ge filterflo problem

[oldwasherguy]

my wife says our ge filterflo put oil all over her white pants.I have run white towels through several times and no oil.If leaking, can the oil come out like every other few loads or will it leak every time?I didnt think they leaked oil in the water at all.

 

[coldspot66]

Sounds like water is getting into the tranny and forcing oil out into the washtub.....very common for filter flo washers. Check the underside of the agitator, if you can remove it, to see if there is oil staining around the shaft seals. Usually means a new tranny is in order. Black spots will tend to show on lighter colored non-cotton clothing ,sometimes as round black dots or random stains.

 

[andrewinorlando]

Coldspot is right on the money. Good news is that you should be able to get a tranny for that machine pretty easily and the repair is pretty easy to do. Those are easy machines to fix and well worth it.

 

[oldwasherguy]

thanks for getting back so soon,I will check the agitator.Don

 

[toggleswitch]

Nothing like having a new tranny around.

Good to know. I had heard oil leaks of GE FFs were rare, if not impossible. Live and learn!

 

[oldwasherguy]

coldspot

I removed the agitator and there is some brown stuff around the bottom of the shaft like brown sugar and rust,could this be what the oil looks like after its washed?or would it feel like oil?

 

[coldspot66]

Rust at the bottom of the tub, especially under the hub boot is pretty normal. The tranny hub (where the 3 tub bolts attach the hub to the washtub, is made of pot metal and will easily accumulate lint and sediment. It is not washed out oil. How old is the washer? Is there any evidence of oil at the top of the splined area? Also look down the barrel of the agitator for dark colored oil residue. It also could be coming from below the hub; there is a seal beneath it that is under water when the tub is filled.

 

[oldwasherguy]

yes I got a small smudge of black crap on my finger from the spline at the very top of post.maybe thats where it is coming from.

 

[westytoploader]

That should be just grease/gunk from the spline and not oil. However, if the top oil seal just below the spline is leaking, that might be cause for concern.

 

[tomturbomatic]

When our beautiful GE washer's tranny seal went, we had a pool of oil all over the area in front of the washer. When we were complaining to the GE service guy about the mess it made and how the oil removed the nice green paint from the basement floor, he said that we should be thankful that it was the bottom seal that went and not the top one because it would just about ruin clothes if the oil got on them. That seal let go shortly after we had to have the clutch replaced at only two years old, so it was the final straw and we sent it back.