The Bat Signal for QSD_DAN...
Eddie, Dan's on a very long sabbatical as he had gotten that burned out feeling among other reasons. He does visit and scan the topics. I do talk with him and hope he will slowly return to posting as he has a unGodly amount of knowledge in this area. So, until he does, you're stuck with me...
Time to remove the front panel and inspect the damper area for the dreaded Black Dust of Death! Find the two Philips screws along the bottom of the 'fold' that runs across the bottom of the front panel. Lift up on the panel and it unhooks from clips at the top and comes off. Now you can see all the goodies inside. Look for the damper which looks like a upside down salad bowl made of aluminum. Hopefully you won't see black dust which is ground aluminum from grinding against the zinc coated steel baseframe. If you do, the pads are gone and you have a hairy but doable job ahead involving replacing the damper. We will proceed, assuming you see no dust and just need pad maintenance.
If no dust is visible, you can lift the mechanism to inspect and lube the pads and it's relatively easy. First, remove the two 3/8 bolts holding the top down at the front corners of the top of the cabinet. This will give the tub room to lift up. Then tip the washer back (it's easiest to just lean it back against the wall) so you can remove the nuts that secure the three tub springs at the base. Before you start undoing the nuts, take note of the amount of the eyelet bolt sticking out so you can easier cinch them down when reattaching them. I usually will undo the back two springs first then the front one. BE CAREFULL as they are under tension. I will gently keep my hand on the eyelet bolt where the spring attaches to keep it from flying when the nut finally comes loose. Loosen the front nut >almost< all the way then set the washer down to take the tension of the tub off the spring then take the nut all the way off. Now the tub assy is complete loose.
Tip the washer back again and get a block of wood. I use two 6 - 8 inch long pieces of 2x4 taped together as a block. Put this under the washer so that when you tip the washer forward, the transmission pulley will set down on the block. The tub mechanism should now be raised up off the base so you can see the three felt pads that are glued to the base under the damper. If they are loose, you can still get the damper pads (they come in a bag with three pads and some lube). Clean the base where they stuck and glue them on. I will use a high temp adhesive. They should attach about 1/16 of an inch from the top of the raised area of the base. Use the provided PolyLube and lube the pads. Make sure the glue dries (overnite) then reassemble.
If the pads were still attached, then all you have to do is lube them. They will feel glazed. I take a wire toothbrush and GENTLY rough up the face of the felt pad a little then lube them. You can get Poly Lube in a small jar and it's the only lube you should use. Good stuff, this Poly Lube... You can use it for all sorts of things like lubing the rollers in the motor carriage among other things. Put a small but nice coating on the pads but do not over lube them. Now it's time to reattach the springs and reassemble the washer. The tub mechanism should move nice and easy now. Congratulations on a important but easy job that your Maytag needs!
Good luck!
RCD
