Customer Questions and Answers for Washer Shift Actuator by Whirlpool

John, " The actuator serves several functions. It has a synchronous motor that shifts the splutch slider and monitors the position of the splutch. It also houses a transmission speed/position optical sensor." The "splutch" is what determines if the transmission agitates or spins. When the actuator fails there is usually and awful lot of grinding noise, and the tub and agitator operate at a slow speed, if at all. In most models, you will have an F7 -E1 or E5 error code in the display.