First sign of problems in washing machine. It started to walk while spinning. Second problem it started to sound really loud. Third problem was a "burning rubber" smell on really high speed spins. Identified problems as bad bearings by following some youtube videos on potential problems. Main thing identifying problem was movement of stainless drum while pushing on it. It just had way too much play. So ordered parts and watched the installation video.
I followed the video while doing the repair. A friend and I repaired the washing machine over the course of a week time frame taking about 8 hours in total. So much time partly because of having to order other parts and partly because of the frustration factor of removing shafts and bearings, and taking the time to clean the greasy rusty mess on all the parts.
My first order for parts was the 2 bearings, the seal and the tub gasket. After opening up the washing machine, I realized the shocks were bad, and had to order new ones.
A few notes to add to what you see in the video. I'm only commenting on the areas where I had issues and what I might do differently, or what I did do differently.
1) As someone else said, label all your screws - I put mine in zip lock baggies and wrote on the bag where they came from.
2) The first difficulty I encountered was trying to get the top front panel off (the one with all the controls). As it turns out there is a screw we had to remove on the far right side (as you face the machine)
3) Then getting the shaft/drum out was really hard. We had to use a lot of force, and split a lot of wood. There was no damage. Luckily the spider arm was in really good shape, and the help line did tell us that using a lot of force would be fine. We used a mallet on 2x4 wood.
4) Everything else went smoothly until we tried to remove the bearings. We had to really pound them out. The second set of bearings was so difficult to get out, that the "cage" remained behind and we had to pound that out separately. What I would say is keep at it, you may have to use more force than you thought necessary. I actually called the help line, and they told me to use a lot of force, a mallet to strike the punch was probably necessary and some people used heat. We never got to the stage of having to use heat. Also we stacked the machine on 2x4' to protect the base.
4) Putting the new bearings back in was fairly easy. One thing I noticed was burrs around the bushing where the bearings go back in. When I called Appliance parts pros, I was told the burrs are OK, just leave them. I check to see that the second bearing was fully seated by putting my fingers in the hole and feeling the gap, or lack thereof, between the bearings and the lip they sit on. When I added the seal, it sat just a hair above the tub. So far in running the washing machine this is not causing any issue.
5) When you put the shaft back in through the bearings, make sure you really push down to get that last inch. I almost didn't push hard enough.
Note: before putting everything back together again, I cleaned out the plastic tub and anything else that had what looked like rusty grease. This included hoses, the interior of the machine, the laundry detergent holder, and some of the hoses. I soaked the hoses in warm water with laundry detergent and then "scrubbed" them out with a tooth brush. I also soaked the tub gasket and thoroughly cleaned that.
6) Putting the inner and outer plastic drum together. I replaced the old seal. I noticed when I tightened the bolts up completely that there was still a small gap in some parts where the tubs came together between bolts. This was a concern, is the tub going to leak?. I peered at the video to see if there were any gaps like mine, but couldn't get a good look. In running the machine, I have no leakage so I'm assuming these small gaps are some type of manufacturing issue.
7) Putting the new shocks in. It was not easy to get the pins in! I had to tap with a brass hammer in order to get them to seat properly so the tab was fully engaged. After the springs and shocks are in, the tub was still leaning backwards. Don't worry it will straighten out when you put the weights back on.
8) The hoses were not easy to get back on, mainly because I wasn't sure how far down they had to seat on the tub. If I have to do this again (I hope not!), I would mark on each tub hose extension where the hose sits, before I remove the hose.
The drain hose was the hardest. I really had to loosen up the clamp and pull the rubber up onto the plastic drum extension. The only way I was happy with the position of the hose on the plastic, was to make sure the rubber fit snug up against any protrusions on the tub plastic. I definitely didn't want the drain hose to leak!
I think would try installing the drain hose the opposite way. This time I put the drain hose on first and then the "pressure chamber" second. I suspect the other way around would have been easier because the clamp on the pressure hose requires a channel lock to keep it open and it is in a very awkward position. Also the clamps in many cases are really seated into the rubber of the hose, making it awkward to enlarge the clamp. I had to open up the clamp a few times to release it from the rubber, and move the clamp away from the hose end. This makes it easier to get the rubber hose over the plastic. I then slid the clamp, while holding it open with channel locks, over the plastic.
9) Next difficulty was with the rotor. No problems with the stator. But putting the rotor on - wow that was tough! In the video it just slides right on. Ha! We tried pounding with a block of wood. It brought it in a bit. So then we screwed in the large bolt to pull it all the way in. And then took the bolt out and added some of the blue stuff. Note that the rotor does not touch the body of the washing machine, there is a gap. Also the shaft coming from the spider arm/drum and into the rotor does not come flush with the rotor outside edge.
10) The inner gasket takes time and patience to get on. It does not slip on very easily in my experience. Just take your time. A lot of cuss words happened here.
11) The inner gasket clamp was difficult to get on. Using regular vice grips doesn't work as the lip of the the vice grips are too thick and prevent being able to get the loop over the hook. I know he did it in the video, but we could not get it to work. Also the upper part of the clamp has to be held in place. What finally worked is to hold the upper part of the clamp in place using the loop and some needle nose pliers, held from the top opening of the machine. Then use needle nose vice grips on the lower spring to pull it up. It took two of us to do this. The outer clamp was a breeze in comparison.
I wish you ease in repairing your machine. Would I do it again? Yes, now that I know some of the pitfalls and can work around them! LOL