (Kenmore 417.xxxxx) Front Loading Washer. It appears the door is holding water. There is a slow trickle of water leaking out. Would this more likely be the door seal boot?
THANK YOU!!!!
_______________________________
Message sent from IP: 70.240.69.82
In vexing times like these, I turn my furrowed brow to Samurai’s 12 Laws of Appliance Repair. In accordance with the 7th Law, “All leaks are visual.” To aid your visualizations, click the washer breakdown diagram shown here for an interactive tour of the very bowels of your washer. Go ahead, I’ll wait …
Back so soon? Ok, with that crash course in washer anatomy, let’s light this candle with the simple stuff, first.
We’ll start behind the washer… oh, cut it out! … where the two water fill hoses connect. They’ll connect from the shutoff valves at the wall to the water inlet valve on the back of the washer. Lay some heavy-powered eyeball action, aided by the brilliant illumination from the halogen search beam you’re using, on both ends of those fill hoses looking for any sign of water. And, by the way, if your fill hoses look like this, well, you and ol’ Brother Noah ’bout to have something in common… ‘cept he had forewarning; but now you do, too!
Awwite, ever-thang looks good with the fill hoses, so now we pop that front kick plate, like ahso. We’re looking for evidence of leaking from either the tub boot or from the tub gasket. Here’s a thought question: since the tub boot is right up front, and if it were leaking, where would we see signs of leaking? Ooo, you’re good! If your tub boot is leaking, this excerpt from the service manual should hepya replace it.
Ok, here’s a tougher one: given that the tub gasket goes all the way around the tub, where would you expect its characteristic leak pattern to be? That’s a little less obvious, but this post explains what to look for and a minimally-invasive procedure that may fix it.
Finally, I have also seen, on rare occasions, where a bra wire pierced the pump suction boot and created a leak.
Smile! It’s a Friggidaire! (yes, I meant to spell it that way) 
A handy compilation of water inlet valve replacement procedures from our friends at RepairClinic. Tear ’em up, Hoss!
Maytag, Top Loader
• Remove the screw holding the inlet valve mounting plate to the washer.
• Remove the two screws holding the valve to the mounting plate.
• Lift the plate up slightly and pull it out of the washer.
• Label the wires and remove them.
• Disconnect the water feed tube from the valve.
• Install the new valve.
• Flush out the water fill hoses.
• Reassemble in reverse.
• Turn on the water supply valves.
• Check for and correct any leaks.
• Restore power and test operation.Whirlpool, Kitchen Aid, Kenmore, Roper, Estate, after 1985
• The valve will be mounted to the back of the washer with two screws. However, you must remove the valve from inside the washing machine, and this requires you remove the entire washer cabinet, which consists of the top, front and sides.
• Remove the two screws in the lower corners of the control panel.
• Lift the control panel up high enough so it stays up and back.
• Disconnect the wire harness connector.
• Using a flathead screwdriver, snap out the two gold-colored spring clips at the top of the cabinet on the left and right sides.
• The cabinet will now lift up at the back. Pull the cabinet up 10-12 inches and then slide it forward 2 inches.
• Remove the cabinet completely and set it aside.
• The valve will be on the right side of the washer at the back. It’s the device to which the water fill hoses are attached.
• Label the wires from the valve and remove them.
• Remove the water feed tube(s) from the valve.
• Remove the screws holding the valve to the back panel.
• Install the new valve in the reverse order.
• Reinstall the cabinet. (Note: As you follow this procedure, do not force the cabinet in any way. When done properly, the cabinet will go back together very smoothly.) First, tilt the cabinet toward you 10-12 inches while you “walk? the cabinet back onto the lower frame of the washer. (This will be easier if you have the washer lid open so you can see inside the cabinet at the same time.) The front edge of the cabinet slides underneath the base frame, and the sides of the cabinet rest on top of the base frame.
• When the cabinet is resting on the frame squarely, check to be sure the back of the washer is aligned with the cabinet. There are two plastic strips attached to the back of the washer that must line up with the sides of the cabinet as you set the cabinet down.
• Reinstall the two spring clips at the top.
• Reattach the wire harness connector.
• Rotate the control panel back down and reinstall the two screws.
• Flush out the water fill hoses.
• Reattach the water lines.
• Turn on the water.
• Check for and correct any leaks.
• Restore power and test.GE, Hotpoint, (valve on middle right side of washer)
• The water inlet valve is attached to a metal plate, which is attached to the washer.
Remove the screws holding the metal plate to the washer.
• Remove the screws holding the inlet valve to the metal plate.
• Label the wires to the valve and remove them.
• Remove the water feed tube from the valve.
• Install the new valve.
• Flush out the water fill hoses.
• Reassemble in reverse.
• Turn on the water supply valves.
• Check for and correct any leaks.
• Restore power and test operation.GE, Hotpoint, (valve inside upper control panel)
• Open the main control panel by removing two screws.
• Remove the two screws holding the valve down.
• Label the wires to the valve and remove them.
• Disconnect the water feed tube.
• Install the new valve.
• Flush out the water fill hoses.
• Reassemble in reverse.
• Turn on the water supply valves.
• Check for and correct any leaks.
• Restore power and test operation.Frigidaire, Top Loader – Valve Inside Upper Control Panel
• Open the main control panel by removing two screws.
• Remove the two screws holding the valve down.
• Label the wires to the valve and remove them.
• Disconnect the water feed tube.
• Note: The new water inlet valve mounting screw holes may not be threaded. That is because the screws that hold the valve in place are self-threading. It may be easier for you to twist the old screws into the valve while the valve is out, rather than wait until it is in place. Then, remove the screws from the valve for installation.
• Reinstall the new valve in the reverse order.
• Flush out the water fill hoses.
• Reinstall the fill hoses in the proper order.
• Turn on the water supply valves.
• Check for and correct any leaks.
• Restore power and test operation.Frigidaire, Top Loader, Valve in Main Body of Washer (not in control panel)
• Use a putty knife to press in the two spring clips at the front of the washer top near the sides. (You may need a flashlight to see the clips.) While you’re pressing in on the clip, lift up on the top, and will lift up like the hood of a car. Be sure to support the lid properly so it doesn’t fall backward or forward.
• The valve will be to your left behind the washing machine tub.
• Remove the two screws, which are on the back of the washer, holding the valve.
• From the inside of the washer, carefully pull the valve up toward the top with the wires and feed tube still attached.
• Label the wires to the valve and remove them.
• Remove the water feed tube from the valve.
• Note: The new water inlet valve mounting screw holes may not be threaded. That is because the screws that hold the valve in place are self-threading. It may be easier for you to twist the old screws into the valve while the valve is out, rather than wait until it is in place. Then, remove the screws from the valve for installation.
• Reinstall the new valve in the reverse order.
• Flush out the water fill hoses.
• Reinstall the fill hoses in the proper order.
• Turn on the water supply valves.
• Check for and correct any leaks.
• Restore power and test operation.
Others:
If you didn’t see your brand and model above, and you’re sure you need to replace your water inlet valve, come see us in the Samurai Appliance Repair Forums. Fix ya up. Whatever.
1) If the machine has a dryer stacked on top of it or is positioned in such a way that it would be too much bother to move, just leave it where it is. However, if it is possible, it would be easier to do this job if the machine could be leaned. If leaning it back is not possible, then a 6 or 8 inch block of wood will be handy to use to wedge between the front panel and the tub to hold the tub back out of the way.
2) The boot is attached to a lip around the perimeter of the opening in the front panel and is glued on in spots about three inches apart, all the way around. Use a razor blade as shown in illustration #1 to carefully slice the glued spots on the boot away from the front panel.
3) Once the boot is loose from the front panel, push it into the opening of the tub and out of the way as shown in illustration #2. At this point, if the machine is not leaning back, take your block of wood and while pushing back on the tub through the opening, wedge the block between the front panel and the tub about ten inches to the bottom – right of the opening. This will give you more space to work with the boot.
4) Notice that the boot is still attached to the duct that is located just inside the front panel at the upper left corner from the opening. This is where the water, soap, bleach and fabric softener enter the tub. To remove (and later on, reattach) the clamp holding this in place on the end of the duct you will have to make yourself a tool from a three inch piece of 3/8 inch soft copper tubing. In illustration #3 you will see that the end of the tube is flattened somewhat so that it can be slipped over the twisted ends of the clamp as shown in illustration #4. Twist the tube counterclockwise to slip the clamp and set both the tool and the wire clamp aside. Pull the boot free from the duct.
5) Using both hands, grab onto the boot at the top of the opening to the tub and pull downward and toward you with slow steady pressure. As the boot is pulled free from the outer lip of the tub (at the top), the coiled spring that holds the boot from the groove behind the lip around the opening to the front shell will become visible. You can either continue pulling on the boot until it comes off or you can hook the spring (with a piece of coat hanger fashioned into a hook) and pull it off and then pull the boot off separately.
6) Once the boot is off, examine the lip that extends around the entire perimeter of the front opening of the front shell of the tub (the front shell and the rear shell are so named because when bolted together, form the outer tub that surrounds the inner tub). The boot has a lip that will have to be folded into the groove behind the lip on the front shell. To start this, examine the new boot and locate the groove in front of the lip that corresponds to the similar lip and tab on the tub shell. It will make this job a lot easier if you can get some liquid dishwashing soap from the consumer, and sparingly lubricate this groove on the boot to make it easier to slip onto the lip of the shell (see illustration #5). No soap is preferable to too much soap. Have a cloth handy to wipe the soap from your fingers.
7) Once the groove in the boot is lubed with soap, locate the arrow as shown in illustration #6 that is located on the top of the boot (located to the right of the extrusion that slips over the duct). This arrow must point up when the boot is installed.
8) With the boot in one hand and the other hand spreading the lip and groove (on the boot near the arrow), force the lip into the groove behind the lip at the top of the opening on the tub shell (see illustration #7).
9) With one hand holding the boot so it does not slip off, use the other hand to continue spreading the lip and groove of the boot further to the right. In this way, you continue this action 360 degrees around until the boot is mounted onto the front shell ( illustration #8). Your fingers will take a beating while you do this and may become quite tired. Do not give up. Just pop a cold one (without letting go of the boot) and keep at it. Rest one hand at a time if needed. Whatever you do, do not remove both hands until the boot is on (unless you want it to fall off and then you get to start all over with it).
10) Now is the time to put the spring back on. Included in the BOOT KIT is a set of three spacers (an example of which is shown in illustration #9). These spacers are to be used to hold the spring in place in the groove on the outside perimeter of the boot. As it will take both hands to stretch this spring into place, these spacers will prevent the spring from popping out when you let go of it to use both hands to stretch it further around the boot. Begin by pushing the spring down into the groove just forward from where the boot contacts the front shell at about the 12 o’clock position. While holding it in place with one hand, use the other to tightly wedge the spacer above it, between the spring (in its groove) and the weight ring above it as shown in illustration #10.
11) Working your way to the right, push the spring down into the groove. When you have placed the spring about 90 degrees around the opening from the first spacer, the spring will begin to get tight. Push in another spacer at that point (making sure to keep checking the first spacer, if it pops out – the spring will pop out).
12) Continue working your way around (while checking both spacers, you don’t want them to slip out) until you reach 180 degrees from the first spacer. Install the third spacer.
13) The spring will be extremely tight now as shown in illustration # 11. Once you have gone more than half way around, the spring will be easier to roll into the rest of the groove (so long as all three spacers are holding tight). When you have the spring in place, make sure to remove the three spacers before proceeding to step # 14.
14) Replace the boot extrusion back onto the duct and pull it up over the ridge on the duct near the top of the opening. Reinstall the clamp in such a way that the clamp sits between the ridges on the extrusion and above the ridge on the duct. Snap the clamp closed with the copper tubing tool that you used previously.
15) Before attaching the new boot to the front panel, clean the surface of the front panel with alcohol or household cleaner. Also clean the flat surface of the new boot that will be contacting the front panel. This step is needed to remove the mold release material used in the manufacturing process and will allow the adhesive to stick.
16) Remount the boot onto the front panel as shown in illustration #13, making sure that the boot is not wrinkled. If large wrinkles exist, they may pool water in the boot and dribble onto the floor when the door is opened. If this is the case, pull it loose from the front panel and remount it slightly more clockwise or counter clockwise as needed.
17) Using the adhesive supplied in the kit, sparingly apply dots of glue under the edge of the boot as shown in illustration #14. Spot glue at the 12 o’clock, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 o’clock positions around the opening. Caution: you will need to wait a couple of hours before using the washer to allow the adhesive enough time to dry.
To learn more about your washing machine, or to order parts, click here.
Mark wrote:
As Tommy Lee Jones would say, “Excellant work young man”
The site is great, the info is right on target. Been there, done that. Reminds me of a friend of mine that we never let use power tools or touch anything electrical. I am constantly telling him the same things so profoundly posted on your site. Keep it UP!_______________________________
Message sent from IP: 24.11.143.222
Thank you, mah bruthah! I’ve always tried to make this site informative as well as entertaining and it’s always cool when I hear from kindred spirits, like yourself, who “get it.” Mucho domos and keep thinking your own thinks!
Went on a service call the other day for a refrigerator. And, in one of those, “While you’re here…” things, I ended up checking out the washer and dryer. Something I always, always check when working on a washer are the fill hoses. The cheap, stamped-brass fittings on the black rubber fill hoses were badly rusted and, in that weakened condition, were more prone to snap or split, causing a huge flood in this million-dollar lake house.
So I pulled those hoses off… actually, the fittings were so badly rusted that they no longer rotated so I had to cut ’em off with the big serrated-edge knife in my Leatherman Wave that I keep on my belt when I’m running service calls. Then I installed a beautiful, brand-new pair of stainless-steel braided fill hoses with stainless steel fittings. The only additional charge was for the retail price of the new hoses. Cheapest flood insurance you can buy!
Recommended Reading: Three Easy Steps to Total Washing Machine Flood Prevention
Doctor K wrote:
Your holiness,
washing machine question. (KitchenAid model#622874) I suspect the water inlet valve is faulty since water is dripping when the machine is “off”.
Where is the valve located? How do I access to replace?
With all do admiration,
Michael
_______________________________
Message sent from IP: 67.117.147.242
Yep, sounds like your water inlet valve can’t quite pinch it off anymore. The valve is mounted to the washer’s rear bulkhead (that’s Navy talk for “wall” or “panel” — don’t let it throw you), as seen here to the right.
Hey, don’t run off and start taking off the back panel like a kid opening a Christmas present– take a breath and read this short missive on how to disassemble your washer. You’ll be glad you did.
As you probably suspected, the valve can no longer be trusted to control 40 to 60 psi of water pressure every day, all day long; you have to replace the valve. And, if you purchase the new valve here within the next five minutes, I’ll confer a special blessing upon you.
Nolo contendere, e pluribus unum, my child.
Went on a service call the other day on a Frigidaire dryer with the complaint of being very noisy and then stopped tumbling altogether. I opened up the dryer and saw that the back of the drum had actually dropped down several inches. Hmm, this was weird.
Looking between the back of the drum and the heater can with my flashlight, I saw that the drum bearing had broken clean off!
Incidentally, for instructions and pictures on disassembling this dryer as well as other dryer brands, see this illuminating tome on dryer disassembly.
Anyway, when the bearing on this dryer needs to be replaced, it makes one helluva racket. The noise will go on, getting progressively louder and more skull-piercing, for several weeks before some type of catastrophic failure occurs. I don’t know how they could put up with the noise all that time. When the dryer finally stopped working altogether, then it was time to call for service. Enter the Samurai.
To get an idea of how long the dryer must’ve been screeching and howling, check out how the round drum bearing ball got lathed into a cylinder by the worn bearing ball socket.
Anyway, I installed a brand-spanking new drum bearing kit and harmony was restored to both the dryer and the household.
To learn more about your dryer, or to order parts, click here.