Do-It-Yourself Story

This is a well-documented problem. I ordered all the parts suggested by others - customer service assisted me along the way, taking plenty of time to be sure I got the right stuff. The main problem was the failed tub seal which had caused the bearing in the shaft assembly to fail. The videos for completing this repair are really good - you need to watch each one to not miss anything. As others have stated, the worst part is removing the hub nut. In my case the ($60.00) spanner tool probably would not have worked. I tried a short handled pipe wrench and a hammer but it didn't budge. so I simply drilled a hole on each side of the nut, keeping the bit close to the stem of the shaft assembly, then used a short chisel and hammer to split the nut and pop it out. In the later step to remove the tub bearing (really a bushing) I improvised a bearing puller using a 1 3/8in washer, a 3 1/2in bolt and nut through a piece of metal L-channel so no damage was created and old part was pulled cleanly. In putting everything back together, I found I could successfully tighten the new hub nut using a basin wrench (really inexpensive tool) and a hammer. After buttoning everything up, I ran a short water only cycle. There was a very loud screeching noise for a few seconds as the tub rotation began, but it went away and the cycle continued. Later, I ran a light wash and experienced a 2 or 3 second noise again. Subsequent wash cycles, no noise, all good. Customer service had not heard of this, and had no input but suggested I watch it, and let them know if it recurs. I am happy with my interaction with Appliance Parts Pros; not my first experience with them.