Main Tub Bearing Assembly

This was the second time for the repair. The original bearing lasted 5 years then became noisy. Replaced it, and the unit worked great 5 more years and the noise came back. So I knew exactly what needed fixing what to order, parts wise. This is not a project for the faint of heart, you will completely disassemble your washer to change out the main bearing. Roughly here are the steps: 1, pull out the agitator with a good firm jerk up. 2, remove the rubber plug in the center of the drive hub, 3 remove the bolt you have just exposed. 4, pry up on the hub, use a puller if you have to to remove it. 5, pry off the cone shaped rubber seal and remove the large main nut from the drive shaft. 6, remove the 4 bolts holding tub, 7 remove the front panel and unscrew the front of the top panel, tip the top up. 8, lift out the tub, 9, remove the 6 large springs holdig the inner assembly to the base, 10, disconnect the water to tank hose and the fill level hose, 11, disconnect the motor cable at the motor, 12, free up the drain hose and pull it, 13, have a helper lift the inner assembly out and move it to a work area, 14, unbolt the drum from the base, motor, and counter weight 15, pry the drive hub off the transmission shaft, 16, remove the rubber seal from the drum, 17 flip the drum and remove the 3 bolts holding the bearing in place. Reverse to put it back. These steps are from memory so they may not be exact. The exploded views on PartsSelect.com web help, as to the instructions that come with the parts.

Removed agitator, inner and outer tub, balance springs, motor assembly,transmission to get to bearing and seal in tub bottom.

Disassembled top and front of machine. Removed agitator cap, removed agitator by removing center bolt. Removed tub top ring, removed balance springs, removed inner tub drain tube,removed shaft nut with channel locks, removed 7 bolts from underneath holding inner tub with 5/16 ratchet. Removed inner tub. Removed bolts holding outter tub, removed outter tub. (rock back and forth to break up old detergent etc... to remove). W-D'd the locking nut after cleaning lint, detergent etc...,used short steel bar and hammer to loosen retaining nut with "L" shaped ears. (it is all one piece and the whole thing turns off, counter/clockwise removal).Remove bearing assembly, clean and install new, remove bearing seal from tub, clean and install new. ( used silicone caulk as additional seal, let set 24 hrs.)Re-assemble in reverse. Runs like new.

removed front, top & loosened side covers, removed agitator, removed inner drum & removed outer drum. had to release balance springs, it is a good idea to silicone in the new seal in the drum. this will prevent future leaks. removed lower plate containing the bearing & replaced. re-assembled in opposite order. i gave the silicone a day to cure before use, it works fine now. they say you need a special tool to remove the nut for the drum. i just used a pair of channellocks & tapped the handle, & it came right off.

This is not a bad repair, but give yourself some time. I did not have to take the tranny and motor out, but the inner and outer tub and all related parts had to come out, along with the outer tub base. If you are replacing the tub bearing, you HAVE to order the seal kit. Don't try to skimp like I did, since you will need the seal kit as this is what causes that bearing to fail in the first place. We forgot how quiet the washer was after I fixed it, and it saved us from buying a new washer since we were ready to say the heck with it and buy a new pair. You might need an 1.5 inch socket to get the big nut off the spindle, but I was able to get with a visegrip and hammer. The nice thing about this repair is even if you screw it up, you won't have water all over the place because of the seal design. I just checked under the washer a few times for the first few weeks and all seems fine.