6 replies to this topic

[mildavw]

Hello Samurai,

I have a Kenmore Heavy Duty 70 model 110.72974100 washer which indicates it's made by Whirlpool, if I recall correctly. Belt drive.

A few months ago the pump froze up. After looking over your website and a few others I decided to make the repair myself. I tipped the washer onto its face, removed the pump, ordered a new one, picked it up a few days later, installed it, tipped the washer back, and the first thing I saw was a quarter cup of lightweight oil appear on the floor apparently from the inside of the front face of the washer. Hoping this was just a small amount of the oil needed to function properly, I turned the machine on. The new pump worked great and the washer ran fine--until a few weeks ago.

It's no so much a squeal but more like a very loud continuous trumpet blast. It happens only sometimes (but with increasing frequency) and it seems to happen when the machine is ready to agitate. It spins fine. The new pump pumps fine. It does not agitate while trumpeting.

When it does this, I push the control knob in to stop the machine. And if I turn it around and start it again and some other point in the cycle, sometimes it will finish the load just fine. Other times it continues the trumpet blast.

My wife claims the agitate cycle (when it works) is much louder that it used to be. I haven't noticed a difference though.

So did I drain the oil out of something like the transmission and now it's loudly grinding itself to bits? That's my guess, but you're the expert!

[align=center]
Master Samurai
We're out of clean underwear
Can you diagnose?
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Thanks,
Dave

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Hey, congrats on the pump replacement!  It's normal for a little bit of oil to leak out when that puppy is on it's face for a while.  If it was just a little puddle, you're probably fine.  A quarter cup of leaked transmission oil won't hurt anything. 

Try to locate the source of the noise.  Listen/watch it from the back with the service panel off.   Could even be something unrelated:  agitator, timer, ???

[align=center]

Master Samurai
We're out of clean underwear
Can you diagnose?

[/align]
Nice haiku!

[mildavw]

Update:After running back there with a flashlight and laying down behind the trumpeting machine several times,I never could locate the sound. It was loud and seemingly coming from everywhere. We suffered through the noise for a few more weeks and then one day we noticed that we hadn't heard it in a while. It's been months now. Fixed? If it comes back, I'll let you know.Dave 

[mildavw]

Hey There! Guess what? Our trumpeting washer is back! The squeal/trumpet is still intermittant, but it's happening more often now.

What about bearings? What bearings are there in this thing that only get used on agitate? My post above says it doesn't agitate while trumpeting but what I'm witnessing now is different. It does agitate, but just squeals the whole time. I still can "fix" it sometimes by just stopping and starting the machine. Sometimes the squeal goes away by itself before I get down to the basement to fix it.

Any ideas?

[Pegi]

I would be checking to see if something is in the water pump or the pump might have bad bearings...

[mildavw]

Is there a reason the pump would scream only on the agitate cycle?

[Pegi]

Could if something was in the pump rubbing against the impellers.  Other wise you might be looking at a bad tranny....run the washer with the pump removed from the motor and hoses attached to see if the noise is still there.  If so would suspect tranny.