Originally thought, based on reading and reviews, the banging was coming from a bad dampening strap. After a quick replacement, the noise was better but not completely fixed. Two loads later, the noise became ten times worse. Further investigation led to seeing the bearing on the Mode Shifter and Shaft Assembly was blown out. As another reviewer said, I think ultimately this is a result of a miniscule leak in the tub seal over time, rusting out the bearing and eventually causing it to go. Since the replacement is practically a 100% dismantle, I also ordered and replaced most things along the way – washers, seal, hub nuts, split rings, etc. After reading other reviews, I went ahead and also ordered the spanner wrench. Like most, some WD-40 and some cleaning up eventually let it come loose. The main struggle I had was that the spanner wrench on the site seemed to be about 1/11 too big. It wasn’t a direct fit, but ultimately did the job. From there, pretty simple and basic to disassemble/reassemble. I did add a bit of RTV sealant to the tub seal for added protection. The seal, although fit snuggly, wasn’t a perfect fit with years of use/wear on the tub assembly. About 20 loads in and no visible issues to date.
All said and done, probably about a 2hr fix if you aren’t rushing through it. I spent the time to clean a bunch of the old parts that I was still using while they were available.
All parts were easily identifiable and shipped quickly. The only issue I had, not related to AppliancePartsPros, was the new coupling pulsator had a manufacturing defect. About three of the grooves on the inside were misaligned, so it would not fit on the Mode Shifter Shaft Assembly. Ended up putting the old one back on. The part was $4 and not worth the cost to ship back and return.