15 year old Kenmore Washer Banging sound During Spin Cycle

[ct]

I have a model # 110 22422 100 Kenmore top loader washer that is about 15 years old. I bought it about two months ago, and up to yesterday it worked fine. Yesterday my wife put in a large load, and during the spin cycle the machine started making loud banging sounds.....I had a repair guy come over today who basically said I should junk the machine and buy a new one, but he didn't really give a definitive answer as to what was specifically wrong. He didn't really take anything apart and just said that the drum was off balance....suggesting it might be the floor, though everything worked fine previously, and nothing seems wrong with the floor.....

It appeared, he just didn't want to do a deeper diagnostic. I was told by a different repair guy who helped me set up the machine when I bought it two months ago, that this particular Kenmore was difficult to work on, as the back panel was a pain to remove and re-install, that it was a design flaw, and he would never work on that particular machine.....maybe today's repair guy had the same issue......

Anyone have any suggestions as to how to proceed? Looking at new top loaders seems to indicate they aren't good bets for quality or longevity.....the repair guy today suggested a whirlpool, I asked him about the speed queens, and he said that with my floor the speed queen would be too unstable......I'd like to salvage the Kenmore, if possible, but if I can't find someone to work on it, seems i'm out of luck.

 

[DADoES]

 
OMG, what kind of repair people are you dealing with? The rear panel does not come off for service.  The outer cabinet (front/sides, one piece) comes off from the front.  Any competent servicer would know that, given the model number of the machine or a reasonable description of it.

This wasn't just a situation of an unbalanced load?  These machines don't have an unbalanced cut-off switch or a way to self-correct, if you're not aware.  The user must manually shut it off (open the lid or push in the timer knob), rearrange the load, close the lid or pull the timer knob to resume.

It continues to exhibit a problem on successive loads?[this post was last edited: 1/29/2021-19:27]

 

[repairguy]

If you could take some pictures they might be of some help. I agree with Glenn on the competency of the service people. If the wash basket is leaning forward or forward towards the right it is very possible that the spring(wpw10250667) has broken or rusted in two. The spring attaches to the base of the machine and sometimes this hole rusts through and releases the spring. This is usually a simple and very cost effective repair .

 

[ct]

I've added some pictures below. I showed some picts of the back to
maybe sort out what, if anything, the first repair guy was talking about.
I haven't tried successive loads, but will tomorrow....I have a feeling
it'll still be a problem...

 

[DADoES]

 
The machine is disassembled for service by

1) Taking off the front trim pieces at the ends of the control panel.

2) Removing two screws at the base corners of the console.

3) Pulling the console slightly forward and flipping it upwards and back (it's hinged at the rear corners and will hang there, assuming the hinges aren't broken).

4) Unplugging the lid switch wires under the console where it plugs into a socket (may be in a different location than indicated in Pic 3).

5) Removing two spring clips that anchor the outer cabinet to the rear panel.

6) Open the lid, grasp the top at the front of the loading port and tip the whole thing forward and off the machine base.

The rear panel is removable AFTER the outer cabinet is taken off (although that isn't necessary).  It CANNOT be removed otherwise without causing varying degrees of destruction.

 

[ct]

Thanks for above instructions on how to open up the washer. I did
so and posted what I found. As can be seen one of the plastic tabs holding
the outer plastic covering (photo 2) to the tub was unattached so I reattached it. Also, the white canister thing (photo 1) that has wires coming off of it was hanging loosely near the tub and was likely bumping up against it so I reattached it to the back panel with the
plastic tabs...Seems like if that white canister thing was bumping against the
tub that that may have thrown the tub off center.....I also took a picture of a spring that looks like it may have lost some tension...not sure what to look for there.

It took about one minute to take the cover off the washer..don't understand
why the repair person didn't bother to do that. Any suggestions on what else to
look for? Should I take the outer plastic tub cover off? It looks like mold or
something may be growing in there. You can see some discoloration in the picture.

 

[DADoES]

 
The canister is the motor capacitor.

The residue visible through the opaque outer tub is indeed mold and other smutz.  The exterior of the inner basket is also coated with it, and the underside of the agitator.  It's caused by one or more factors of too much cold washing, insufficient detergent to keep laundry soils suspended in the wash water for flushing away, and too much liquid fabric softener (without proper warm & hot washes).  The only way to properly clean it is via removing the agitator and inner basket for access.

People rant and fuss that "I'll never own a frontloader because of the mold" (in the door gasket and elsewhere) ... but as you can see, toploaders are also quite susceptible to it in areas not visible without disassembly.

Your machine otherwise appears to be in quite good condition.

Pic 4 above appears to be the spring referenced in Reply 2, seems to be OK.  It counterbalances the weight of the motor (at front), and mounts (toward the left of center) into the rear tub bracket and to the lower rail of the base pedestal.  See pic.

There are three other springs that stabilize the tub assembly to the base pedestal.  Also a "skate plate" that sits between the top of the base pedestal and the bottom of the tub and allows it to shift and oscillate (within controlled range of the springs) during spin.  The plate can shift out of proper position if the machine is handled roughly during transport.

Run some more loads to check if the problem continues.

 

[DADoES]

 
Post the serial number if you want to confirm the (age) manufacture date of the machine ... unless you've already investigated that.

 

[ct]

The serial # is CM096229, so the date of manufacture is 2002. Will
run a load today and see what happens. I looked at the springs and
they are all in place and no obvious problems, but don't know if they are
maintaining proper tension. Did some reading online and there are some
plastic pads, 3 that are pretty easy to swap out that people are changing that
are sometimes, due to wear, the cause of shaking and banging, and three deeper ones that some say aren't usually a problem.

Some people are saying they change all
the springs even if they look o,k. and that that can help with being off balance.
If I can get the off balance issue solved, am going to clean the mold and debris
from the tub lining, shell...found a video how to disassemble, doesn't look that hard, just need the special wrench and a ratchet extension.

So, it looks like one over-load laundry load
has thrown the tub assembly, at some point out of whack. Will try to see if
the "skate plate" was thrown out of place...tried to see last night,
but couldn't tell, will try again today.

 

[wayupnorth]

My neighbor had the same model that started banging and leaking water. Sears service removed the top to find a big hole smashed thru the outer tub and the estimated repair cost was way more than it originally cost new.

 

[ct]

I made a video of the machine and what it's doing when empty during the spin cycle. Hopefully the link to the youtube video works.

 

[repairguy]

Yes the link works. There is definitely something wrong. The machine overall sounds way too noisy and the metal tapping sounds like something hitting the porcelain wash basket.

 

[DADoES]

 
The bit of oscillation is normal, there's no such thing as a spin basket that's perfectly formed-round-balanced.

The knocking noise seems to be something bouncing against the tub, although it sounds metallic.  Anything else evident than the aformentioned capacitor housing?  Wiring harness?  Water level pressure tube?

 

[repairguy]

There could be something wrong with the balance ring that sits on top of the wash basket. I think the metal sound is the balance ring tapping the top of the basket. It is probably no longer secured correctly and may have also lost the liquid inside that helps keep the basket balanced.

 

[ct]

I haven't found anything obvious flapping around. Looking into what a balance ring is. Is there a way to run the spin cycle with the case off the washer.....seems there
would be a much better view of what is happening if the tub is fully exposed. Saw some youtube videos where the case was off and the machine was being run but it wasn't clear whether one can do that with the wire harness on the control panel unconnected. The previous owner had disconnected the wiring to the lid so the automatic shutoff doesn't work, but the wire is secure and not flapping around - I had thought that could have been what is making the flapping noise.

 

[supersurgilator]

The operation of the spin seems perfectly fine except that ting noise. We'll keep investigating as I'm sure it is something simple. It does sound like something else banging around inside hitting the tub or the cabinet.

You can run the machine with the cover off. Since the lid switch is already bypassed it won't be an issue. If it wasn't you just need a jumper wire in the first and last slots of the connector to bypass it.

 

[cleanteamofny]

 

 

On the back of the machine, there's a plastic tab 12 inches from the center bottom, check and see if its in place in the locked position. Otherwise, I do not know.

 

[DADoES]

 
That tab is a piece that fits between the base pedestal and the rear panel to help support the rear panel when the cabinet is removed.  It can be rotated for the tab to clear the slot to allow the rear panel to be leaned back enough for clearance of the fill flume to remove the basket.  Not unusual the tab is broken, to no ill effect during operation ... just makes the rear panel less stable when the cabinet is off being that it's then supported only by the two screws at the base.

 

[ct]

So I think the issues have been resolved. I took the tub out and washed the outer
plastic shell and the inner porcelain tub. There was caked on mold, dirt,
lint, and who knows what else. For a good percentage of the porcelain tub surface,
the little holes that water passes through were plugged up. Just a little soap and
water and a scrub brush, and the caked on debris, came up in sheets off the
porcelain. The plastic thing from where the water fills the tub was not securely
attached to the back panel, and may have been what was making the flapping sound-
don't know for sure, but in the last two washes the sound seemed to be gone.

Using a level I found that there was about an 1/8" of an inch drift (measuring the height adjustment of one of the legs necessary to reach level) from
perfectly level, which was easily fixed by adjusting one of the washer's feet.
I also found that the particular positioning of the washer on the floor
was not solid, so just moved the washer to a perfectly even area so there
was no washer instability. Was careful not to overfill the washer, and now
everything is working fine. No need to buy a new washer......just proper positioning, leveling, and no over-loading.

I did buy a set of the short springs as well as the longer spring, and a set of the little plastic wear pads...together which appear to be the go-to solution for off-balance washers, though, for now, they don't seem to be necessary. Regarding the
plastic tab in the back that holds the back panel in place, I'll take
a look, but I think it's in place.....

Also, both appliance repair guys, mentioned that there seemed to be
an oil leak, though, both said that in such a washer - maybe referring to age -
that that wasn't necessarily something to worry about. When I took the tub out what I saw was a thin layer of oil and/or grease, that looked like someone may have put
that on for maintenance, there was no obvious leak, and since i've had the
machine for a couple months now, there has been no oil on the floor under
the machine. There were some small grease stains on the inner bottom sides of the
washing machine cover...seemed like thick grease...but very small, and looked
like either it was smudged on by someone working on the machine, or had
at some point been spun or thrown off onto the cover. Should I investigate further,
or not worry about this?