Whirlpool Direct Drive Washer Transmissions

[bowhunter]

I have just installed 2 new factory transmissions and new clutch in the same washer a few days apart. Installed the new clutch on the first trans. and removed it and put it on the second. The problem is on agitation mode, very loud and on neutral drain. Spin cycle is normal sound. My parts vender liaison has stated that sometimes they get a run of Whirlpool direct drive trans. that are loud. Has anyone run into this noise, and what have you found and or what route did you take to get resolve. My parts vender said that maybe we should order the trans. from another of the branch stores where they got a different run. I’m going to call Whirlpool but my liaison said I’m probably not going to get far. I feel they should compensate me for my loss ( fat chance). Eager to hear what you have to say. 

[16345Ed]

14 hours ago, bowhunter said:

I have just installed 2 new factory transmissions and new clutch in the same washer a few days apart. Installed the new clutch on the first trans. and removed it and put it on the second. The problem is on agitation mode, very loud and on neutral drain. Spin cycle is normal sound. My parts vender liaison has stated that sometimes they get a run of Whirlpool direct drive trans. that are loud. Has anyone run into this noise, and what have you found and or what route did you take to get resolve. My parts vender said that maybe we should order the trans. from another of the branch stores where they got a different run. I’m going to call Whirlpool but my liaison said I’m probably not going to get far. I feel they should compensate me for my loss ( fat chance). Eager to hear what you have to say. 

Been hearing more and more of this...

[bowhunter]

No one has had this problem with a new whirlpool transmission?

[Budget Appliance Repair]

YES, @bowhunter just as 16345ED said in the previous post, "Been hearing more and more of this... "

Info from a DOJO post that you aren't able to access:

Quote

 

Posted February 3

I've had quite a few that are unusually loud and noisy during the first test after install. Has anyone had a similar experience? 

Posted February 4

Yes, not every time but very discouraging !  Also the worst ones seem to find it’s way to the most picky customers !  

Posted February 4 (NOTE: This is my personal post regarding this),

The last two, (brand new from Servall Appliance Parts thru Ebay), for the same job because the first one was so noisy it sounded almost like it was dry of oil or the main spin gear or something was rubbing the cover.  They sent me another as a replacement free of charge and it was noisy also but not quite as bad - customer was OK with it, (first one dated 2/20/19 and second one date 2/1/20).

Haven't had a chance to pull the first one that they didn't ask for back apart yet to see what is causing the noise.

I've never had this problem with new Whirlpool transmission before that.

Just installed a CoreCentric Solutions rebuilt one a few weeks ago and it was perfectly fine

Posted February 4 (edited)

I heard(not sure if it's true) that the tooling they have to make the gearcases, especially casting the case, is worn out but they have no interest in replacing tooling

Posted February 4

I installed a 2nd one today and it was 95% as noisy as the one yesterday. 

Posted February 5

Bought one from Reliable last week and very noisy. Called them and got a credit right away and no shipping the gearcase back.

Posted February 5

Yes!   The last two we sold were noisy like a tractor during agitate.     So we've decided not to sell the DD transmission anymore.    No longer makes sense.

Posted February 8

I just finish up a DD trans install. WOW! Is thing noisy. Makes a ton of noise in agitate and neutral. Spin sounds fine. Guess I’m coming back with another one. 

 

 

[Manuel]

I have, maybe, a similar issue. Have you tried lifting the lid while it's making noise during the drain cycle? I put a new transmision & clutch in my kitchenaid direct drive top loader & everything `works`. It's a bit louder, than it used to be, during agitate but clutch slipping loud during drain. If i lift the lid, the, let the clutch stop & drop the lid; it engages normally & runs right. It does it again during draining the rinse cycle. If i leave it completely alone; it just slips through the drain cycle but picks up correctly during spin & you wouldn't know anything was wrong except for the slipping noise. I tried the other spring they send with the clutch & get the same results. Still hopng to figure what's wrong.

[bowhunter]

Manuel, It only makes the noise on agitation and neutral. The post above yours probably explains some things that are going on during the manufacturing end.

[tcmeyer14]

11 hours ago, bowhunter said:

Manuel, It only makes the noise on agitation and neutral. The post above yours probably explains some things that are going on during the manufacturing end.

Years ago when I was working for Sears we had a service rep from Whirlpool come out for a Tech update meeting (Back when Sears trained their techs to be techs not salesmen) He said the gearcases are going to be noisy due to the tolerances not being as tight. Did not matter if they were brand new or a rebuilt one. Probably won't be long before they become discontinued. Seeing quite a few parts for those direct drive washers no longer available.

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by tcmeyer14

[bowhunter]

I think I will rebuild the original trans. It’s been a while since I have rebuilt one. New replacement is out of the question with the current problems. The job is a wash anyway. What type oil is used in the gear case?

[Manuel]

Thanks. It souns like the clutch is supposed to slip during drain? It used to turn the drum during drain & still does if i lift the lid to stop draining & then let it continue. 

[bowhunter]

Manuel, The clutch doesn’t slip during drain, the transmission is in neutral, allowing the water to drain.

[Jaysb77]

On 4/13/2020 at 4:08 AM, bowhunter said:

No one has had this problem with a new whirlpool transmission?

Hi, bowhunter

I have the exact same issue. This is now my 2nd brand new whirlpool direct drive transmission part number 3360629  that has the exact same problem as yours. Its extremely loud in agitate mode. Way louder than my original that is now over 25 years old. Have you ever found out the cause of this. Is it a bad batch or are they just not making them as good as they use to?

I attached a video of how the washer sounds in agitate mode. I took off the pump and coupler so the transmission didn't run and both the pump and motor without the transmission are quiet so its definitely the transmaisson making this sound.

Does anybody know what could be wrong here?

Thanks,

JB

[bowhunter]

I was told that the die’s they use for the gearing manufacturing are old and therefore have burrs on the “ finished “ product. After a while the burrs wear down and consequently the transmission will get quieter. I don’t know how true the statement is, but I do know that the transmission I finally installed became quieter over time. Maybe 3 weeks. That’s quite a hassle to go through, the time, and trouble of exchanging 2 transmissions. I feel that Whirlpool should reimburse for such negligence.

[bowhunter]

59 minutes ago, Jaysb77 said:

Hi, bowhunter

I have the exact same issue. This is now my 2nd brand new whirlpool direct drive transmission part number 3360629  that has the exact same problem as yours. Its extremely loud in agitate mode. Way louder than my original that is now over 25 years old. Have you ever found out the cause of this. Is it a bad batch or are they just not making them as good as they use to?

I attached a video of how the washer sounds in agitate mode. I took off the pump and coupler so the transmission didn't run and both the pump and motor without the transmission are quiet so its definitely the transmaisson making this sound.

Does anybody know what could be wrong here?

Thanks,

JB

Look at Budget Appliance Repair’s comment above.

[Jaysb77]

3 hours ago, bowhunter said:

I was told that the die’s they use for the gearing manufacturing are old and therefore have burrs on the “ finished “ product. After a while the burrs wear down and consequently the transmission will get quieter. I don’t know how true the statement is, but I do know that the transmission I finally installed became quieter over time. Maybe 3 weeks. That’s quite a hassle to go through, the time, and trouble of exchanging 2 transmissions. I feel that Whirlpool should reimburse for such negligence.

Hi Bowhunter,

Thanks for getting back to me, that may corespond with my findings below. (Please see attached video) Although I can't see plastic burrs making the clunky noise that I found but you never know. I honestly think someone is trying to fill us with a pile of you know what lol. How is the washer working now that it is quieter? Is it as quiet as your old transmission was?

If this is a known issue then Whirlpool should be ashamed of themselves and they should be letting their customers know about this. This is now the 2nd brand new whirlpool transmission with the same issue.

Having said all that i think i know what that god awful noise is. I took the new transmission and put it next to the ild transmission. I first placed the 3 prong coupler on the new transmission and turned it counter clockwise by hand and you can hear this clunking sound. I then turned it clockwise and the clunking sound was much quieter. I also found it very clunky in both directions and not smooth at all. When I did the same thing to the old transmission there was no clunk sound at all and it was extremely quiet in both directions and was smooth as butter when turning it in either direction.

This is why that noise is really loud when you agitate compared to when its in spin cycle. No wonder it's so loud if you can hear that clunk sound just by turning it by hand not alone a motor turning it at 100's or 1000's of RPM's.

I don't know about you but the new transmissions are not built aswell as the old transmissions were. They are junk if you ask me. I think they used cheaper quality parts in them. You can tell just by the way they sealed the gear case top to the base. (Please see attached images) It's not sealed as well as the old transmission was and these gears are definitely not as smooth to turn either. It's as if it's skipping gears or teeth or something. I wouldn't know unless I took the transmissi9n apart and inspected it.

I'm installing an old transmission now to verify that it is infact the new transmission that is the issue. I'll keep you posted

Thanks,

JB

 

[Jaysb77]

3 hours ago, bowhunter said:

Look at Budget Appliance Repair’s comment above.

Thanks, I saw that which is why I investigated this further. Check out my bfindings above. 

Thanks,

JB

[Jaysb77]

Here are the pictures showing the way they seal these new transmissions compared to the old seal. I even noticed some oil seeping out between the casing of the brand new transmission which explains why there was some oil in the bottom of the plastic bag it was placed in. Please see video. 

Thanks

JB

[igloo]

On 4/19/2020 at 11:47 AM, bowhunter said:

I think I will rebuild the original trans. It’s been a while since I have rebuilt one. New replacement is out of the question with the current problems. The job is a wash anyway. What type oil is used in the gear case?

80W-90. Yeah, find used transmissions and rebuild them with good used parts or NOS parts. That's what I do. The last new transmission I bought I returned after hearing about the noise issue. I just rebuild them now. The agitator shaft lower splines wear, the plastic cam and follower can too and the neutral drain kit sometimes. Plenty of DD washers out there being thrown out.

Edited November 3 by igloo

[Jaysb77]

30 minutes ago, igloo said:

80W-90. Yeah, find used transmissions and rebuild them with good used parts or NOS parts. That's what I do. The last new transmission I bought I returned after hearing about the noise issue. I just rebuild them now. The agitator shaft lower splines wear, the plastic cam and follower can too and the neutral drain kit sometimes. Plenty of DD washers out there being thrown out.

Just installed the old transmission back on the washer and it sounds a million times better. Sounds exactly like it should. Whirlpool should be ashamed selling their customers this garbage. I will use this old one for now and rebuild it if need be. I suggest staying away from the new transmissions too. They are nothing but junk.

Thanks,

JB  

[bowhunter]

The shaft coming out of the transmission where the drive coupler attached to is a worm  drive gear which I believe drives another metal gear, hence the noise since the tolerances are off. This is pure negligence on Whirlpools part and if technicians would heavily complain to their vendors maybe this will go somewhere. I think I heard that Whirlpool outsources these transmissions. After replacing 2 transmissions in one machine it became a wash dollar wise. I had to take the time to fill out the paperwork to my vendor to get reimbursed for the derelict and go back with the new derelict as if I had never done the job. Whirlpool in my opinion is declining in quality. Algorithm’s sent me a video how WP has a class action suit on their refrigerators now just like Samsung, and LG. That is huge when you think how many refrigerator brands fall under WP manufacturing.

Edited November 3 by bowhunter

[Jaysb77]

15 hours ago, bowhunter said:

The shaft coming out of the transmission where the drive coupler attached to is a worm  drive gear which I believe drives another metal gear, hence the noise since the tolerances are off. This is pure negligence on Whirlpools part and if technicians would heavily complain to their vendors maybe this will go somewhere. I think I heard that Whirlpool outsources these transmissions. After replacing 2 transmissions in one machine it became a wash dollar wise. I had to take the time to fill out the paperwork to my vendor to get reimbursed for the derelict and go back with the new derelict as if I had never done the job. Whirlpool in my opinion is declining in quality. Algorithm’s sent me a video how WP has a class action suit on their refrigerators now just like Samsung, and LG. That is huge when you think how many refrigerator brands fall under WP manufacturing.

I installed the old transmission and everything is working and sounds great except for one issue. For some reason the brake is not releasing on the basket drive. After the agitate cycle. I managed to get it to work if I turn the tub by hand counter clockwise to a particular spot (I reference the spot using the words on the top of the agitator. It's almost as if the brakes are getting caught and when I turn the inner tub counter clockwise it's as if I am turning the cam counter clockwise to release the brake like when you install the basket drive. Does anybody know what would cause this?

 

Thanks,

JB

[bowhunter]

You may want to check the brake release which is located on the bottom of the basket drive. It’s held on by a “C” clip. Be careful as that clip wants to fly. The brake release is white and when you take it off turn it over and see if there are 2 small 3/32 sized nipples on each side. If either of them are missing that is a reason why your machine will not spin. You will have to pull the transmission to access this.

Edited November 3 by bowhunter

[Jaysb77]

1 hour ago, bowhunter said:

You may want to check the brake release which is located on the bottom of the basket drive. It’s held on by a “C” clip. Be careful as that clip wants to fly. The brake release is white and when you take it off turn it over and see if there are 2 small 3/32 sized nipples on each side. If either of them are missing that is a reason why your machine will not spin. You will have to pull the transmission to access this.

The basket drive is brand new and it spins I just have to turn the inner tub by hand counter clockwise to a specific spot to get the brake to release then the tub spins fine in slow and fast speed. It's just for some reason it's getting stuck up in the drum. I saw that someone said to put a dab of silicone grease up on the vertical sides of the brake drum to help the brakes from sticking. I also saw where some people use sand paper in the brake drum along the sides to help it from sticking. 

The steps I'm doing right now to get a full wash done are the following:

Fill the washer, then it goes into the agitate cycle, then rinse, then spin but the inner tub won't engage (no clunk noise) so I turn it off, spin the tub by hand counter clockwise to a specific area and then close the lid and pull the knob. Then I hear the clunk noise where the brake releases and the clutch then grabs the inner tub and spins it. Then everything works great until the last spin cycle where I have to do the hole turning the tub counter clockwise by hand again Then it spins the clothes out and finishes.

I can't figure out what is causing this any ideas?

Thanks,

JB

[bowhunter]

Is it possible when you installed the transmission that where the clutch reaches the bottom of the basket drive that the brake release got in between the clutch shoe slot?

[Jaysb77]

2 hours ago, bowhunter said:

Is it possible when you installed the transmission that where the clutch reaches the bottom of the basket drive that the brake release got in between the clutch shoe slot?

I dont think so but maybe. I made sure the spring on the clutch was opposite of the brake release tooth on the basket drive when I installed the transmission. Is this what you mean?

Thanks,

JB

[bowhunter]

Yes. I had one that I had tore down, removed trans, basket drive, and when I put it back together it wouldn’t spin. I had tried to put the thinner seal behind the one already there but it was sticking down just a tad. I had to remove it, plus the basket drive had a slight grove in it . I had to use emery paper on the basket drive and smooth it out, then it spun fine.  Is your thrust washer in place so that it fits on top of clip on the agitator shaft? Sometimes when reinstalling the transmission the thrust washer can move up the agitator shaft and move off of its seating on the agitator clip. It has that little tab on it that fits in the clip.

Edited November 4 by bowhunter