592-49087 Kenmore Elite washer started shaking violently during spin cycle

[h00ch]

Last week our frontloader started shaking violently during a spin cycle and even gave a puff of smoke. First thing I did was to make sure the machine was level (it was) and then went online. I saw that the spider arm might be corroded and broken, so I took it all apart hoping it would be as simple as that, but the spider arm seems intact and has no play in the attached shaft, but all the gaps on the back of the spider arm are filled with "crud". (pic below)

I checked everywhere for signs of burning and could not see anything. There are rub marks (missing paint) on the left and right inside the cabinet where the tub was rubbing against it, but no other damage that I can see.

Perhaps it is the shocks, but when I move them all up and down, I feel the same resistance on each one going both up & down. They aren't hard to slide, but there is definately some resistance.

I also put the stainless steel drum on the floor, opening down, then put the back half of the tub on the shaft and there is no play and spins nicely.

Could it be that the crud build up on the spider arm is enough to knock it out of balance? Any suggestions for anything else I can check while I have it all apart?

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

 

[john63]

Check the door gasket...for rub marks...which if evident...will be the cause of a burning rubber odor.

If that is the case...the drum support likely has a hairline crack...difficult to see.

[h00ch]

Thx for the reply John.  I checked the door gasket and there is no damage to it.

I'm wondering about the shocks and how stiff they should be?  When I compress the shock all the way down, there is some resistance, then when I pull it up, it will go about half an inch with zero resistance, then there is resistance as it slides up.  Then when I pusk it down again, it goes the same half an inch or so , then resistance again.  All 4 are the same, so I'm assuming this is normal?

[darren412]

If you smell something burning , there’s a possability the front inside of the outer tub is getting scraped from the inner tub rubbing against it.  The tub may be out of round slightly. You may have missed that. What can happen sometimes is the pilot holes on the inner drum  where the 3 points of the spider get secured to the drum will get elongated and throw the inner drum out of round. May have been hard for you to notice.  Just something to consider if you hadn’t already looked for that. It may have been hard to notice from the way you were testing the inner and outer drum for roundness.  Also Did you happen to inspect  the two upper tub suspension springs to see if there was any damage where they are secured on both ends.?  And also make sure that the counter weights were all tight an secured properly also,  a loose counterweight can cause  it to run out of balance. you may have been looked at all this when you dis assembled the washer but if you didnt these items can cause unnecessary vibration too.

[john63]

46 minutes ago, darren412 said:

The tub may be out of round slightly. You may have missed that.

That is what this is going to be.

I just checked the Kenmore Prefix number (592)...this is Samung washer.

Very common failure.

[h00ch]

The 2 springs seem to be OK.

There is definitely wear on the inside of the front half of the tub from the front of the stainless steel drum.

[darren412]

If this was my machine and I purchased the parts for my cost . Maybe I would think about repairing this. If you were a customer , I would have told you to replace. It  after diagnosis.  I would never have attempted to dis assemble it. It’s not economically a repair in favor of the customer cost wise. You need a new tub w/spider , you also would want to replace the rear tub and bearing assembly because there’s a good chance that the bearing was damaged slightly in the process . That part is a crap shoot. Hopefully if there not substantial visual damage to the front outer tub , you might be able to reuse that. That’s everything in a nut shell. As John 63  had mentioned this is a Samsung washer that has a Sears kenmore name on it. It’s basically a derivative manufactured Samsung washer made for sears knmore. Suggest  you replace it with a new one.

[h00ch]

Yes, I'm aware that this machine is made by Samsung and yes, this is my machine and I am trying to repair it myself.  I was hoping it would just require a new spider arm and fix it for a couple hundred bucks and continue using it for a few more years, since almost everything I read about Samsung washers that shook badly were caused by it being broken.  Why do you think I would need a new tub?  The spider can be replaced seperately.

[darren412]

As I mentioned the basket and spider should be replaced. Not just the spider. It can be a crap shoot when you get an issue like yours. I went to a call one time where a tech had suggested the customer do exactly the same thing your doing and after installing the spider and putting it back together the drum was still out of round .  As far as the rear drum with the bearing it’s another crap shoot and hopefully the bearing wasn’t what caused the spider to break  good luck and take care

[h00ch]

If I understand what you mean by "out of round" correctly, I put the drum on a piece of cardboard, traced around it with a Sharpie, then rotated the drum and from what I could tell it is perfectly round.  The spider arm isn't actually broken, it is very corroded and has some holes in it, but it is still in 1 piece, which is why I will be changing it, but not sure if that's the (sole) reason for the shaking.

I did check the bearings and they seem to be fine.  The spin freely and the bearing seal is well lubed and intact.

[LaRayParateur]

For all Samsung front loaders,  I usually only replace the spider arm assembly (unless it's a warranty job, where all parts are covered and I have to minimize labour time). It's not like the old electrolux and some recent Whirlpool where the entire spin basket has to be replaced.

I have also been lucky so far regarding bearings, as I could almost always reuse the rear outer tub.

Even if the spider arm assembly shown no visible crack, it can still bend under load when corroded. The corrosion of aluminium in an alcaline environment leads to small holes that reduce it's rigidity. And it's a dynamic cantilevered load during spin, so more important than the simple weight of the clothes.

It's best to check it with the tub still attached in the unit, to check if you can pry the bottom edge of the basket towards the top in different positions of the basket.

It happened a few times that I had to replace a spider that shown no visible cracks to stop the shaking/knocking of the washer.

For best results when keeping the existing basket with new spider, clean all contact surfaces with steel brush and put all bolts in before tightening them. Also, order a few spare bolts as you're pretty sure to break at least one or two when disassembling the old spider.

For some models where the spider costs around $120 and the bellow has just started to be rubbed against without being too damaged, I'd say it's worth trying on your own time.

I still have from time to time a customer willing to pay $400 for such repair.

[16345Ed]

So you quote $400 for spider replacement you tear into it and determine rear tub and bearings are bad. 

Now what?

[16345Ed]

Or worse yet 6 months later bearings fail. 

[h00ch]

I replaced the spider arm and after using it for the past 3 weeks, it seems to have fixed the problem for now.  Hopefully I bought a couple of more years out of it before it's "programmed" to corrode again....