How to Troubleshoot & Replace Whirlpool AP6008726 / WP358237 Agitator Bolt

I had replaced the Agitator cams a couple of times already due to my brother-in-law overloading the machine which stripped the teeth off of the cams. I also noticed the agitator seemed to 'wobble' and made 'knocking' noises quite a bit. I reviewed the video on the Appliance Parts Pros web site, disassembled the agitator and cleaned everything up, which helped a little, but not enough. Figuring the agitator itself was worn out also, I looked up and ordered all the parts for the upper agitator on the web site. They arrived very quickly, even with standard shipping. It only took about 15 minutes to replace the parts, then we threw a load of towels in. The difference was amazing! the wobble was still present, but much reduced, the knocking noise was gone and the agitator was actually doing its job! The wife says she thinks the clothes are getting cleaner now and feel softer. I had only one issue with the parts, the 'rib' inside the top of the agitator that holds the fabric softener dispenser in place is about half the size of the one in the original agitator, so the dispenser would not stay in place. I was able to resolve this with a couple of plastic retainer pins and a drill. I held the dispenser in place, drilled two holes thru the edge of the dispenser and into the top edge of the agitator and pushed the pins in. The holes are slightly smaller than the pins so they stay in place. For slightly less than $100 including shipping, Appliance Parts Pros saved me from spending $500-$600 on a new washer which I'm pretty sure the wife would not be happy with...... 

Installed new agitator 

The parts I purchased from Appliance Parts Pro fit perfectly and were reasonably priced. I received them the next day, which made the Wife (and me) very happy. Although Appliance Parts Pro did not have a repair video for this, I was able to find one online and the machine is washing like new again. The website is well laid out and easy to find what your looking for. Between the available parts and the videos they provide, anyone who is reasonably handy should be able to repair their machine as well. Bob Wentzville, Mo. 

I purchased the parts from Appliance Parts Pro, and then followed the simple method shown in the repair video provided on this website. I appeared like a pro to my wife because it took me less than five minutes to do, because I knew what tools and steps to take (thanks to the AppliancePartsPro video.) Agitator works great! 

Very easy repair. Removed the fabric softener insert then removed the center bolt. Pulled out the old agitator assembly and replaced with the new one. 

Ordered and replaced complete agitator. 

Had to destroy old top and bottom agitators in order to expose the rusted and rounded center bolt holding it on because normal socket on extension did not work. I bought a bolt/nut extractor kit in order to remove the center bolt. After removing the bolt, I was able to install a new thrust washer, agitator assembly, bolt, and dust cap. I am a retired appliance repair person. This may have been a little too challenging a job for the average home owner to do considering the difficulty of the repair. 

Found model, Went to trouble shooting on Appliance Parts.com. Identified what the problem was, worn dogs, worn ridges on top agitator & rusted bolt. Watched the video on how to repair, ordered the parts, top agitator, New agitator assembly & new bolt, parts came within a day or two, removed old parts, installed the new parts. Bingo, Fresh, Clean, clothes again. Took about less than an hour. The Trouble shooting, video & -parts description really helped Thanks 

I started by removing the old agitator, which was more difficult than it should have been because the head of the bolt had rusted badly. A 7/16" socket would not grab the bolt, so I had to use the next smaller metric size to remove it. Taking the agitator apart revealed several suspicious parts so I decided to just order a complete replacement. It only took a few minutes to replace the agitator, now that I knew how to remove the old one. I have one suggestion for AppliancePartsPros to consider. All of the parts arrived in a box but the replacement agitator has a few parts at the top that fell out of the top and were loose in the box. Fortunately, nothing was lost, but something bad could have easily happened. I suggest putting a wad of paper in the top of the agitator in the future. This should keep the loose parts from falling out. One thing that was not a pleasant surprise for me was how expensive the agitator grease is. A small container is almost $27. It seems to me that this ought to be $5 or less, but perhaps this is an area where the manufacturer makes some big bucks. Anyway, dealing with AppliancePartsPros was easy (I have done it before) and I would recommend them to everyone! 

Called this company ordered my parts, they were very helpful, very kind and it came on time. It fit, it works!