How to Troubleshoot & Replace Lg AP4437693 / 4036ER2003A Washer Tub Seal

An online search for LG washing machine parts came up with a repair video from Appliance Parts Pros. I watched the video. It was very well done, very detailed, and took you step by step through the entire process to replace the tub bearings and the spider, from start to finish. After watching the video, I realized this repair was well within my abilities. No specialized tools were needed. I ordered the parts from Appliance Parts Pros, and all items were in stock and delivered within a couple days. I tore the machine down and found that the bearings looked fine, but the spider was indeed badly corroded and cracked, and well on its way to complete failure. Using the video for reference, I replaced the two tub bearings, bearing seal, spider, the seal between the outer tub halves, and the door boot gasket. The only challenging part was installing the new door boot seal. In the video he installs the tub weights first then the seal. I tried it this way and struggled with the seal. I took the tub weights back off and it was then easy to put the seal in place, and then put the tub weights back on after the seal is in place on the tub.The washer works just like it did when new. If you have enough mechanical ability to change the oil and filter on your vehicle, or remove the blade from your lawn mower and sharpen it, you can handle this repair. I spent around $200.00 for parts, and about 3 hours after work making the repair. Thanks to Appliance Parts Pros for giving people the ability, confidence, and guidance to repair their appliances instead of junking them. 

This job was complicated but not very difficult until it came to loosening the bolts that attached the spider arm to the drum. Follow the video and be prepared for it to take several hours. In my case, I doused the bolts with penetrating oil and heated them with a hairdryer on high heat (my lame substitute for heat gun, which I didn't have). Got 4 of 6 out with some effort and then the last two -- one each on different arms -- were so tight that I used a 25" breaker bar + bolt extractor socket to get the 5th off. Would HIGHLY recommend this method to begin with if I had to do it again. The last one stripped so I hacksawed through the head and then pulled it through the hole. It gaped the hole a bit but I was able to tap back in to place with ball peen hammer and smoothed the edges with a file. You can order the custom replacement bolts from APP for $4.33 (http://www.appliancepartspros.com/lg-screw-customized-4000fr4031b-ap5224413.html#ixzz55WD9DM2F) but I didn't want to wait so I replaced it with a Stainless M8 1.25 16mm flat head screw from my local hw store for $0.98. It reached well into the spider arm and provided a secure mount. I also applied Locktite (blue) to the bolts when re-mounting. I was really surprised how deteriorated the arm was -- it literally broke off in parts when I began to pry it away from the tub-- so I took another poster's recommendation to spray paint the arm before reinstalling. Gave two coats of Rustoleum to help prevent future deterioration. I'm willing to bet that I'm the only LG customer with a high-gloss forest green spider arm! Took me much longer than expected due to the difficulty with the bolts. I hope to never see the inside of this washer again. 

LG model WM2010CW - 8 years old - started making noise, especially during high speed spin, but could even be heard during low speed spin. No water leakage, just an unusual noise that sounded like the bearings were failing. I followed the AppliancePartsPros.com video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-eAvoBI59Y), which was clearly for a similar unit, but with more features that our own. Thank you very much for the good photography. Replace the two bearings, the main seal, and the tub o-ring. I decided to take the unit apart before ordering, just to be sure of the parts needed, and I re-inserted screws back in their holes as each was removed. The failed seal was the apparent cause of the noise. A crack in the seal rubber near the outer edge had formed, and the metal underneath had corroded. Soapy water and bleach passing the seal apparently caused the inner bearing to lose lubrication, making the noises that was heard. No problems during disassembly, and the main shaft dropped out of the bearings with a single smack on a wood block, just like it was shown in the video. The seal pried out easily. The bearings came out with some very hard smacks with a hammer on a steel rod that reached through one bearing to knock out the opposite bearing. The bearings were mounted in a machined aluminum bearing holder that was permanently mounted or formed into the plastic tub half, and the steel rod was very hard on the machined aluminum holder -- pinning the aluminum slightly. If I could do it again, I would've used an aluminum or soft brass rod to knock out the bearings, thereby reducing the nicks in the aluminum holder. I cleaned everything after disassembly and took special care to clean the bearing holder surfaces. I heated the aluminum holder with a heat gun for about ten minutes until it was very warm to the touch, hoping this would enlarge the holder slightly to make bearing installation simpler. I used a very little sewing machine oil to lubricate the outer bearing surfaces and aluminum holder before inserting the bearings. As others recommended, I used the old bearings as drivers to tap the new bearings into place using a lightweight hammer. That went very well. I put a very little silicone o-ring lube on the seal, being careful to leave the factory grease inside the seal alone (the factory grease looked like lithium grease). Pressing the seal in place with my fingers did not work well -- one side popped upward as the other was pressed downward to be flush with the recess. Instead, I found a 2-9/16" OD jar lid -- just smaller than the OD of the seal -- and placed it over the seal, allowing me to press downward with the palm of my hand on the jar lid to push the seal evenly into its recess. Reassembly went well also, just like the video. I decided to torque the tub screws evenly to 40 in-lb, the rotor bolts to 80 in-lb, and the main shaft bolt to, well, tight as I could while holding the stator. But I'm no expert, as evident by the two screws left over... I take comfort that the two screws are sheet metal screws and not machine screws. After a rinse-and-spin cycle to clean out the tub, the washer is now running nearly silent again. 

I’ve heard what bad bearings sound like in a lot of other things, so I surmised that was the problem. I ordered the parts from AppliancePartsPros.com, paid a little extra for speedy delivery so I could make the repair on, or even before the weekend, and waited. The package arrived and I looked at the parts and then watched the video that AppliancePartsPros.com on their website. It looked complicated, but not difficult. I launched into the repair at 6:30pm. I ran the video on my iPad, so I could listen to a step, pause the video and do the work. My machine was slightly different on the inside, but, honestly, the video is so well done that I was able to look at my machine and the part of the machine the video was showing and I breezed through it. When I got the bearings, one set was fine, the other was corroded so badly I was unable to turn it with my fingers. I replaced the parts and put it all back together- again stopping the video as I progressed, and I was done at 11:10pm. I ran the washer and it leaked. Bummed out (badly), I went to bed and decided I would tackle it in the morning. I also looked at replacement washers on the Lowes and Amazon sites. I was unhappy. I opened the machine up in the morning and Traced the leaks. I found that I had not clamped two clamps as carefully as I should have. I reseated the clamps and ran the machine. No leaks, no noise. $60 buck or so and a few hours saved me from having to spend a lot. Thank you AppliancePartsPros.com- you guys totally rock! 

Ordered the parts after watching the YouTube video, it explained what to look for and after taking the washer apart I could see the "spider" was cracked. The video took me step by step in putting it back together when my parts arrived. Not exactly quick and easy but well worth the time and effort. The washer is running great now. 

After watching the video carefully and taking notes for step-by-step dismantling of the LG washer, I took it apart methodically placing each item on a table in the order removed. I was able to remove and replace the bearings with no problems following the tips and tricks. The spider did not seem to be in bad shape but since I had a new one, it seemed reasonable to replace it as well, but it was difficult to extract the old one from the drum. The bolts are assembled with weld glue, so it is a good idea to heat them and tap them before even trying to loosen them. Once that was accomplished, I reassembled the machine and it worked great! It seemed well balanced when run empty but not so much with laundry in it, so I re-leveled it while spinning and this nearly eliminated the vibrations. It has been operating flawlessly for several months now. Thank you, appliancepartspros.com. Without your instructions and efficiently correct parts ordering website, this project would not have been possible. 

Went to the appliancePartsPros on line video and simply followed the step by step procedure to take the washer apart. The knocking noise was a good sign the bearings were bad, and the burning smell would have comfermed it, but I had no grinding at the slower speeds ( would have been the grand-slam Of diagnosis if it did. . ). Found the bearings were in good shape, but the " spider " (. The part that holds the barrel to the drive motor ) had a cracked arm, allowing the barrel to move out of place when spun fast enough,, and would rub on the surrounding area causing a burning smell. I replaced the broken spider, and the seal , the repair cost less than $100, and the washer runs like new again. Note, never allow the knocking to go for ANY length of time.. It will groove the outer water seal, or worse , the plastic outer barrel, .. Then the simple inexpensive job turns into the " wish you bought the extended warrantee" job :) 

Several forums on line spoke of the same issue of mine.What happens is the spider bracket on the back of the drum corrodes away to the point where the drum will flex on high spin cycle causing the drum to rub the door seal creating the burn smell.I looked up my model and parts breakdown on this appliancepartspros site and there it was all I needed .I ordered the spider bracket , two new bearings,bearing seal,and a drum seal,and a door seal.I got the parts in 2days and all correct . I put it all back together and it runs like new again.I suggest painting that bracket with a high quality paint to protect it from corroding again that's what I did anyway. The video on YouTube made me vary comfortable that I could take this on without any problem. Really wasn't that hard just a little bit intimidating than anything If I need anything else I will definitely order from here. 

I used the excellent video on your site to disassemble and reassemble my LG washing machine. My machine was a bit different from the one in the video, but I was able to figure out what to do. The main disassembly technique difference I had with the video was that I used a thin jaw, wire stripping set of pliers to squeeze the shock absorber plug tabs. The main difficulty I had was undoing the steel bolts that go through the side of the SS tub into the cast aluminum spider. I almost 'rounded' the hex head on two bolts, but then used a plumbers blow torch to heat up the aluminum and the subsequent expansion loosened the bolts. I replaced the spider and the bearing and tub seals. My biggest screw up was not connecting the tub air pressure tube to the sensor. Upon starting my first post fix wash, the tub began to fill and fill, so I stopped the machine, drained the tub and then studied the parts schematic diagrams and connected the tube to the sensor. Four washes later we are not only cleaner, but happy we were not cleaned out by a service visit... Thanks! I am now on a personal crusade against LG for them to compensate people for the new spiders. It is a major design flaw, mixing the Al and Fe, particularly in a warm, moist environment. 

Ordered everything to do with the drum rotation. Which is Drum with spider arm already mounted (tub assembly/inner), (could not get spider arm bolts off so cut them but couldn't find replacement bolts) both inner & outer bearings and tub seal, door boot gasket and even outer tub seal since machine was totally apart. Watched video and being very handy it was no problem at all. Even if your not that handy you should be able to handle in my opinion. Parts came in 2 days even with holiday weekend.