How to Troubleshoot & Replace Lg AP5977996 / MAP61913707 Washer Tub Bearing

First off, I wouldn't have tackled this job if it wasn't for finding the excellent video on this website. Although I've always been very handy, it gave me the confidence to do it. The repair people told my just to buy a new one because they would charge $700 for the repair. Even though the washer is 11 years old, I couldn't see throwing it out as it otherwise still works great. So although the repair took me about 6 hours total, it was pretty straight forward if you follow the video step by step. Again the video is great. One thing that I came across that I had a problem with was pounding the inner drum out of the outer drum. No matter how much penetrating oil I used, no matter how many pieces of wood I went through to pound on the spindle, I couldn't get it to budge, probably because it's 11 years old. Anyway, I had to get it out so I went ahead and pounded on it with my metal mallet, without any wood to protect the spindle. It finally started to move and I was finally able to get it out. Unfortunately, the spindle ended up being a little mushroomed at the top and I couldn't get that housing that slides on the spindle to go back on (I tested that before moving forward), so I had to order a new spider, which held up my repair job for a couple of days. But it was worth it because I really didn't have another choice unless I wanted to give up. Other than that, you just have to be really careful when putting the new bearings in. I put mine in the freezer for a while to shrink them slightly and I think that helped getting them in. It's a very tight fit. So now I have the washer working again and it is working great. 

Replaced both bearings and seal. Not a particularly difficult repair for an experienced mechanic, but time consuming. Had to move the machine outside to get room, then dismantled the entire machine and pulled out the tub and basket, but all went smoothly. I had watched AppliancePartsPros video about the repair ahead of time, which was very useful. The hardest part was getting the shaft off the old bearings, and then pounding the old bearings out. The shaft had to be saturated with liquid wrench penetrating oil and allowed to soak, then pounded out with a sledge hammer and wood block as shown in the video. I destroyed many wood blocks in the process and was afraid I would break the tub, but it finally knocked out. Probably added an hour or more to the job just trying to get the shaft knocked out. I also took the opportunity to clean the plastic outer tub while I had it apart. That added another 45 minutes to the job scraping off calcium and hosing it out on the lawn. The new bearings can be difficult to install without damaging them, so used a wood block and also a punch to tap them into place. Also, takes some time to clean up the shaft to make sure it will be smooth when entering the seal. I used a dremel tool with wire brush wheel to buff off rust. My shaft was still in decent shape, but to really do it right, I should have replaced the spider (which contains the shaft) as part of this job. Assembly not bad. Installed a new tub gasket/seal as recommended when reassembling. Washing machine runs quite again so we are happy! Between having to move the machine out onto the back patio to have space to work on it, taking it all apart, cleaning the gunk out of the tub, walking back and forth to the garage to get tools, reassembly and moving it back to the laundry room, it ended up taking probably 5 hours, so reserve a Saturday for the job. Having done it once, I could do the disassembly and reassembly pretty fast now, but it still can take a couple hours after disassembly just to get that shaft off the bearings, install the new ones, and clean out the tub. I can see why it would be an expensive repair to pay a technician to spend his entire day doing the job. 

Not a difficult job if you have some mechanical aptitude, but there are a lot of steps and it takes a fair amount of time (4-6 hours) to complete them all. A battery-powered drill with a six-inch Phillips bit and a socket extension adapter can really speed the removal of many screws and bolts once they are loose. The video is good, but newer washer models may have additional electrical and water connections to the tub for rinse water sprays, an internal LED light, and a heating element. Simply make sure everything is disconnected before you remove the tub suspension springs. Note the locations of any zip ties that need to be cut and later replaced, and take pictures and label wires/hoses as needed to ensure proper reassembly. Also, I suggest removing the tub weights as soon as the front is off the washer. This makes it easy to lay the washer down on its front or back as needed for easier access to the various tub connections. To remove the bearings, forget the punch method described in the video. While this works well for many automotive bearing applications, the bearing housing in my tub provided access to only a very small shoulder of the outer bearing race, which made it impossible to apply the necessary force with a punch. Instead, go to your local Harbor Freight Tools and buy a bushing/bearing driver kit for under $20. Select the appropriate sleeve to fit the inner race of each bearing, then you can easily drive them straight out with just a few strokes of a heavy hammer. DO NOT use the driver on the inner races when installing the new bearings as this will damage them. Instead, apply pressure only to the outer races using the old bearings as shown in the video. As others have mentioned, putting the new bearings in the freezer overnight will ease installation, and instead of liquid soap, I used a light coating of lithium grease in the bearing bores and on the outer races to ease installation. After that, it's just a matter of careful reassembly. If your washer has a heating element and it is not securely in place or comes out of the tub, loosen the nut under the ground wire, fully seat the element in the tub, then tighten the nut to expand the seal and secure the element in place. Bearing replacement on these washers is a tedious job, but take your time and you shouldn't have any problem saving hundreds of dollars over the cost of a professional repair or new washer! 

Video shows all nicely. This is second time I've had to do this. First time the washer was about 9-10 years old. Redo only lasted about 2 years. Dang! Followed video instructions to a T. Only issues are shocks came apart and needed to be re-connected. There are 2 rubber "seals" in them that wrap around the plastic portion of the pistons. They simply need to be held in place while the metal sleeve is slid over the piston. Very easy. 2 people a must to get drum out without breaking every plastic connection inside washer. Just get help. Take the time to clean the gook off the spider and out of the reachable portions of the drum. It will help that stank. A small flat screwdriver works nicely in the spider without scoring the aluminum. Then a plastic scrub brush and some elbow grease. Hardest parts: Getting the rubber drain hose reattached to bottom of drum. My washer is NOT on the drawer. It sets directly on the floor. What a pain. Should be so simple. Hammering out the bearings. Yes, they are seized. They are absolutely going to be rusted in. I used a deep socket on a ratchet extender placed through the larger bearing. Largest socket I could fit (can't remember if it was a ?', but just grab a few and get the largest that slips through the inner race). Must use wood to protect the drum from the floor. After hammering the snot out of this one, it finally popped out. Remember, that if it gets tilted, it will be harder to remove. So using something that pops it out symmetrically is best. Then, used larger socket for the larger bearing. Largest I could get that rested on the race for best impact. This was the rusted bearing as the seal must have leaked. Touched up where the bearing had rusted with some fine steel wool. MAKE SURE ALL HOSE CONNECTIONS REATTACHED BEFORE CLOSING UP!!! I'm good with tools, and this was my second go around. Took 2 hours. 

Followed the video, although my washer had 4 hoses around the front gasket. Let's not fool anyone with the bearing removal. It doesn't take a couple of whacks with a hammer. And forget a "punch", which was simply a cold chisel. If you have a set of impact sockets (and a 10" extension), chose the largest socket that'll fit through the larger bearing. Center it on the smaller bearing and THEN hammer it. It still takes many hits with the hammer, and my bearings weren't rusty/corroded like in the video. When you finally beat the smaller bearing out, use the largest impact socket you have and pound out the larger bearing. Finally, the last spring clamp around the front panel gasket: The first one (around the front of the drum) was hard enough to put on, but the second one much harder. YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH HANDS TO HOLD IT IN PLACE WHILE YOU ATTEMPT TO GRAB IT WITH VICEGRIPS!! What finally worked was 5-6 hand clamps, the kind you squeeze with one hand to hold things together. After starting the spring clamp around the gasket, place hand clamps at 12, 9, and 7 o'clock, then at 2 and 4 o'clock. THEN you can grab the spring clamp wth Vicegrips and pull it into place. Whereas the video was a great "show me how" tool, it was deceptive in the matter of how difficult some steps actually were. I suspect there was another set of hands behind the scenes/off-camera. Also, use a cordless drill/screwdriver and save yourself a lot of time and effort. It'll take forever with hand tools. This took about 4 hours and a lot of cussing at the spring clamps. 

Ordered the front and rear bearing, seal and tub gasket. Confirmed numbers with Appliance Parts Pros salesperson and placed order.( I would recommend NOT using the Fed Ex group shipping option, delivery was 5 days later than they originally sent me on the tracking, so I had my machine disassembled and all over the utility room for 5 days waiting on parts). When they showed up the parts were as I ordered and fit fine. The repair video was very helpful, but leaves out a few items. My unit had a screw on the upper control panel on the side away from the soap drawer and not just snaps as in the video. Also the Steam unit on my washer made it difficult to get the left spring off the hook. Take a piece of wire and thread it through the spring and then grab the wire with vice grips to make a bale to lift the spring. The bearings came out with the hammer and punch as per the video. I would advise power washing the tubs after the bearing removal to get rid of any residual penetrating oil. Re-installing the bearings was straight forward for the rear bearing, as you can use a piece of wood to hammer it in flush. The front bearing because it is recessed is a little trickier. The video leaves out that you have the perfect tool for reinstalling the front bearing. The old bearing you just removed. I use a 7/8" long socket to align the holes and the old bearing provided me a surface to hammer on and not damage the new bearing or tub. Worked great. Use a caliper to make sure you are keeping the bearing level as you hammer it in. Reassembly was as per the video. Washer now is quiet again and function OK. 

I ordered the parts late Thursday night and received them on Saturday. Parts came from KY and I live in FL. Perfect timing. I put the bearings in the freezer and decided to do the job the next day on Sunday (two days ago). I started around 11 am and finished around 5 pm with breaks of lunch and talking to my neighbor. The youtube video that they produced was perfect. My model had a few less connectors and hoses. I used a muffin tray to hold all the individual screws and I made a post it note that indicated where they were from. Luckily my spider was intact as that is expensive and I only ordered the two bearings, the seal and the gasket for the tub. All totaled it was about $85 with shipping. I moved the washer into my garage to give me room to work. If you tried this repair in the laundry room it would not end well as you need lots of room. There were three points where issues occurred. 1) I power washed the parts of the tub, the drain hose, and the stainless drum. They had ten years' worth of crap and stains on them. You don't want to do all this work and not clean those parts up. 2) I had to use some 400 grit sandpaper to smooth the shaft of the drum and get rid of a minuscule amount of corrosion that prevented the shaft from going through the bearings fully. I also applied some laundry detergent to the shaft and that made all the difference. 3) When replacing the bearings and seating them I used the old bearings and placed them over the new ones and hit those with the hammer as to not damage the new ones. Lastly, the hardest part of the job was in getting the boot back on the tub and the rings with the springs back on. My springs barely moved and I had to rig something with the outside spring. All in all my washer is now quiet and I saved a lot of money plus I have the satisfaction of doing it myself. I am really handy and can work on anything except refrigeration. Never ends well. So don't be afraid and do this yourself. Just give yourself enough time and save the beers for afterwards. :-) btw when I first pulled my washer out I found that one of the shock absorber pins had fallen out and was on the floor. That would explain the banging and walking that sometimes occurred since only 2 out of the three shocks were attached to the tub. My bearings still needed to be replaced but check inside for this issue as well. Appliance Parts Pros is the way to go since the parts are factory replacements. I read up on the amazon reviews and did not want to risk the bearings failing because I was going the cheap route. You only want to do this once. I can say that I can this job now in half the time but would prefer not to do it again to save 50 bucks. Regards Eric 

I followed the steps from appliance parts pros video to replace the bearing. The only difference for me was that getting the bearing out didn't seem to take as much force on the video. It was some significant blows with the hammer. The tapping in of the bearing did go pretty close to the video. The dish soap tip was handy. Ensure that the 17mm bolt is really fastened all the way. In running the machine after the replacement, my drum was only spinning when the clothes were dry in the sensor mode, once the water filled, I heard a spinning component but it wasn't the drum. I came to discover that the 17mm bolt still had some play and what happened was the stator cover was not fully on, it was what was making the spinning sound. That fraction of a centimeter must have been enough space to limit the strength of the magnetic field and therefore not allow the drum to spin once the water weight was added. I actually used some blue thread glue on the bolt so it would have a tighter hold and hopefully won't shake loose with all the vibration that occurs during washing. Biggest challenge in my replacement was the space in my laundry room. I had to climb over the washing machine and lower in behind it with about two feet of work space so that slowed me down quite a bit. If I could walk around the machine with the ease in the video, my work time would probably be 45 minutes shorter. Would consider it a 2 star for difficulty, however, the need for a second person's help elevated it to a 3. Extra hands to help with loosening and tightening the drum bolt by holding on to the drum and to help get the wire ring back on the door gasket. A second person is also nice when removing the drum just to protect your back. The drum assembly is not necessarily heavy, it just can be an awkward lift/handle by yourself. 

Some things to consider before DIY repair on your washer. If you have well water which has high levels of minerals, the age of your washer is 8- 10 years old and/or have NOT religiously ran the cleaning cycles with cleaners, you may want to just buy a new washer? Reason being is that there will be a LOT of cleaning to be done of the buildup of minerals and sludge from soaps and softeners. Hours of disassembly of all parts, scrubbing and some harsh cleaners. I found there was more parts needed once I started the disassembly and cleaning. My first thought was, why did the bearing fail. Age? When I inspected the bearing I found water had got into the bearing due to the seal failing. Why did the seal fail? Age and grit from several years of washing. Normal wear and tear. At this point I inspected the area that the seal contacts the driveshaft and found that where the seal, seals around the shaft is worn. Needed to replace that shaft assembly so the new seal will work properly. Even if the shaft is not worn, there's a lot of toxic crud built up under the shaft assembly that needs thorough cleaning. Removing the shaft assembly from the drum is difficult due to the bolts having Loctite on the threads and the nuts are held only by a plastic housing, the bolts in my case, could not all be removed. They would slip and strip the plastic. I Had to break off the plastic agitators on the inside of the tub to get a wrench on the nuts. The rest was not difficult but very time consuming. Remember when reassembling that you are working with plastic and sheet metal. I don't recommend using any type of power tool. Hand tightening only. There's a few videos on YouTube that are helpful. Review them before you decide which way to go. I spent $400 in parts and many hours of cleaning. How long will it last? Hopefully long period of time. 

Here’s my great repair story.. My son texted me late last Saturday that the washer was smoking and smelled like burning rubber and was making loud racket on high speed spin (LG WM2455HG). He said he unplugged it. Oh great… another 1000$ down the drain having to get a new machine, or spend almost as much to get this one fixed…maybe, and Thanksgiving dinner was at our house (20 people). Later Sunday I looked online and found a video on diagnosing the issue. Was looking like bearings and/or spider support. On Monday, I called LG and of course, having a 10-year-old machine, all they gave me was a semi-local repair shop that serviced LG. Called them. They wouldn’t even come here-too far away. Went online researching and found the APP site and videos. Was still very hesitant on doing this myself. I am very mechanically inclined but just really didn’t want to get into this. Fortunately, I was on vacation this week and had the time. With encouragement from my son (he also likes to take stuff apart), and watching the repair videos a few times, I figured I could do it. I tore the machine apart and found 2 of the spider arms totally corroded through (and caked with crud, so was everything really). The bearings looked and felt ok still (looked and felt brand new), and there were no water leaks or even signs of leaks. The bearing seal was worn a bit though. I ordered the spider, tub half seal (always when cracking tub open), big front door boot seal (really grody after 10 years), bearing seal (always if even slightly worn, and both bearings (just in case). I ordered the spider, tub seal, and front door big boot first, then after I did that, I thought I had better order the other stuff. The other stuff actually came first. I replaced the bearing seal and tub half seal, and waited for the spider and door boot to show up. I had paid for next day ship for all of this. Evidently, the carrier messed up the shipping label on the spider/boot box, so it got delayed a day. I was a bit upset about this as we had lots of prep work/cleaning/setup to do for Thanksgiving Holliday in the downstairs area where all these pieces parts were laying around (and matching stacked dryer). I had nowhere else to put stuff. I chatted online with APP agent to try and see if I could get it any sooner. Turns out they really couldn’t so she refunded my shipping on that order. Thanks! The spider and boot showed up Wednesday about 1530. With a little help lifting from nephew and son, had the thing all back together, running, and with NO LEAKS, with the dryer stacked and connected, doing the mounds of backed up laundry by 1930. Not too bad! AND it only cost me a fraction of getting a willing service tech out here to do it. I’m sure I saved about 600$. Thanks AppliancePartsPros.com!! BTW, the microwave and dishwasher are next!..