wrote in message
oups.com...
We have a Kenmore washing machine that recently developed a problem.
The load was out of balance a bit, and instead of shutting down (isn't
that how it's supposed to work?) it started banging violently and I had
to run in there and open the lid to stop it.. since then, it's worked
ok, but has developed a unhealthy whirring sound whenever it's
spinning. The agitation works ok (and sounds normal), and it still
spins.. but it sounds like the motor is really struggling and something
in there is not matching up properly, kind of like a pair of gears that
aren't aligned right or something. I don't know a damn thing about
washing machines, so am at a loss on what to look for. I gather this
machine is direct drive and that there aren't any belts to worry about.


Basically, I'm wondering if this is a motor/transmission issue, and
if it's worth digging into at this point... if the repair bill is
likely to be high, I'll just retire it and pick up a new one.


Not sure about the Kenmore 60... is this one of the old GE built ones? I had
a family member who had one and it appeared to be just like my GE.

At any rate... if it is, I had a GE Heavy Duty that would go off balance and
one time it did this so violently that it produced sounds just like the
tranny was bad. I went out in search of a used one and a guy told me that on
top of the motor there was a clutch with brake shoes in it and that a
bearing had given up. I didn't buy the story and the Mrs kept using it until
I could find a new tranny or washer until one day it started to stink and
scream amd when I looked at the top of the motor there sure enough was a
large upside down brake/clutch drum... only running it that way had shook
the parts lose and they went bad, too. I found another motor (with the
smaller drum for one speed) and slapped it in there with a nice tight new
belt and re-leveled the machine and it is doing great as the second 'heavy
soiled' machine down there. Sure wish I'd have listened at the bearing
concept as that would have been $7 for the part as opposed to paying someone
$35 for a used motor (they're getting harder to come by around here now).

Like I said... I don't know your machine or sound, so one of the pros would
be better to answer, but here's a note:

When I asked the one guy about a tranny he said 'you haven't told any
regular repair men that, have you? They'll be happy to come tell you they
put in a new tranny when it's only this 7 dollar bearing!' Heh.

But, really... I just feel my way along and someone with actual pro
experience would be best to answer.


THanks!