We had a somewhat similar issue with a Maytag top loading washer recently. It was becoming unglued on the spin cycle too. It vibrated a lot which caused the control panel to vibrate against the top of the washer which created a lot of noise. I kept saying I would have a look at it and she kept saying she just wanted to buy a new washer.  I had a look online and the best suggestion seemed to be that 6 springs that go between the base and the drum around the tub become weak over time. The cost was pretty reasonable so I got a set and installed them. That reduced the vibration substantially. We don't recall what it was like when new but it appears to be much improved and much quieter so she is happy once again. The control panel housing still rattled against the top of the washer and there did not appear to means to tighten it so I cut some pieces of fairly soft plastic out of something from the recycling bin and pushed them into the crack between the top and the housing and that solved the problem. I think a bead of silicon would have worked fine but she was concerned that it would be hard to keep clean so I looked for another alternative.

I can say that changing out the springs was a miserable job. The 3 in front were not bad but the 3 in the back were hardly possible so I cut a good sized hole in the back of the cabinet and worked on it from behind. An air nibbler made short work of cutting a neat hole. I did not bother to put the piece back in. It cannot be seen on the back and the cabinet did not appear to be weakened.

I had difficulty stretching the new springs into position. They used to sell a tool for doing the job but it is not longer available. I ended up using a set of long vice grips and a set of small vice grips plus a block of 6 X 6 about 6 inches high. The long vice grips would not grip the spring wire hard enough not to slip so I put the small set of vice grips on the wire and then used the long ones under the little ones and pried the spring up using the block of wood as the fulcrum. It took me most of a week working for a bit every night. I took it apart on Sunday evening and removed the old springs on Monday evening. I was busy Tuesday evening and did not work on it. Wednesday night I cut the hole in the back and fought with it. Thursday we got the set of long vice grips because I did not have enough leverage to get the springs on further into the cabinet where it was more difficult to reach while laying on the floor behind the washer. Thursday night I got the 3 back springs on. Then I got interrupted  when my son in Ottawa called to wish me a happy birthday and gave up for the night. Friday night I got the 3 front springs on and put the cabinet back together. Saturday, I opened up the dryer and cleaned the lint out of it. Then we hooked both the washer and dryer back up and ran them and all was well. Not really my idea of fun. I am happy that I did not become an appliance repairman but I was happy to repair the thing so that it will work for a while longer.

RB


_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com

To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/

To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com

Reply via email to