How to Troubleshoot & Replace Lg AP5597430 / AFH72909001 Lifter Assembly (Drum Baffle)

My spider arm was corroded/broken and needed replacement. Videos were excellent and easy to follow. The bolts from the spider arm go into metal inserts in the plastic portion of the lifter arms. Bottom line is the bolt heads had to be cut off and the lifter arms replaced in order to accommodate the new bolts. New lifter arms do not come with roller balls so I recycled my old outer shell of the lifter assembly (with roller balls) and everything went back together nicely. Don't waste time trying to loosen the old bolts. Just cut the heads off and get new lifter arms. That will save you a lot of time and effort and ensure you have strong anchors for the new spider arm. 

I thought it was the two rear bearings so I ordered them and the bearing seal. When I took the unit apart what I found was the bearings were OK but the washer spinner (the part that attaches to the back of the drum with the shaft on it) arms were all cracked which was causing the wobbling and noise. I ordered the spinner, it got here and then I went to take it off the drum only to find out that the spinner, which is attached by a bolt that screws into the drum baffle. These bolts have a type of thread lock which prevents them from coming loose. The way the drum baffle is put together is the nut that the spinner is supposed to screw into is molded into the plastic in the drum baffle. I went to unscrew the bolt to free the broken arms from the drum and noticed the nut must of been spinning within the baffle. I was only able to get one bolt out on each leg. I was able to remove the three that were just spinning by using an impact wrench, spinning at a high speed and actually melting the bolts out of their plastic casting. I had to order the three drum baffles separately as I did not expect this. I would suggest that you completely dissemble everything you need to before you order parts, which I did not. I saw the broken spinner and ordered it never thinking to remove it from the drum until I received the part. Big mistake. Big delay!! 

Replaced the spider. Had a problem getting one of the bolts out of the spider(stripped out). Cut bolt with a reciprocating saw. Had to replace baffle after cutting the spider bolt. Note: The spider was broken in 2 places. It appeared to have failed from galvanic corrosion. The inner tub and spider bolts are stainless steel and the spider is cast iron. LG needs to look at this design flaw. 

After researching the potential causes, I used your You-Tube video of step by step instructions to disassemble the entire machine. It was the broken spider gear as expected so I used the parts ordered...reassembled the machine (again using the video in reverse) and voila....a perfectly running machine. Competitive prices on parts, delivered quickly and great online instructions. I am a happy customer. Jim Mullen 

Replaced the spider and bearings. 

Purchasing parts from AppliancePartsPros.com. i purchased a drum baffle, bearings and the spider. I watched the video on youtube which was very helpful. I took my whole washer apart leaving it like a frame skeleton. Once I received my parts I watched the video again and put everything back together. My washer works like brand new. Thank you!