Washer repair

Knowing all washing machine troubleshooting tips does not mean that a washing machine can be repaired without a help of professionals. Get washer repair service when your washing machine stops being responsive and the problem will be immediately fixed. The sooner you turn to washer repair service team the better. The team of professionals will contribute washer repair help and answer all questions you might want to ask them. Trust a broken washing machine to the hands of professionals!

When it comes to washing machines, there is a huge array of different styles and models. Sometimes it's even difficult to identify who is the manufacturer of your machine because of the many department stores that have washers made especially for them with their specific name in mind. But have no fear, our washer repair technicians know them all, even the European brands.

There are a few things you can look into fixing yourself before calling our washer repair person when having problems. This will save you time and money. As silly as they might sound, they happen often in our field of work.

1. If your washer is totally non responsive you might want to check if it's plugged in or might have blown a fuse in the fuse box inside your apartment or outside your house.
2. If your washer is leaking you will want to check the drain hose, making sure it's properly connected to the drain and does not have any cracks.
3. If your washer keeps filling up with water for a long period of time and never switches to the agitate cycle, you will need to check that the drain hose is placed at the right height. When installed too low or placed too deep into the drain there is a natural siphoning effect that occurs that does not allows the washer to fill to the appropriate amount before switching to the next cycle.

When all else fails call or submit your request on-line and will have a washer repair person contact you promptly to assist you with your problem. Our customers are our greatest asset and your recommendation to your friends is you’re your greatest compliment to us. We are more then happy to answer any questions you might have.

Clothes washers

Clothes washers, though similar to the dishwasher, are very much more complicated. Though it may not seem like it, after the preceding pages, the dishwasher is a fairly elementary machine compared with the clothes washer. That is due, primarily, to the fact that the clothes washer has an agitator, transmission, and clutch, all of which entail many complications missing in the dishwasher.
Nowadays the front-loading machine has almost disappeared, so we will deal mostly with the top loader. We note that it is a shame that the front-loader has departed. It was much easier to service; it tended to need less service. It used less water, routinely. Its decline may be laid to the greater capacity of the top loader.
The automatic washer of clothes has a water inlet system consisting of both hot and cold water, an electric motor, a drain pump and drainage system, and the gear system driving the center agitator. Its electrical system consists of the timer and a system of solenoids that open and close the water system as well as running the clutch and gear systems. Suspension and braking systems complete the list.
Gearboxes are sealed, "for life" systems. If they wear out, they must be replaced. They rarely do.
Let us first consider two types of failures — water failures and belt failures. Some water failures involve the water inlet valve, which is fed by the two hoses from hot and cold water outlets. Leaks can appear at the valve, and at the sink, too. Washers can be involved in both cases, but the valve itself becomes worn, corroded, and can develop hairline cracks.
Because the water inlet valve must mix cold and hot water, it has twice the amount of work to do as its opposite number in the dishwasher, which takes only hot water. While it doesn't mean twice the failure rate, it's obviously a higher risk component. Both washers wear out in time between the joining surfaces of the hose and the valve. If a leak develops in the valve, that's the first place to look. Simply screw off the hose coupling with a pliers or vise pliers, using care not to damage the coupling. It is of course necessary, in dealing with both water and electrical systems, to turn them off. This advice, repeated constantly, may become boring., In the case of the water, another complication may arise. In turning off the water supply, you may ruin the faucet at the point of origin. The faucet may be unused to such turning, and because it has acquired corrosion in the threads and other turning points it may be unusable once you turn it off, or try to turn it off. If this happens — which is common enough — don't try to save it. Buy a new one and install it. Faucets are inexpensive — and flimsy on that account.
Water valves make mistakes other than leaking. For example, they sometimes refuse to shut off entirely. This can be caused by corrosion and the inability of the solenoid to completely close the valve. You can take the valve apart and clean it out. Remove the hoses, the wires, and the retaining screws or nuts and bolts. When taking the valve apart, you will find a lot of small parts, including springs, diaphragms, needle valves and valve guides, as well as the solenoid components. If you don't have a good memory for parts and their sequence, draw a diagram of all parts you remove. However, you will be аЫе to puzzle out the valve and solenoids, if you are impatient with diagrams. Washers will have two solenoids, here — for hot and cold water. When you take the valve apart, look carefully for hairline cracks inside and outside.
If the valve has filters-strainers of some sort — clean them with a brush. Most of them have cupped strainers attached. Other water problems arise at the drain hoses, the drain valve, and the drain pump. There is also a water level switch — a manual switch that you use to select fill level. This switch isn't failure prone, but if water level changes inexplicably, the switch may be at fault. If you use the same water level habitually, forget this switch. But the switch is a diaphragm pressure switch that can become faulty. As water rises, air pressure in the switch increases, which forces the switch to open, shutting off water flow. If, for some reason, the switch fails to shut off, water will not stop flowing. Simpler washing machines don't have water level switches. They depend on water pressure from the faucet, with a mechanical method of controlling flow.
Water level also depends on the timer. Timers in modern automatic washers are driven by a synchronous motor. They have a cam assembly that snaps from stage to stage, energizing contacts which drive the machine doesn't repair the leak, you may be forced to call a serviceman.
We have mentioned leaks at water valves. They also fail, sometimes, causing a variety of symptoms. A water inlet valve that doesn't close completely can allow water into the drying cycle, for example, and the dishes won't dry. A drain valve that clogs can cause overflowing, or slow draining. A tank that drains completely, instead of maintaining the correct residue level at the bottom, may be caused by a leaking drain valve, or an inlet valve that isn't opening at the final cycle.
Water valves can become corroded. They are simple solenoid valves in which an electrically magnetized coil pulls up a needle valve against spring pressure. When electricity stops flowing, according to the timer, the spring forces the needle back into the water flow space and blocks it. If the needle builds up corrosion, it won't operate properly. Corrosion can be cleaned. But it requires taking apart a small part that is usually replaced. Water inlet or drain valves are not worth fooling with. When they become defective, they should be replaced. But it is important to know when it is the valve that is defective, or when it is in one of the water tubes or hoses, or is the pump that drains the tub. It should be stressed that water valves fail rarely. Pumps and timers, usually in that order, are the first items to fail, followed by gaskets, motors, then any other part. Pumps fail because they are subject to abuse or simply because they do a lot of work. Timers fail because of the work they do. All parts get wear. All are designed for the type of wear they receive, but some parts withstand it better than others.
The tub itself would seem to be one of the latter components, yet tubs rust and wear out. So do racks and baskets inside. If you allow the silverware rack to disintegrate sufficiently so that knives and forks will come through and interfere with the bottom spray arm, the result will be sharply curtailed washing action. If glass breaks, gets ground up and sent through the system in the washing action, it will wind up in every spraying component, including any spray arm above the lower arm, and in the pumps and the drain system. If you don't remove glass pieces from every system affected, the entire operation will be diminished. That is true of other hard objects such as small bones and other items we've mentioned above.
Thus far we've been talking generally about dishwashers. Now let's come to grips with one of the most popular makes, by Montgomery Ward. Ward's dishwashers are supplied by Frigidaire, and White, with some components by General Electric, Westinghouse, and other manufacturers.
Both under-counter, and portable/convertible 1978-79 models are discussed. If yours is an earlier Ward model, the differences won't be great in terms of service, though some components and features will differ, and so will the arrangement and placement of components.
In troubleshooting these new Montgomery Ward (Frigidaire, White, etc.) dishwashers, let's begin with the water valve, one traditional source of trouble. If no water enters the tub, you almost certainly need a new water valve. Before you rush out, however, look also at the timer. Timer contacts aren't that easily inspected. However, the timer is easily checked: simply advance the timer by turning the knob clockwise. If one cycle through its various cycles. Water filling is one of them, and if there is something wrong with the set of contacts or space between them that controls the water cycle, the result will be incorrect water level.
Water failures in which too much or too little water enters are thus caused by the water inlet valve or the water level switch malfunctioning. Suspect the water inlet valve first, and check it out as above, cleaning it and putting new gaskets in it.
Next suspect the water level switch. Finally, the timer. The water level switch can be removed, taken apart for visual inspection, and if you can see something wrong with the diaphragm (a crack or hole), replace the switch. The tube that enters it and is attached from the drain pump must also be inspected for cracks. Electrical inspection requires that you test for short circuits. You may prefer that a shop make these tests. If so, remove the switch and take it for testing.

Water pumps

Water pumps have a relationship to water level in that they have the task of removing the water completely from the tub. Water pumps can leak and wear out. They also get clogged. Older pumps can turn up with a sock clogging them. Newer ones are fairly well protected from something that obtrusive, but they can collect things such as lint or other clothing materials, including parts of the clothing.
If no pumping action takes place — the tub is not being drained — the pump is either clogged or inoperative. If it is not operating at all, the correction depends on whether the pump is belt-driven, or whether it has its own motor. A belt-driven pump, probably off the main motor, with the two fat drain hoses attached to it, can be removed easily enough. Belt, hoses, clamps, and wiring, are not formidable barriers. See first if you can't clear out any obstruction simply by removing the hose clamps and looking into the hoses. Sometimes the obstruction is there. If it is inside the pump, there is no other cure than pump removal. The condition of the pump motor will be an issue if the pump has its own motor. A test is ticklish. You have to turn the timer to a point that calls the drain motor into play — meaning that you must test it in an exposed situation. It must be offered electricity. You can remove it and test it easily with prods to the motor. But that's a lot of labor. The logistics of the disassembly job should motivate you to arrive at a point in which the drain pump and motor are connected and visible so that you have only to connect the washing machine and turn the timer to a drain cycle, then watch the pump motor.
Washing machine pumps are also driven by belts, and if the belt is broken, the problem is simplicity itself. Belts however, rarely break completely. They become frayed and lose friction. If a pump has some kind of obstruction in it sufficient to exert pressure on the impeller, a worn belt could be applying insufficient traction. In this case you would still have to look at least into the pump drain hoses, and perhaps the pump itself.
Disassembling the pump is very easy—its housing is held by a few screws that come out readily.
Pump bearings may "freeze". That would prevent the pump from moving, and a worn belt could move over the pulleys without turning them. Burned out or worn bearings aren't worth replacing; replace the pump.
If, when you replace the pump hoses, there is a leak, it means that the hoses have corrosion on them. So, in order to prevent duplication of labor, before replacing the hoses make sure that the ends of them are free of anything that doesn't belong there — any corrosion. In returning the pump with a belt, you must adjust the belt's tension. It needn't be too tight, but if you can push it in more than an inch or so, it's too loose. Belt adjustment is always done by pulling on the pump and tightening the adjusting bolt on the clamp that holds the pump.
In the expectation that pump service will be common, some models make pump access easy. Those machines do not, perhaps, exhibit their pump systems as protectively as they might. If yours has an accessible pump, be only moderately grateful.

Timers

The timer is the brain of the automatic washing machine, (also the dishwasher, as we have seen) but it is a rather stupid device. It apportions power throughout the washer, timing each portion. That seems like a complex role, but in fact it isn't. A small, synchronous motor drives something called an escapement, which is a system of small, plastic gears that move the contact section of the timer. That section is what selects and differentiates between the cycles. The contacts eventually corrode and wear out or burn out. They shouldn't do that in a fairly new machine, but any machine over ten years of age can expect it. Some timer motors plug in for easy replacement, as a testimony to their fragility, perhaps.
Timers, when they start to fail, cause a battery of symptoms that can be taken for the symptoms of other failing components. When the timer fails to advance — when it won't go from one cycle to another — the chances are that it is mostly the timer shaft caught in an act of binding. A drop of oil can cure it. Be careful, though, never to drop oil on contacts in the timer. That will ruin them.
The timer motor is a small box, or boxlike appendage, on or at the timer, with electric leads into it. The timer itself is, of course, what you turn with that large knob on the front of the washing machine.
Timer symptoms include such mistakes as starting to agitate before the fill is concluded, or failures in one or more cycles whereas others are normal. If the timer is old, it can cause bizarre symptoms (not from age alone) such as starting cycles at the wrong time and place, or refusing to start the correct cycle or complete it.
Signature washing machines Montgomery Ward's Signature brand washers offer a typical, industry standard, more or less state-of-the art automatic washer, and because they are among the most commonly purchased, let's look systematically at them.
Many buyers of washing machines fail to read instructions that accompany them, according to Montgomery Ward brochures on maintenance. Machines, plugged into overloaded circuits, will trip the circuit breaker or blow a fuse. Often the user will summon a repairman in exasperation, but the user is at fault, not the machine. That single event — the overload — causes as many failures to start as any other.
Signature washing machines are designed so that most maintenance can be performed from the front without moving the machine away from its installed position. However, many components can only be serviced by removing the control panel. These include timer and selector switch, lights, switches, and other electrical parts.
The water level switch, adjustable for changing conditions of use, is on the control shield. It has a variable setting with a knob adjuster for selecting desired water levels for a particular load or type of load. 
The switch is delicate, and if hose connections to it and to the sump are not airtight, the switch will not perform correctly. Switches are adjusted and sealed at the factory, and this is mostly a warning to let the water switch alone, unless certain symptoms develop (see below).
The timer, very similar to dishwasher timers, consists of the small motor, the escapement, and the cam and switches. The escapement is driven by the motor. It was remarked earlier that the timer is the brain, but rather stupid. However, what it does is extremely complex — but routinized by the design and the small motor that pushes it through its paces. Timers on these Signature washers behave exactly as noted before, and their symptoms and cures differ very little from other types.
Also on the control board is the selector, which is a system of switches either of the pushbutton type, rotary, or both. They, of course, select the type of wash your load requires. They are only as accommodating as your selectivity in loading the machine.
Incandescent and fluorescent lights complete the lineup on the control shield and panel. The timed bleach dispenser is at the left front of the cabinet.
Service on the cabinet top spin basket, outer tub, mixing valve, tub cover, splash ring, clothes door switch, inlet hose, wiring, transmission, and other items requires that you release the holding clips securing the cabinet top at the front. (See illustration.) Those Signature models with timed bleach dispensers require that you remove the screen and the inlet flume (passageway). Clips may be released by passing a thin-bladed screwdriver or knife between the cabinet top and the cabinet wrapper.
The question that now arises is what can you do to an appliance that is somewhat similar to the dishwasher that you can do a lot to, but is much more complicated than the dishwasher. As we've noted, the reason the clothes washer is more complex stems from that center agitator and what drives it—a clutch and transmission.
The best approach is by way of troubleshooting.
When nothing happens after you turn on the washing machine, especially if it has been working recently, think first of a blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker.
Blown fuses and tripped circuit breakers should not make you think the machine is at fault; undoubtedly it is due to an overload elsewhere on the line. Short circuits internally are possible and are easily eliminated simply by making sure that no other appliance is turned on when you turn on the washing machine. If it then blows a fuse, where it did not in the past, you can be fairly certain that there is an internal short. Begin by removing the top and exposing the wires and switches. Examine them carefully for signs of burning. If visual inspection of wiring and switches tells you nothing, look elsewhere before assuming that the motor is burned out or the timer has burned up one of its contacts. An extension cord of too small a gauge wire can cause the symptom. Too-low line voltage is another cause. The drive mechanism and/or transmission can be binding. There's little you can do for either of these two problems, though you can isolate the possibility of transmission binding by turning the agitator by hand. The circuit breaker itself can be worn out and in need of replacement. You can determine that by plugging in another appliance with similar ampere rating and observing the results.
Another set of problems arises when the motor is unable to turn though it is not defective. Every sign of life is there except one—the ability to turn. This can be caused by: a tight pump because of something caught in the impeller, or a similar kind of obstruction in the pulley belt groove. A sock can be caught or lodged in the hose from the pump. To get at the pump, you must enter from the rear of the washer. It is mounted to the washer base in the center, behind the support housing, and it has three metal hex head screws holding it. Release the hose clamp (a tension wire), and pull off the hose. This is the drain hose. Examine it for an obstruction. If it's free, remove the rear access panel and now disconnect the inlet hose to the pump, examining it as before. Remove the mounting screws, and slide the pump forward. The belt should remain on the motor and transmission drive pulley, enormously simplifying installation. Take the pump apart by removing the four screws which bind the housing and the base. The top of the housing will not come off. You should find the culprit by now if it is a simple clog. But if the impeller won't move, or moves only with much force, the pump needs rebuilding. You can elect to do this yourself, or take it to the Montgomery Ward shop. But try to find the binding spot — whether it's in the bearings or between the impeller and its surroundings.
If you rebuild the pump, you must take it apart completely. Remove the screw holding the impeller. Pry up carefully on the impeller with two screwdrivers at opposite sides, forcing it off the splined shaft. Now work  off the seal assembly — the mating ring and "O" ring, pulling them up off the shaft. The seal and housing bottom may now be removed.
A rebuilding kit is supplied for the pump. But if one or both bearings are defective (not likely), they must be pressed out and new ones forced in. You can do this if you have some way of improvising a press, but it is best to have it done professionally. The cost is low and the ruined pump would be high. However, don't replace bearings that turn freely, make no suspicious noise in turning, and seem to fit snugly.
In reassembling the pump, seat the seal mating ring in the impeller, as before. Place the seal and "O" ring in the impeller recess, lightly lubricating the "O" ring so as to ease the path of the ring over the shaft. Install the impeller mounting screw, putting some special cement under the screw head, which you may obtain with the identifying number of 33-1204. The pump must now turn freely in both directions. Replace the belt and all other parts.
If the motor needs service, you can remove it for purposes of taking it to a shop or replacing it. Most instructions suggest that replacement is the better part of valor and you will quickly discover that the labor involved is not that great but when someone else does it, the price is very great for the labor. When should you replace the motor?
When the motor overload protector becomes defective.
When there is excess end-play in the motor shaft, which keeps the starting switch open.
When the motor shaft is bent.
In all other cases of motor troubles, the motor can be repaired, but it also must be removed.
Here's how.
Disconnect the cord, tip the washer up a few inches in order to remove the belt. Remove the rear panel. Now rotate the motor, first left then right, lifting simultaneously so as to disengage the pivot base. Now remove the motor tension spring. Tip the motor forward, remove the plastic shield and disconnect the wiring harness. Slide the motor out between the cabinet and the support spring.
Montgomery Ward uses two types of starting switches on these motors, and in one case of failure the switch itself can be replaced, but in another the motor must be replaced because the switch is an internal, integral part.
Let's backtrack a moment. To determine whether there is excessive end play, push and pull on the end pulley. You should not be able to push it in or out (we're assuming that the motor is not working at all and you're troubleshooting). However, any motor will have some slight amount of play in it, and you shouldn't disqualify the motor if there is, say, a slight movement in it of 32nds of an inch.
How can you tell when the motor shaft is bent? This might require a test if you can't see wobble in the pulley end as you turn it. The test is not something you could do at home.
Most washer problems on older machines—eight to 10-years old—are electrical. If the motor and transmission have survived that long, the chances are they will go on for a few more years before replacement or overhaul are needed. But electrical problems can show up any time because switches are much more fragile than motors and transmissions, pumps and tubs.
Electrical problems begin with loose leads or some part of the wiring harness coming apart, all because of vibration — the enemy of electrical contact. You can see loose leads and harness defects. But you can't see a timer that isn't working properly. The timer's synchronous motor is actually independent of the timer's other components. You should be able to hear the timer motor if you put your ear up to it — to the timer. You can also test the timer's motor, as we've indicated in an earlier section. The motor turns a small pinion gear which in turn spins gears, links, and the cam. The cam, when it turns, opens and closes the contacts. These supply electrical flow to the motor. The small pinion gear is more apt to go bad than the motor itself. After all, the motor is essentially a clock motor, and how often do they go bad? Rarely, though they sometimes need oil.
About the only test you can make of the timer itself is with a timer in which there is a timer knob that can be advanced manually for cycle selection. Most Montgomery Ward Signature washers make this possible. So if one cycle selection works and the next one does not, that is almost certainly a sign that the timer must be replaced. You can't repair them, though you can replace timer motors.
After the timer, motor, and pump (whose problems are mostly mechanical rather than electrical), the selector switches can cause the most trouble. These switches control motor speed (though one Signature model has motor speed controlled by the timer) and type of wash load you choose. Switches are either rotary or pushbutton. If they fail, there is only one choice — replacement. They are easily reached at the back of the control panel, and if you push or turn one of them and there is no response, you should begin by suspecting the switch, not what's at the other end of its line. Admittedly, wiring is always to be suspected, and when you examine the switch, look first at the wires attaching to it, and look also at the wires at their other destination. Jiggle them around. Jiggling sometimes restores current flow when contacts are loose, or when the wires are broken inside the insulation where they cannot be seen.
Lights on the panel are part of the electrical system, but they are a convenience not an essential. Burnouts will almost always be the bulb not the socket or circuit. These machines have both incandescent and fluorescent light circuits, and the fluorescent, as we know, can have its internal problems of ballast (transformer malfunction) as well as bulb failure. Always begin with bulbs when lights go out.
Next, examine light switches. The incandescent switch is a line switch in the timer — when you turn on the washer you also turn on the line switch for the lights. The fluorescent switch is a push type. Neither switch should cause any trouble. 
If trouble occurs, electrical leads to the fluorescent switch should be looked at for loose connection. Look also at the timer leads. You can replace the fluorescent switch; there's little you can do to the timer.

Water system

Once past the electrical system, the water system is the most troublesome. We have already dealt with the pump, whose faults are mostly mistakes in the wash load — something it cannot handle from the wash becomes ingested in the pump system.
Water hoses, valves, and the switches that control them are next on the troubleshooting list.
Inlet hoses, from faucet to inlet valve, have a 34-inch (19.1 mm) threaded coupling at each end. Hose length is 5-feet (1.52 m) on these Signature washers. Screen washers are placed in each hose, dome side up at the faucet end. Ordinary hose washers are in the inlet valve end of the hose and at the faucet, usually. From the valve, a %-inch (9.5 mm) hose (inside diameter) goes to the water inlet flume or passageway. A suds overflow hose, from tub top, removes overflow suds or water through a cutout in the base, then to the floor. This protects the electrical components and should never be allowed to clog or be disconnected.
A hose also goes to the pressure switch, to the sump, to the pump, to the discharge system from the pump, and to the automatic bleach dispenser as well as the detergent dispenser.
Most of these hoses are heavy, lifetime hoses. But leaks and breaks do occur, sometimes at the couplings and attachments, sometimes from internal wear. Such leaks may show up suddenly or slowly and gradually.
Visual inspection will present clues to the source of leaks. The water inlet valve is under heaviest strain, and is the most likely source of water trouble. It is found at the right rear corner, held in place by two screws inserted through the cabinet into the valve. The valve, a mixer with hot and cold hoses, is like most of these valves in that it is run by a solenoid which is under spring tension. When the spring is released, it forces the valve to close; when the solenoid is energized, it opens the valve. This action is rarely what fails, though the coil that supplies the magnetic field can indeed fail. What happens more often—when anything happens— is a water leak, not an electrical failure. We have already discussed the sources of water leaks in these valves. They are the same in the present instances.

Transmission

Transmission failure occurs when the agitator doesn't work but the motor does'. This is usually cause to buy a new washer since repair will cost close to about half the price of a new one, with the usual warning that other expensive components might be next and you still wouldn't have a new machine.
However, you can do some things to the transmission that can prolong the life of the machine — if you are willing. For one thing, though the transmission has complexities similar to those of a transmission in an automobile, removal of it is far easier.
Here's how. You must first remove the agitator cover, spin-basket, and outer tub. The agitator cover is held by a screw-on plastic cup. (It's the first thing you see when you open the lid.)
The spin-basket (perforated to allow free flow of water and the removal of dirt) has four screws that attach it by means of an aluminum ring to the top of the transmission. A gasket under the basket and one under the ring seal the bottom of the tub.
Remove bolts and the aluminum securing-ring and gasket, and lift the basket over the agitator post. The outer tub is next. It is held to its support braces by a bolt through each of four brackets on the underside of the tub. Bearing and seal housing are assembled to the underside of the tub by four self-tapping screws. These four screws pass through a tub mounting-ring and gasket, installed on the top of a center cutout. A sump assembly (reservoir for water) is installed in a cutout at the bottom of the tub near the side. The transmission is mounted to the tub by the basket drive tube and hub assembly. This butts against the bottom of the bearing and seal housing. An upper threaded portion of the drive tube comes through the seal and bearing housing. It is secured by tightening the upper hub on the threads.
With the spin-basket removed, you now come to the difficult part. Four suspension springs must be removed, and two of them will require force. You can either beg, borrow, steal, or rent the necessary spring compressor, or use some kind of improvisation. A vise grip pliers sometimes will work. When tension is off the spring, pull the tub toward the spring and unhook it from its brace. Of the four springs, only two will need force; when they are removed, the other two will come out easily.
With the top bolts holding the tub to its braces removed, now it is possible to remove the four self-tapping screws from inside the tub. Remove the pump sump next, loosening the lower of two clamps holding it to the tub bottom. Pull it down, lift the tub out through the top of the cabinet.
Now tip the machine, remove the drive belt and drive pulley (by loosening its set screw). The transmission can now be lifted out through the top of the washer.
Incidentally, transmission repair is indicated for symptoms other than complete breakdown.
A knocking sound during agitation is one such symptom. Before removing the transmission, you can learn more about the knock by running the machine and putting your hand on the agitator post (or use a wrench), and if this restriction causes the knock to lessen or disappear, that means you are going to look for loose gears in the transmission (that is, you or whoever undertakes the job). If, however, the knock increases when you grab the agitator post, that means loose or worn links, pins, or connections.
An upper seal failure can cause the transmission to fill with water. You will learn of this disaster by the presence of oil in the basket, since the water will displace the oil. If there is oil loss from the transmission, that will be learned from oil on the base, or on the floor under the washer.
To begin transmission repair, you must remove the center drive block (it's what turns the agitator and washes the clothes).
To remove the drive block, begin by taking out the setscrew near the top. Now you must remove the drive block stud, which threads into the top of the drive shaft. Unscrew the drive block stud. The block itself is a press fit and can only be removed with a small gear puller, as shown. If you have done any auto repair, you will have such a device, but if not you will have to rent or borrow it.
Next, remove the center post. It is held to the upper spin tube hub by the three screws that hold the spin-basket (a gasket lies between the center post and the spin tube hub). Note that there is a nylon bearing over the lower part of the center post and a regular bearing in the upper portion of the center post. (See illustrations. The seal assembly is in two parts—a seat and a spring-loaded seal). The spring-loaded seal has two ears that fit into notches in the agitator drive block. This causes the seal to rotate with the drive block. The seal protects the post bearing and transmission, though it is usually above water level.
A lower water seal, also spring-loaded, mounts above the bearing in a recess in the housing. This seal is set in a rubber cup. Each seal part has a sealing face. These two faces contact each other when the spin tube hub is threaded down on the basket drive tube and hub assembly. The springs in the seal body keep the sealing faces in contact. The bearing and seal housing fit into the center cutout at the bottom of the tub. Four screws hold it in place. They go through the tub mounting ring and gasket, through the tub, into the bearing and seal housing.
The spin bearing goes into the cavity machined to fit it, and it is held by a retaining ring ("C" clamp). If the bearing is defective, it and the seal housing must come out. And if it is defective, it will have to be replaced. You can pound the new one in, but pound only against the other race, otherwise you risk ruining the new bearing — and use a punch or drift that fits the surface you're pounding. Any bearing can be pounded in, but it can also be ruined in the pounding. The best advice on this subject is that you should look for another hard surface that comes close to matching the bearing race surface you pound but isn't quite as hard, so that any distortions will happen to it rather than the bearing and its race. A large socket sometimes will fill this bill. You can break it that way, however, if you do vigorous pounding. A socket costs a dollar or two — much less than the bearing.
Bearing replacement might be expected in an older machine, or one in which water leaks occurred. Normal wear would rarely suggest an early bearing replacement.
The agitator shaft should be checked for end play. If it can be moved up and down more than l/32nd of an inch, you may suspect wear or damaged parts. If the parts show only wear, you can add a washer under the retaining ring to take up the slack.
If the threads on the upper spin tube have been damaged by the setscrew in the collar, these will have to be smoothed out with a triangular file before the hub can be screwed off. But any filings must be carefully collected. Place a cloth around the spin tube, then carefully wipe off the threads, or use a small magnet to collect them. Following are illustrations showing the various processes in removing the upper spin tube, the hub, and other components.
We have noted the possibility of the spin bearing needing replacement. This bearing, also called the tub support bearing, is held in place by a retaining ring that must be fished out with a snap ring pliers or other improvised tools, if you think it needs replacement.
But the entire housing and spin tube assembly will normally be taken out without bearing work. Remove the snap ring and four cap screws; don't disturb the seal or bearing. Inspect them for obvious defects — the seal for wear and tear, the bearings for noise and defects.
The basket drive tube and hub assembly (see illustration) is on the top of the transmission cover. It, and its gasket, are held with four hex head screws. The tube of the assembly fits through the spin bearing and tub seal. The threaded portion sticks out above the housing.
The brake assembly is at the bottom of the transmission housing, held by four socket head bolts. If the brake hub is not in the way, leave it alone, especially if it has worked properly.
If you do remove the brake hub, inspect the bronze bushing. If it is worn, you'll have to replace the entire brake hub. If you do that, you must take care that the transmission drive shaft is able to revolve freely with the new brake hub (it's tighter).
Brake assemblies consist of a heavy steel brake band and lining, which is cemented to the inside of the band. Service on a worn brake assembly requires special tools, but the assembly can actually be taken out without removing the transmission.
Like this. Remove suspension springs, the bolts that hold the tub support braces and spring mounts. Lift the cabinet top and the center tub and transmission about 2 1/4 inches (57.2 mm) and place a block between the base and transmission to support it. Remove the brake retainer plate. Expand the brake band and lower it off the hub, then release the expander and slide the brake assembly over the drive shaft. Obviously an expanding tool of some sort is required, and you may sometimes improvise, depending on how many tools you own.
Transmissions are guaranteed for varying lengths of time, and it would be foolish to do anything to a transmission that the guarantee will do for you.
If, however, you are determined and outside the guarantee, you can buy a rebuilt transmission, trading in the one you have just removed, installing the rebuilt one with the various components involved in the installation — the components we have just-discussed.
If you buy a rebuilt transmission to replace one not covered by a guarantee, it is wise to insist that it be tested. Montgomery Ward specifies a series of tests using a torque wrench on the transmission both before it is installed, and after.

Front load washers

Having noted that the front load washing machine no longer occupies its former position of eminence, a word should be said about it. Many front load machines are in service, and Montgomery Ward and others continue to sell them. The basic difference between the front load and the top load is the absence of the agitator in the front load. That means the absence also of the complex clutch-transmission team of the agitator.
What the front load has in common with the top load is the motor, pump, water valves, timer, and switches. Without the agitator and transmission, the front load is far simpler to troubleshoot and repair. All of the parts are easily accessible, and maintenance has few of the complexities of the machines we've covered.
Belts sometimes need replacing; so do timers, and sometimes the water pump gets clogged. Pulleys may come loose, and the usual electric problems affecting the motor and timer are possible. 
The basic simplicity of these machines guarantees a mostly trouble-free existence. Rust may overcome them before mechanical or electrical failures do them in. And rust can always be caught in time — just paint naval jelly over it. Note that one complaint with these machines is caused by the wrong detergent — you must use a low sudsing detergent, because the usual type will cause a quick excess of suds and interfere with washing, draining, and the laundry tub flow. This is caused by the nearly airtight container when the door is closed—air and suds cannot escape.
The motor and pulley assembly invite occasional attention; they are attached to each other by belts, and the belts wear. Sometimes pulleys work loose. Also, the pulley system drives the water pump. In these washers the water pumps may clog more often than in other types, but they are also more easily serviced.
Signature (Montgomery Ward) front load washing machines, which are among the most familiar types nowadays, offer access to all the power movement through the rear. Electrical details are revealed mostly from the top, and the tub supporting mechanism access is from the rear and sides, or with the machine on its side.
One must marvel at the ingenuity of the belt and pulley system attached to the single speed motor, which is put through its paces by the timer. The belt and pulley system, with its idler wheels, and solenoid coil activator (which pulls belts in and out of play), does the work of the transmission on top loading machines.
Nearby illustrations show the various pulleys, including the ingenious multi-speed pulley, shaped like an ellipse. The function of it is to turn the basket at two different speeds in each cycle, like a dodge-em at a carnival, in order to take care of differing wash cycles required by different articles of clothing.
Because belt replacement is the most likely task you will need to perform, let's tackle that first.
Remove the rear panel, which comes off easily when you loosen the retaining metal screws. However, getting at the panel probably will mean these additional chores; disconnecting the two water hoses, and the drain hose, disconnecting the electrical outlet, and pulling the machine away from the wall. When you disconnect the water inlet hoses—one hot, one cold—you must first turn off the water valves. Sometimes they break off when you turn them, from long disuse. In that case, you'll have to turn off the main water valve, which is found near the entrance of the water supply to the house or apartment, and is obvious because the water meter is attached to the valve.
These faucet valves are easily enough replaced, and inexpensive, if they break. When you screw the hoses back on the faucets, replace the rubber washers inside the coupling.
You may encounter three belts. In a typical Signature washer, that we will be discussing, the spin belt is the first to be removed. It comes off easily if you grab it, rotate the large basket spin pulley to the left, and roll the belt off the large pulley. Then guide the belt carefully through the space between the pulley wheels. It's obvious enough, when you have to remove a whole belt. Putting a new one on, when the old one has broken, is something else. What happens more often than a complete break is severe wear that causes the belt to slip. To install a new belt, which should be exactly like the old one in size and design, start the belt on the lower part of the large basket spin pulley, rotating the pulley to the left. Notice that the spin belt has slack in the normal wash position. It is during the spin cycle that the solenoid coil forces the sliding section half of the spin I pulley against the belt, increasing belt tension sufficiently to grab and turn the pulley.
The main drive belt can only be removed after the spin belt is off.
The main drive belt is tricky to remove—if it isn't broken completely, at which time it becomes tricky to | replace. Put a large screwdriver between the belt and the edge of the idler pulley and push the belt off. Work the belt off the motor pulley next, and pull it between the several obstructions in its path. These include the slider pulley and shift lever. But be careful as you release the two flat and curving idler springs which supply tension to the pulleys and belt; release them gradually, otherwise the springs unlock, snap out of their mounting position, and are troublesome to replace.
Getting the new belt back requires routing it between the shift lever and slider pulley, then to the motor pulley. Start the belt on the top side of the idler pulley.
Then you can get it in position by turning the pulley to your right. This pulley turns right or left. But when you install the new belt, be careful that the belt doesn't get pinched in the limited installation space; force the pulley assembly and belt to the left as you turn the pulley to get the belt in the groove.
The wash belt comes off by turning the elliptical pulley to the left and rolling the belt out of its groove. Then you can slip it out of the smaller inside idler pulley. Installing a new wash belt starts with the smaller pulley first, then get it over the top of the elliptical pulley and turn slowly left.
Belt removal and replacement sounds more complicated than it is. If a belt breaks, you can usually puzzle out the correct installation procedure, since the other belts will be in place and will offer clues in that they will not be occupying all the pulley grooves — the empty ones will accept the new belt. Remember — never replace a belt with one that differs.
Is there any maintenance on these machines? Moving parts in the wash and spin pulley sections should be greased with lubricant which has high resistance to heat. All pulley shafts require grease, but you should avoid getting grease on any belt or belt surface. Belts can't stand grease. Most moving components have sealed oil supplies; you can see those that don't. The motor obviously has self-lubricating capability, but the idler pulley assembly, with its springs, levers, and mounts, just as obviously doesn't have lubrication built in.
Front load washing machines have a wash, spin, and pump cycle. It sounds rather primitive compared with the top loading machines and their five, six, and more cycles, but the clothes come out about as clean. It seems that the tumbling movement of the front load machine is as effective as the agitator and center post of the top loading machine.
Each system has its potential trouble spots. In the wash system, it is essential that the tub turn in a reduced revolution-per-minute cycle. In this cycle, the wash belt carries the desired speed to the multi-speed pulley, which causes the basket to revolve at varying speeds between 52 and 62 revolutions per minute. The multi-speed pulley behaves like two pulleys; in one part of the turning, it's a small pulley; in the other part it's a large one. The multi-speed pulley, as noted, is shaped like an ellipse, which causes the different speeds.
The spin system is a high speed, 500 to 540 r.p.m. cycle that operates on a different pulley system from the wash speed. It is turned on by the spin solenoid coil which forces the two parts of the slider pulley together, thus tightening tension on the belt, and driving the spin pulley at its high speed.
If the high-speed solenoid coil fails to activate the spin cycle, or refuses to allow the drive pulley to shift back to low speed, it should be inspected for poor electrical connections. Access is from the rear, with the attendant requirement of hose and cord disconnection, rear panel removal and the usual shutting off the two water faucet valves. The coil is located on the pulley system, attached to a spring, and to the shifting lever. Pull off the wire clips that enter the solenoid terminal; remove the four mounting screws, and take the solenoid out. Then remove the idler bracket mounting from the solenoid. You can test the solenoid for electrical continuity, using a test light. If it has continuity, the coil may be merely corroded, or require lubrication and cleaning of the moving center plunger. Usually it is best to replace a solenoid that isn't working properly, even though it may not be burned out. The cost is low; the amount of labor can be tedious. If you clean up the old one, it may work for a while—only.
The coil is also attached to the spring and bell crank or shift lever, which must be removed and replaced on the new coil. The spring comes out with a twist of the coil; its bottom end attaches to the shift lever, as illustrated. Testing the coil can be done with any 115 volt light. Place the test light terminals on the two terminals of the coil. If the light goes on, but the coil doesn't pull in on the center plunger, it's shorted. If the bulb doesn't light, the coil is open. Both results indicate a defective solenoid. (The test lamp circuit must, of course, be plugged into an outlet that you know is in working condition.)
The bell crank or shift lever, which attaches to the coil spring, may sometimes wear sufficiently to require replacement. Shift lever wear shows up as failure to allow the slider pulley to move to fast speed, or back to slow, even though the solenoid coil works. (The slider pulley is part of the motor pulley, as shown.) A cotter pin and pivot pin hold the crank in place. Their removal is obvious and easy. But before replacing the lever, check the gap, as illustrated. It should be 1/64-th inch to 5/64-ths, with the slider in the extreme open position. To adjust, turn the adjusting screw clockwise for reducing the gap, or turn it counterclockwise to increase the gap.
If pulleys come loose, they can be tightened with any hex head set screw adjusting tool.
On the electrical side, the timer and its synchronous motor may sometimes need attention. If the machine doesn't complete any of the three cycles, check the timer and motor—unless you can hear the problem elsewhere, in the pulleys, belts, shift lever, and drive motor. That is, if noise appropriate to the cycle is going on, but the cycle itself isn't continuing, this probably means that the timer and its motor have called for the cycle, but the failure is elsewhere, as listed above.
The timer of this Signature washer allows for some limited tinkering, unlike most of them. First, disconnect the electric outlet.
To get at the timer, remove the panel assembly cover.
Signature models differ slightly in this matter; with UAN-6518 you don't have to pull the washer out to get at the timer, which is accessible easily once you get the front cover off. Remove the dials, knobs, timer screws, and control panel screws. Pull up and away to get the panel housing off. Then remove screws that hold the control panel bracket, and the motor mounting nuts. Remove the timer motor leads and the motor itself.
The timer motor has a small pinion gear. Is it worn (teeth badly worn, missing, chipped, cracked, etc.)? Push on the pinion and turn it. There shouldn't be much side play, and it should turn easily. If the motor and its gear pass these tests, use an electrical test device such as the 115 volt lamp above, or simply connect a wall plug extension to the motor. If it doesn't run, buy a new motor. If it does run, the blade spring is at fault. Remove the motor and its two support spacers. Then remove the motor's mounting plate. Pull up the coil spring, remove the steel cover plate over the cam springs and switching contacts at the end of the timer. You do this by carefully prying up the tabs which hold the cover plate.
Now you will see the blade spring, a leaf spring touching a pivot post (see illustration). If the spring is shattered, you must tidy up the area—get bits and pieces out. If it is only partly broken, replace it: put a small screwdriver blade against the end of the spring at the pivot post, and push this toward the pivot post, through the retaining slot where the spring end hooks on. As the screwdriver blade enters this retaining slot, push the spring end out of engagement so that the spring end rests on the inner lip of the slot bridge. Remove the screwdriver and put the blade between the pivot post and the end of the pivot arm, and push the blade into this space against the spring end. Now you can push the spring free of the timer. It sounds far more complicated than it is.
To install a new spring, position it so that the right angle at the pivot post just clears the lower end of the retaining slot bridge on the pivot arm. Put the small screwdriver blade at right angle to the spring, push the end of the spring on the inner edge at the retaining slot bridge. Now use the flat end of the screwdriver against the driving end of the spring, and push the spring back, using the screwdriver as a lever. The spring will drop into its retaining slot.
Reverse the order of disassembly. Install the steel cover plate, (bending the tabs carefully), the coaster spring spacer, the booster spring over the spacer, the timer motor plate, hub assembly washer on the cam and gear assembly, the motor mounting plate, the coil spring, timer motor support spacers, and motor. You may not have noticed that you took all these little parts off.
Suppose there was nothing wrong with the spring. Eliminating the timer motor by testing it, and the drive motor by observation—if it runs in any cycle, the motor is innocent—the timer is next in line for study.
You must peel off everything involved in the blade spring disassembly, to get at the timer. In addition, lift off the cam follower, and the cam and gear assembly and inspect these parts for wear (they're the only parts you haven't taken off in the earlier disassembly). Now remove the two end plates from the timer and look at the top contacts. Turn the timer shaft clockwise, looking at the top stationary contacts. They should raise about .010-inch to .015. If they don't, you can adjust them if you're willing to buy a bending tool for the purpose.
You also want to check out the bottom contacts on the timer. Turn the timer shaft clockwise until the moving (cam activated) and stationary contacts are closed. If the moving contacts don't make solid contact with their opposite numbers, you can adjust them using the same bending tool.
These are fairly delicate adjustments; you may want to buy a new timer, if you have long range plans for the washer, and other parts of it perform well.
Some of these other parts include the pump and the water valve.
If the pump isn't draining properly, check its solenoid. The pump solenoid isn't far from the spin solenoid, and looks a little bit like it. Instead of two leads out of it, however, there are three. But you can test it the same way.
If you have established that the pump cycle is being correctly motivated by the timer, and yet the pump isn't draining, you'll have to make a mechanical inspection of the pump. It's easy to inspect, but less easy to repair. To inspect, remove the rear panel as before, now you can take the cover off the pump and examine the impeller — turn it around, clockwise, to see whether it is free to move. Turn the pulley assembly to see whether the impeller is moving in response to the turning of the pulley. Any obvious defects in the impeller's motion require that it be taken out and rebuilt. This means rebuilding the seals and greasing them. You can get the impeller out by turning it counterclockwise. It comes off its threaded shaft. You can fish the seals out by using a small screwdriver. Put new seals in with grease; but you have to push them in with a round object—for example, a socket from a socket set.
If the pump has been damaged beyond repair, from normal wear or from clogs that corrode it, you can buy a new body for the pump and use the original impeller, if that's in working condition.
One fairly common replacement is the front panel boot, which can be expected to wear out and leak. To replace it, pull it off the front panel at the door opening, then remove the front panel. Loosen the boot clamp ring and remove the clamp. Now you can get the boot away from the tub.
Install the new front boot over the flange of the front of the tub ("Top" is so marked on the boot flange). Use sealing cement. Put the boot in so that the inside lip extends into the tub opening as far as you can get it, but it must be even all around, and there must not be any wrinkles.
Other problems on these machines can involve the fill valves, which work as they do in other machines. Their repairs follow those procedures. Finally, the tub and its rotation supports and bearings may need attention. This, admittedly, is a remote probability. Sealed, ball bearing shafts support the tub and are a press fit into the tub. To repair bearings and shafts would require more work than the machine is worth, especially since such work would come along only after many years of service — when the machine has had most of its life expectancy.