6 replies to this topic

[elongman]

Help!

We inherited a GE Frontload Washer Model #WCVH6800JWW.

The spin cycle is crazy rough...sounds like a helicopter taking off. The unit has been well leveled and does not rock at all on the floor, but the spin cycle is almost never a quiet affair. So that's problem #1. Any suggestions?

The other issue is that the drum suddenly sounds like a coin fell out of somebody's pants and got trapped underneath the drum. It makes a funny rattling sound whenever the drum turns. No binding and it doesn't seem to be hindering the motion of the drum, but the sound is crazy annoying. How do I go about accessing the innards to determine what's rattling.

I've always had simple top-load Maytags, so this front-load stuff is pretty foreign to me.

Thanks!

Eric

[jambatt]

Reach into the machine and see if you can move the inner tub around. Up and down or side to side. If inner tub moves you've probably got a broken spider or bad tub bearings.

[elongman]

It moves front to back, but is pretty solid up/down and left/right.

[elongman]

I assume that if the inner tub only moves front to back then the spider and bearings are OK. Is that right?

Any thoughts about how to access the innards to see if I can find the coin or whatever is causing the rattling when the tub moves? I can upload an audio file of what it sounds like if that's of any help to anybody...

E

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

PMed you GE manual 31-9174. Should be close enough for whatcha need. Lemme know.

[elongman]

Holy Smokes, Batman! Could it *be* any more troublesome to get in there!? Wowza. (And thanks for passing along the document...that's a treasure trove of information!)

Before I embark on this snipe hunt, tell me please, O Vaunted Samurai Repair Man, if what I suspect has happened is even possible. Is there any anecdotal evidence in your experience to suggest that a coin could actually have gotten loose in the tub and found its way around the gasket and into the space between the stainless steel drum and the outer tub? Or is what I'm hearing that sounds like a coin in there actually something more sinister (like a bearing that's in the process of failing)??

If the coin theory holds water (so to speak), then would removing the Control Panel, the Service Panel and the Front Panel give me sufficient access to see if there's something in between the outer tub and the drum? By the time you get to the instructions for removing the Wash Basket, well, let's just say that I wouldn't rule out just buying a new washer.

Eric

[elongman]

And now I'll answer my own question...


If there wasn't anecdotal evidence that the coin scenario was possible before, there is now. I carry a pretty large memorial coin in my pocket most of the time. It went missing about three days ago. This morning, like Jonah it was belched up from the belly of the beast and deposited for us on the front of the rubber gasket.

So the "sounds like a coin underneath the tub" problem turned out to be exactly that, and the problem is now solved.

Still have an issue with the washing machine shaking the whole house on the spin cycle. Any ideas about how to resolve THAT one??