How to Troubleshoot & Replace Lg AP4439264 / 4434ER0003C Spider Arm Assembly

Replaced the two bearings and the broken spider. 

I googled LG Washer part number which led me to Appliancepartspros.com There I read about the noise and burning smell which was a broken Spider Arm Assy. Ordered all parts I thought I needed for complete repair so I wouldn't have to open up for years to come (Bearings, seals). After the repair was complete, the washer still would not drain. removed the front panel again to access the pump, opened housing and found rubber-like debris behind the impeller. Reassembled and now drains. Washer works perfectly, and might go another 15 years! The front boot was the hardest item to do, found a video on-site to watch. BTW, the front panel is like handling razor blades! wear gloves, still, have a good bleeder going. 

The first thing I did was to go to appliance pro.com to view the video on breaking the machine down to see if I could even attempt to make repairs. Then I found the same problems I had by reviewing customer input on appliance pro site. I owe this repair to the video I watched many times during disassembly and then reassembly The part that failed was the spider assembly and the rubber boot from drum rubbing during spin cycle. I ordered both bearings, the rear seal, front boot, new drum o-ring, and the spider assembly. The total time to disassemble was 40 minutes. The reassembly time was just a bit longer. Machine is working like brand new and I saved over 500 to 600 dollars by repairing as oppssed to replacing the machine. Total cost was $202.00 including s/h Thanks to appliance pro it was a stress free repair John 

Before you start the sider replacement make sure the drum is not out of round this can also cause machine to shake also, replaced spider and I recommend changing both bearings and seal at this time regardless if they make noise or not , repair was easy and video helpful 

I took the drum off and replaced the spider now it spins correctly 

Our eight year old LG washer had given us great service, but then one day started making a horrendous noise during the spin cycle. I called the appliance repairman and he said it sounded like bearings and he could fix it for $800, but recommended we get a new washer. I found the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-eAvoBI59Y and watched it through. It seemed pretty simple so I ordered the parts from Appliance Parts Pros. I spent a total of about 5 hours pulling the entire washer apart to replace the bearings and although time consuming, the job was not really difficult. I ordered the two bearings, bearing seal, tub seal and spider arm. I ended up returning the spider arm since the existing one was in good shape and I was having trouble removing the old one. All in all, everything ended up costing me about $50. My wife published pictures on Facebook and now all our friends think I am a wizard! 

After watching video provided by Appliance Parts I made a reasonable deduction the tub bearings most likely failed. Since the entire tub required removing I decided to order all associated parts required to rebuild the tub assembly completely. Parts required and ordered included spider assembly , both inner and outer tub bearings including bearing seal and one tub o-ring. Thanks to the video the repair was very simple requiring about 2 hours of repair and two hours for cleaning the washing machine and work area. I would suggest removing the bearings with a long 1/2 inch socket set extension and installing with a properly sized block of wood to hammer the bearings in with. I would just point out glad I ordered the spider assembly because that was the failure mode. Before installing the spider assembly I painted with enamel paint to add additional protection from the bleach and phosphates which I believe destroyed the spider assembly. I would also point out I believe the spider assembly is produced using sintered metal not forged or casted which also added in the failure process. I expect this fix will be numerous for machines produced using this process. Thanks to AP for the very detailed video , made the project simple. Please follow all safety practices regarding electricity and always use personal protective equipment , safety glasses , gloves , etc. 

I knew the gasket hadn't magically shifted into the tub, so I Googled to figure out what could cause the alignment to get off. A recurring issue was that the spider on the back of the tub had corroded, which allowed the tub to wobble into the gasket, rub it, and smoke. I decided that while I had everything out, I would replace the bearings and gasket as well. I bought some aluminum primer and high solids enamel to coat the spider with, to minimize galvanic corrosion from the new spider. The Youtube video showing the teardown of my washer (LG WM2016CW) was superb, and I tore it down, cleaned everything out, and had the new one installed and everything buttoned up in about four hours. I had a friend helping me; highly recommended for some of the more demanding parts of the removal. Lifting out the tub, and stretching the springs for the front gasket is easier with two people. Of note, I did not have the specialty LG spring compressors; needle-nose pliers work just fine. 

We purchased the inner drum support from AppliancePartsPros.com. Was he cheapest place to get it and we replaced the drum seal. The drum seal leaks some. So not sure what to do yet. Was so happy we could get the part and not have to buy a new washer. Thank you 

Replaced the spider arm following AppliancePartsPros video. Time consuming, but saved buying a new machine.