Do-It-Yourself Story

I initially had two types of knocking sound in our 22-year-old Maytag washer. I didn't distinguish them at first, but one was on the spin cycle and one was when it was agitating, a knock each time the agitator changed direction, maybe two knocks per second. The spin-cycle knocking was the tub hitting the sides of the washer and depending on whether there was some imbalance. I observed it was easy to move the tub side-to-side from the center by pushing by hand on the top of the agitator. Replacing the three tub springs took care of that. I couldn't tell the difference between the old springs and new ones by bending them, they seemed to take a similar amount of pressure to do that and I didn't have a ready setup to test the pulling force. But once replaced, the tub was much more firm against side-to-side pressure applied at the top of the agitator and all spin cycle knocking was gone. What was left was a steady nak-nawk-nak-nawk about 2 Hz (times per second) and only when the machine was agitating in that part of the wash cycle, coinciding exactly with each time the agitator reversed direction. I suspected the tub bearing and that turned out to be correct. The bearing did not appear to be excessively worn, but it was enough to produce just enough play to engender a knock on direction reversal. The procedure was straightforward and every detail was provided in the video for this exact model. I definitely spent 80% of the time cleaning and only 20% of the time on actual wrench-turning and dis- and re-assembly. Soap scum gets on everything over the years and it seemed a shame not to clean things up the one time I'm likely to have it apart this far. The sleeve slid off easy for me. I did notice some evidence of light leakage on the inside floor of the washer, but the bearing area was not corroded. Part of the old stem seal stayed on the agitator shaft when I removed it and I was uncertain whether to take it off or leave it. I took it off after inspecting the old vs. new parts and realizing it was just part of the old one. I did not use any additional lubricant on the bronze bearing as it is Oilite and should work just fine the way it comes. The way I see it, other lubricants like lithium grease can clog the pores and perhaps reduce service life, but that's a personal decision. I did notice the video did not use additional lubrication however, which is consistent with my understanding of how Oilite (sintered bronze) bearings should be installed. I definitely recommend getting the tub bolts in addition to the bearing and stem kits. It's an extra $15 (3 x $5) which seems excessive for what they are, but I definitely wouldn't want to be counting on the old rubber seals would make it another 22 years. The slugging wrench is a good deal for the price and a must have. Works great with a dead-blow hammer, which is what I used. It appears to be cast aluminum, although seems heavier than that somehow. In any case it held up fine in case I need to use it again. I took the opportunity to remove and free up the leveling legs and reinstall them with a little grease on the threads after wire-brushing off the corrosion. Then it was easy to get the washer exactly level and firm-footed, both of which can also contribute to noise and other problems if they're not right. No new parts for that, just some elbow-grease and regular grease. All the parts I got from Appliance Parts Pros were top-notch OEM parts, nothing cheap or substandard in any way; exactly what I hoped for and I expect they'll last as long as the originals did. The washer seems to be working as good as new.