I had to replace it. Part of the part was still in the washing machine. Got the serial and model numbers and a chat person at AppliancePartsPros helped me match a part to the machine. It arrived 1 1/2 days later. I was able to unscrew the part still in the machine and screw the new part on and I was back in business. My washing machine is about a 1953 Whirlpool model.