LG Washer WM0642HW - Terminal Illness Noises?

[CptnCatholic]

Good Saturday to everyone!

Our Washing Machine (an LG WM0642HW) started making some louder noises than usual a few weeks ago. 

Here is a video of the noises.

https://youtu.be/1kxCz-KN79o

The first clip is looped because I didn't get my phone out in time before the noise stopped and it switched to the next function.

I appreciate your time checking this out and letting me know your thoughts.

[16345Ed]

Sounds like broken spider arm. 

 

Looking at approximately $400-$500 in parts of so...

[darren412]

ed sounds on track with his diagnosis.  I am curious if the video you have shown while the machine was in spin mode.  Did it have a load of clothes in it while it was spinning. ??  have some weight in it while its in spin when you are testing it.   Sometimes just a slightly cracked spider noise will not be apparant unless there is some weight in the inner drum.   One time I showed up on a call for a noise in spin and it happened to be a metal support band for a bra that got stuck and jammed in between the outer basket and the inner stainless steel basket.  Fortunately it was stuck into the outer basket just near the tub to pump hose and I was able to get something into the tub to pump opening of the outer basket and jog the metal band loose. What an aweful noise it made too. If your inner basket moves independently  from the outer basket  from 12:00 o"clock to 6:00 o'clock     or      3:00 o"clock to 9:00 o"clock  or you possibly smell rubber burning and or see small white plastic specs in the laundry,   Then as ed has already told you, it is a broken spider issue.

[CptnCatholic]

Thanks for the replies, Ed & Darren!

I think it's right when it switches over to spin mode. There was a load in the washer when I shot the video, so it had some weight to it. There are a lot of bras that go through that washer, as I'm the only male in the house (oldes son is off at college, so it's just me, wife, & three daughters). 

We aren't seeing any qhite specks in the laundry or smelling anything. But I don't want to dump hundreds of dollars into something that is going to fail again just a few months down the road. And from what I've read on other posts, even if I fix this, it may only add a few months of life to the washer. 

I guess I know where my tax refund is going....

[tgoods]

Here's how I check for a broken spider. The spider legs line up with the vanes. Put one of the vanes at 6 o'clock. Hold the outer tub steady with one hand at 6 o'clock and with the other hand at 6 o'clock on the inner basket, pull up vertically. There should be very little to no play. Do the same with the other two vanes. You'll usually have flex or play on one or two legs that are broken and almost no play on the one or two legs that are still intact. If you have the same amount of play on all three legs with a slight clunk sound, your front tub bearing is bad. I think I'll shoot a video the next time I run into one. 

[CptnCatholic]

Well, after putting up with the noise for two more months, with the noises getting progressively worse. Our LG washer decided to give out on us today and throw down the OE error code. The water wouldn't drain out of it anymore. 

We decided that was enough. We did some brief researching on Lowe's website and picked out a Maytag. We drove over to take a look at it, bought it, and it will be delivered and installed tomorrow.

This is what we picked: https://www.maytag.com/washers-and-dryers/washers/top-load-washers/p.top-load-washer-with-the-deep-water-wash-option-and-powerwash-cycle-4.2-cu.-ft.mvwc565fw.html

I feel good about the decision, I just hope it was a good decision.

We shall see!

[darren412]

just do not overload it with clothes and heavy big towels !   Not overloading your washer can not be stressed enough with any clothes washing machine ! Two tablespoons of HE detergent at the most for your wash loads. Jeans with jeans, towels with towels. Operate accordingly to the manual and not how you have been used to loading it when you had the front loader. You should get several years out of your washer if its treated with care and loaded properly.  Good luck and happy washing 🙂