BD Whirlpool clicking...

[pulsator]

My BD Whirlpool developed this problem about a week ago, I took the pump out last night and couldn't find anything, thinking perhaps there was a bobby pin in the pump or something. After I put it back, the noise went away so I assumed it must have just fixed itself, I did 2 loads in it just fine until tonight, I went to do another small load and it began clicking again! Any ideas what is causing this?

 

[Unimatic1140]

Gosh that clicking is odd Jamie, can you at least determine where approximately the sound is coming from?

Is it coming from under the baseplate or above? We can't tell that by a video.

 

[jons1077]

same with my westy TL

Not sure why but it makes clicking just like that when agitating...

 

[pulsator]

Mine clicks whenever the motor is running, it appears to be coming from under the baseplate. However, I've noticed it takes a minute or two of running before the clicking starts and it gets louder as the cycle progresses to the point where I can hear it upstairs... Best I can tell, it's coming from the largest pulley, farthest from the center of the machine, not sure if that's just the agitate pulley or what though. I hope I don't have to replace the transmission, that would be a pain!

 

[pulsator]

It doesn't seem to be constant either, more just random...

 

[Unimatic1140]

Jamie that agitate pulley is held in place by a set screw. You might want to check to be sure that set screw is tight and has not come loose.

 

[sears9000]

Check your transmission drive pulley.

I agree with Unimatic1140 about seeing if the set screw hasn't backed out first. However, my mother's 1969 Kenmore was making a tapping sound also. When I looked in the back with it agitating, I noticed some unusual vibration from the belt. After the load was finished, I took the belt off the pulley, and slightly wiggled it,and I discovered that the pulley was seperating from the center. I lossened the set screw,and slowly removed the old pulley. It wasn't easy, but I finally got it off the shaft. After I cleaned the shaft, I installed the new pulley,made sure it was aligned center with the others,tighten the set screw,which was an allen head,and reinstalled the belt. It never clicked again.
I hope yours will be an easy fix. Have a nice day.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Odd indeed

Jamie -

That truly is an odd sound. 35+ years of using belt drives and I've not heard a click quite that loud.

We had an issue when I was a kid with our first machine with cabinet "creaking" which my dad thought was electrical sparks, and sure enough, there can be sounds from the service panel area that can make creaks that sound like loud clicks or sparks, usually only in spin.

Your click sounds very "un-muffled" like there's nothing in the way of the noise source and the ear. Internal transmission noises have to go through oil and the trans. cover before getting out in the air, so this has me puzzled a bit. The pulley idea above may be a very sound one, and easy to verify and fix.

If this is a transmission problem, clicks often come the agitator gear fork, especially when it's not under heavy load. The part will click at the end of each stroke (unless load is put on the agitator, even by holding the top by hand). The noise worsens as the fork wears, and is louder if the transmission has lost a lot of oil. The gear fork is what pulls the machine in and out of agitation inside the transmission.

Next time you use your washer put it on fastest agitation and grab hold of the agitator, and see if you can muffle or stop the clicks - if so, the noise may be inside the transmission. If you have a belt/pulley problem, the noise will probably get louder under load.

Please keep us posted, I'm curious.

 

[cleanteamofny]

This maybe a wild guess, but check your wig-wag solenoid.
It maybe time for a WD-40 lube job.

The following depicts the layout of an older model (pre-1984) Whirlpool or Kenmore washer.

 

[kenmoreman]

Check the pin in the agitate solenoid to see if it is slightly bent. The clik is the sound of it hitting the high spot on the cam bar as the wig wag goes back and forth. You need to replace the pin to correct the problem.

 

[tlee618]

Jamie, that sure is a beautiful machine, love the full console light. I hope that you have been able to solve the problem.

 

[Unimatic1140]

YAY for Old Pictures

When I first found my 1952 Whirlpool Automatic, the spring that holds the agitator drive gear down had weakened and with heavy loads the gear would pop out of the drive and cause a terrible clicking racket from inside the transmission. Here are photos from about six years ago when I rebuilt that transmission. I used a brand new agitator shaft/gear/spring assembly. Since the new agitator shaft has has the splines on top it means I could play with any standard capacity Kenmore or Whirlpool agitator in that machine, by installing or removing the plastic drive block.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Now isn't this pretty...

 

[Unimatic1140]

Giving the tranny a good wash...

 

[Unimatic1140]

Scrub a dub dub

 

[Unimatic1140]

Putting it all back together, including the new agitator shaft (back then they were still available).

 

[Unimatic1140]

Glug glug glug

 

[Unimatic1140]

All ready to go...

 

[coldspot66]

Could it be the plungers?? They do have plastic inserts to stop clicking noises. Maybe one is missing on the agitate plunger.