WP Direct Drive outer tub issue!

[kenmore71]

A couple of years ago I started having trouble with a WP direct drive machine that was not neutral draining any longer and would leak water whenever it went directly into spin. (This is not a personal machine but one that I care for). Several people told me that it shouldn't leak even if it did begin spinning immediately. Be that as it may, I replaced the neutral drain assembly in the transmission and all was well until a few weeks ago when it started leaking again. Sure enough, the neutral drain cam had started "missing" about a third of the time. Before I got too far into the the transmission again, I thought I would take the back and top off and see if the upper tub seal was bad of it the tub cover was loose in a spot. What I found horrified and astounded me. The balancer ring had been rubbing up against a spot on the plastic tub and had actually WORN THROUGH!

 

[kenmore71]

Obviously this machine is not too long for this world, but I did do a temporary fix. I cut a generous piece of plastic from a 5 quart ice cream bucket and epoxied it over the bad spot. Then after the epoxy had set I covered the whole patch with a layer of waterproof marine tape.

I didn't get a picture of the "patch". Put here is another of the bad tub.

 

[DADoES]

 
Why are you disassembling the machine by removing the rear panel and top?  The usual way is to take the outer cabinet (the part of it that you left intact) off from the front (with the top still attached).

 

[Iowegian]

One of the things I liked about our WP DD machines is that they wouldn't kick out on the start of the spin cycle like the Maytags of the time. Nothing like going down to the basement and finding a load of clothes floating in half a tub full of water when you thought they should be ready for the dryer...

On the other hand, a DD Whirlpool could get pretty ugly on spin with a really unbalanced load and go whumpa-whumpa-whumpa and sometimes only be restrained by the strength of the fill hoses.

But for a WP to wear a hole in the outer tub makes me think that the owner didn't bother to ever to try to level it, and it soldiered on to the point where the outer tub got a hole.

 

[kenmore71]

Dadoes, I guess it's because I'm an idiot and didn't know any better.
I feel appropriately shamed.
[this post was last edited: 10/12/2012-22:55]

 

[kenmore71]

Iowegian, the machine was level when I installed it in 2004. It was still level when I came back to service it.

 

[Iowegian]

I've been wrong before, and apparently this is another example.

Just seems strange to me.

FYI, to remove the cabinet, you take the two exposed screws out of the front of the control panel, tilt it back and that exposes a pair of spring clips. Pop those clips out with a screwdriver and then you can tilt the cabinet back and remove it - but make sure you disconnect the lid switch first.

In my limited experience about the last thing you want to do to a Whirlpool is to try to disassemble it from the back side.

 

[kenmore71]

Thanks for the advice.

In all honesty, though, I DID need to remove the back panel to get at and fix (at least temporarily) this problem.

After all of the years of working on Belt Drive WP/KM, Maytags and Frigidaires, it just never occurred to me that the whole front and top of the cabinet would just LIFT off! Come, on, it's never THAT simple, right.

 

[Iowegian]

Yep, those WP disassembly steps hide in plain sight...

Next time it will go much faster!

 

[combo52]

WP DD Balance Ring Problems

We have occasionally seen this happen and now you know why this washer leaked. When we have seen this happen you should replace the wash basket and balance ring, usually the balance ring is bad and or the basket itself is a little out of round. You can either replace or repair the outer tub, note some WP models still in the field still have a 10 outer tub warranty and if your machine has this A WP parts distributor will give you a free outer tub.

 

[kenmore71]

Thanks for the advice, John. I will have to dig through the paperwork and see what the warranty looks like. IF I can get a warranty covered outer tub it might be worth keeping this one around for a while yet. Mark.