Kenmore top-load washing machine 110.26132410, new "thunk" noise

[reezekeys]

Hi,

I’m hoping to get some tips regarding a new noise our washing machine is making - a “thunk” that happens only a few times at only one or two spots in the cycle. It sure sounds like an unbalanced load noise but we’ve been using this machine the same way for years and this is new. From my research (google & youtube!), my uneducated guess would be a tub bearing but looking up my particular model I see no such part listed anywhere! I do see a “drive assembly” that seems to be what the impeller is attached to.

I’ve attached a very short video (35 secs, unlisted u-tube) illustrating what I’m hearing. Also in that vid is me jiggling the impeller to show that it seems a little loose and maybe indicating a worn part somewhere. Since I never did this back when the machine wasn’t making noise, I have no idea whether or not it’s normal. Just to add, we've had this machine a little over six years and it gets heavy use.

Thanks in advance for any help!

https://youtu.be/jt6lq_oSY4Q

[Vance R]

At the end of your video the washplate is loose. Remove the silver cap and remove the bolt. Then remove the washplate  to inspect the splines on the transmission shaft and the washplate.  From the video the washplate splines maybe worn out.

[reezekeys]

Thanks so much Vance, this is very helpful. If worn splines are indeed the problem, what would it take to repair – a new gearbox/drive assembly? Thanks again.

[Vance R]

If the shaft spline are worn, yes a new gearbox. Possible it maybe just the washplate splines are worn. Have to inspect to find out.

[reezekeys]

Thanks again. I'll be checking this out later, in-between washer loads my wife is doing!

[reezekeys]

It took a while but here is a photo of what's under that silver cap. Looks like a nut that's pretty funky. I put a socket wrench to it and it feels like I'm just turning whatever the assembly underneath is – it sure isn't loosening.

It's time to call a professional, I think. But my little bit of searching has turned up evidence that a new gearbox by itself is 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of a new washer - then there's the labor to install. Might be the end of the line for this guy. Thanks again for your replies.

 

[reezekeys]

Well sometimes dreams come true. The pro we hired to diagnose this came over and tightened this bolt. He had to put some serious torque on it - more than I was comfortable trying, for sure. The washplate feels much more secure and the noises - so far - are gone!

[Budget Appliance Repair]

20 hours ago, reezekeys said:

The pro we hired to diagnose this came over and tightened this bolt.

Is that all he did?  If he didn't remove the agitator and check the agitator splines, there is a good chance it is not going to hold - good chance the splines are stripped out and tightening the bolt is just tightening the top plastic agitator against the top of the shaft and in a short time it will loosen up again as the plastic between the hold down bolt and top of drive shaft wears more.

[reezekeys]

It's funny you should say this (well not so funny actually) because the washer is doing something very strange - a whole new symptom since this fix. Twice now it has refused to wash a small load. It seems to cycle between what sounds like a pump turning on (but no sound of water filling), then some of the lights on the panel (forget which one or ones) start blinking rapidly and the washer shuts down. No water is getting into the tub. I've unplugged the washer & plugged it back in thinking it needed to reset the electronics. Right now I'm doing another wash with a few more clothes and it seems to be working OK, but this is definitely a new and strange symptom. I'm wondering if the blinking lights are some kind of diagnostic code, or if there's a secret button-push combination to run a diagnostic test that might help isolate the problem.

I'm totally speculating that there's a sensor that measures the weight of the clothes in the tub to set the appropriate water level, and that the tightening of that bolt may have upset the calibration or damaged something? This is a total guess. Any insights are appreciated, thanks!

[reezekeys]

2 hours ago, Budget Appliance Repair said:

Is that all he did?  If he didn't remove the agitator and check the agitator splines, there is a good chance it is not going to hold - good chance the splines are stripped out and tightening the bolt is just tightening the top plastic agitator against the top of the shaft and in a short time it will loosen up again as the plastic between the hold down bolt and top of drive shaft wears more.

Yea that's all he did - just tighten it. No inspection. Before he came over he said that if it was the gearbox, the machine probably wasn't worth fixing.

After he tightened it we he started it up and it seemed to do OK - no more noises like before - so I'm guessing he assumed he fixed it and no inspection was necessary.

Since I posted my last message a few minutes ago saying it's washing normally, now there are noises again! Sounds like something is stripped. Here's a quick (40 sec) vid I just made. Looks like the noise happens in the spin cycle - the rinse cycle sounds like normal agitation. I did switch to "no spin" before it got to the rinse, hoping to minimize damage. The wash cycle seems to have ended early too. Thanks again for any advice.

 

[reezekeys]

Another possible clue: the clothes were very wet after that wash, which I assumed was because I set it to "no spin", but right now I started a spin-only cycle and it was 100% normal! No weird noises at all. Spinning like a champ.

[reezekeys]

Answering myself again, a habit I seem to exhibit a lot on this board!

I got up the courage to take off the washplate and here are pics of the splines on the gearbox and under the washplate. My amateur eyes tell me there's not much left on either piece, so it seems I would need both a new gearbox and washplate, which suggests this washer is a goner. Is that what most of you would say, or is it worth fixing? On searspartsdirect the washplate is $99 and the gearbox is on "special" at $227.

[DADoESTX]

There are better parts sources than Sears (and the transmission may be out-of-stock there even if they don't say so up-front).

[reezekeys]

Thanks for the reply. There are Memorial Day sales happening on large appliances near us and I think that given the heavy use we've put this washer through, it makes more sense to get a new one. Consumer Reports rates the LGs pretty highly and I see a top-loading impeller model with specs equivalent to our current Kenmore for $600 – which I'm guessing would be not much more than the cost to repair our current machine.

Thanks again to you and others who've helped me out here and in a few other threads, where I did get lucky fixing my dishwasher and dryer! Not this time, but that's life.

[Budget Appliance Repair]

That's what I really expected you to see if taking the pulsator plate out - all the rust around the hold down bolt was a very telling indicator of this problem.

[reezekeys]

I'm wondering how a manufacturer expects water to not get into that area, seeing as it's at the bottom of the tub? Seems like the rust there is a natural consequence of that.

We got 6 1/2 years of heavy use out of this machine. My wife used it pretty much every day - sometimes two or three times a day! She works at a hospital and always has scrubs to clean.

Of course the $600 machine got "upgraded" by my wife to a $700 model (Consumer Reports said it was quieter), then with tax, a "protection plan", new hoses and the fee to take the old machine away, we were at $900. Maybe I should have fixed that old guy after all! :-)