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
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