A few weeks ago I brought home an MAH3000AWW Neptune washer with matching MDG3000AWW dryer (posted under thread 21763: "Mercy Save - Maytag Neptune set!"). Both were minty in appearance, but as I suspected the washer had a few hidden issues up it's sleeve.
Over the last few weeks I've slowly worked on the machines and finally buttoned it up last weekend. After running a half dozen loads through it I am actually pretty impressed with the Neptune. Great wash results, super fast wash cycles for a 'modern' front loader, and damn quiet during wash! Follow along for some pics of the resto*.
*Correction: you can't restore a washer that is only 11 years old. It would be considered a rebuild at this point.
Issue 2: the washer would not rotate the drum. The problem was a burnt out DC Motor Control board. You can't see it in this photo but the fuse is burnt out. A replacement AC motor and control board would be in order.
First fix - replaced the wax motor (PN 12002535) with the black tipped unit. This was an easy fix and is considered preventative maintenance more than anything. Need to preserve the good Main Control Board!
Fix 2: replace the Motor Control board. I have never worked on a Neptune before but felt it to be extremely easy to work on. A few screws removed here, a few there, and bam - easy access. The components on the replacement AC Motor Control are BEEFY, an include an AC filter as well. This is what they should have started out with in the first place. The board is 1/2 of kit PN 12002039.
Fix 2.5: replace the motor and belt. The original motor doesn't even compare to the replacement. Both the motor conversion kit (PN 12002039) and the belt (PN 12001788) came with replacement motor mount isolators. I can't stress enough of how easy it was to change out the motor. Piece of cake!
After fix 1 and 2 I felt confident enough in the machine to perform the JP4 removal test, as well as a full blown 800 RPM spin test. I wanted to make sure that the bearings were still good in the machine. Thankfully it passed the test with flying colors!
Next up - remove the wash drum to clean, and install the new replacement boot.
I didn't have any issues removing the boot spring using a pair of vise grips. Thankfully things were totally gross but everything certainly needed a good cleaning. I removed the tub, removed the 6 baffles in the tub and scrubbed everything.
I was originally worried that the bearings would be bad or the spinner would be disintegrated - but everything checked out okay. Time to put it back together!
Post cleaning of the wash tub. Actually spent more time cleaning the tub than I did actually working on the machine. Everything was that easy! All 6 of the baffles and the detergent dispenser went through the dishwasher for a through cleaning.
Unfortunately I broke the tabs that held the coin guard to the front cover. I'm not sad though because the thing was just GROSS! Even though it was completely clean I'll just make sure to remove everything from pockets before washing jeans. Nice new boot installed (PN 12002533).
During reassembly this much needed repair manual came in handy. I think I downloaded a copy of the .pdf from Service Matters. Note the cleaned dispenser to the left.
