Samsung DC66-00470A Washer Front Shock Absorber OEM Part

My washing machine was making a loud thumping sound and bouncing around a bit. Research suggested that it could be bearings and/or the spider shaft assembly. After watching the instruction videos to replace the spider or bearings, I seen you need to replace both the shaft seal and tub gasket to get to the spider and bearings. So I ordered both and waited for them to arrive. Plan was to disassemble the washer, determine what was needed, order the additional parts needed, and reassemble after the additional parts arrived. If no parts were needed, I could just reassemble the washer without waiting for the seal and gasket. The gasket and seal arrived about a week later (used the slow shipping). I verified other parts I thought I might need were in stock before disassembling the washing machine. Then I proceeded with the repair so the down time would be minimal. Several things that I found and did that may help others. 1) I moved the washing machine out to my garage where I had room to work all around it and a place for the parts as they were removed. 2) I used my iPad to play the instruction video as I worked, stopping and starting as needed. 3) My model was different than the one in the video but it was easy to work around any differences. 4) I used a magnetic parts tray to place the screws in to keep them separate and in order. I could have used something like an egg carton. It helped a lot for reassembly. 5) When I tried to take the front panel off, I found out there are two additional screws in the bottom tabs the front panel sits on that had to be removed prior to removal. My washing machine sits on a pedestal so they were easy to get to otherwise I would need to tilt the machine to get to them. 6) Getting the tub springs off was a challenge at first. Height, since the washer was on a pedestal and the little loop at the top of the tub allowed only two fingers. I found if I stood on a step stool and used a length of nylon strap (A belt would work) I could loop the strap through the tub loop then lift and pull the tub toward me, the tub would rise and rotate toward the spring making it easy to remove (and to reconnect the springs later). Gently lower the tub. Went to the other side and did the same thing. 7) I used a plastic crate (sort of like a milk crate) to place the tub shaft side down on so I could take the tub apart. The video used wood blocks. 8) The drum came out easily and I placed it on a rubber mat (sort of like a welcome mat) open side down to prevent damage to the tub. 9) The back of the drum was covered with a lot of crud so I cleaned it using water, screwdriver, and a wire brush. Found that my spider and shaft assembly had cracks. Also part of the spider had eroded away. Checked all the other parts and found the bearings were okay and the front shocks appeared iffy. 10) I think the banging and jumping was caused more by the crud buildup and the erosion around the spider causing an out of balance condition. The spider and shaft still felt solid. Since the spider was eroded and cracked, I opted to replace the spider, as it would have failed in the near future. Ordered a new spider, the recommended spider bolts, and front shocks and used 2 day shipping. All arrived 2 days later. 11) I sprayed penetrating lubrication several times on the spider bolts and left it overnight. I used a 12 point box wrench and the bolts started to round off so I used a 6 point socket. I broke 4 of the 6 bolts trying to get them off. So ordering new spider bolts was a great idea. With the bolts out and the broken ones, the spider was easy to remove from the tub. No problem installing the new spider with the new bolts. 12) I ordered the front shocks because there was a 1/4-inch play in them (no resistance). The new ones had the same 1/4-inch play but seem to have slightly more resistance so I used the new ones. 13) The shaft seal was worn so replacing it was needed. The tub seal appeared okay but replaced it as I did not want leak issues. The tub reassembly was easy. Getting the tub into the washer was a bit awkward due to size, weight, and positioning it. Easier with two persons but I was able to do it by myself. Reattaching the springs was easy using the strap through the tub loop method. 14) Reinstalling the door boot seal outer ring was difficult for me using the locking pliers as shown in the video as it kept slipping off. I ended up starting the wire as shown and using a Hunter sprinkler adjustment tool I had. Once I had the wire inserted clockwise up to the 2 o'clock position, I used the plastic side of the sprinkler adjustment tool to hook the wire and just rotate the wire in place while holding the wire at the 6 o’clock with my other hand. It was a lot quicker and easier than using locking pliers. Overall, the repair was not difficult.

After reading many repair forum posts on similar issues with Samsung washers, I put the machine into troubleshooting mode to look for error codes. No error codes. I did a re-set, and the problem remained. No sign of a broken drum spider or bad bearings. So I replaced all four shock absorbers. Like many people reported, when I compared the dampening action on the new shocks to the old shocks, the old shocks felt no different than the new shocks. Same amount of resistance on the compression stroke and the return stroke compared to the new shocks. I had read that many people got to this point and assumed they had removed the old shocks for no good reason, and they returned the new shocks without installing them. I installed my new shocks and as a special heavy stress test, I loaded thick, heaving bedding materials. Hallelujah. The washer moved through its cycles and when it got to spin, it happily accelerated to full RPM without any banging or clanking and it finished its cycle like a brand-new machine. Problem solved. Items to note: When facing the back of the washer, it is a little tricky getting a socket with an extender onto the 13mm bolt at the top of the right rear shock. I used my foot to gently push the drum over to the left to gain adequate clearance. Also, for whatever reason, it was a bit tricky getting two of the longer top bolts to push all the way through the shock to engage with the threads in the mount. If you experience this, do not despair. Fiddle around. Wiggle and jiggle the bolt gently and carefully, and while doing so, gently tap the hex head of the bolt and with patience, it will push through so that the threads can engage. This is no time for brute force. It's a situation calling for a gentle touch and patience. You don't want to distort the parallelism of the nylon flanges on the mounts for the shocks. Go easy. Don't get a bigger hammer and it'll go fine. The tear-down, shock removal, shock replacement, and reassembly took me about an hour and 10 minutes. You would spend more time calling a repair tech, waiting for the tech to arrive and waiting for the tech to do the shock replacement. Doing it yourself also prevents you from bursting into tears when you get the repair bill from a service tech. Go forth in peace, with confidence, the right tools and a gentle touch, and thou shalt reach the promised land. Hallelujah.

Started researching the issues I was having and immediately it seemed that the spider arm was the culprit. While researching I found an excellent video on YouTube from AppliancePartsPros detailing the repair process. I watched it through and realized I could do it myself, and also that calling out a repair person was going to be a waste of money as they would just tell me to replace the unit. Disassembling the unit was straight-forward enough with only some minor differences between my unit and the one depicted in the video. Loosening the bolt on the back of the stator was more difficult than it appeared in the video and I actually ended up breaking some of thin plastic "honeycomb". I managed to get the tub assembly out by myself but I would recommend having a second person to assist. I kept my iPad nearby throughout the process with the video loaded up and started and stopped playback as I went along. When I got the tub disassembled and started inspecting the spider arm it didn't really look that bad, especially compared to the piles of rubble I had seen from others. However I did see some cracks forming and there was a lot of debris lodged in and around it. All 6 of my original spider bolts snapped when trying to remove. Because my spider arm was intact I had to use a hammer to break it apart to remove and then cleaned the area up real well by scrubbing and using some vinegar. I ordered the shock absorbers just in case but after comparing the existing ones to the new ones, mine appear to be ok (I will be returning them). I did however fail to notice a small tear in the diaphragm so I did order that separately (be sure to check yours closely). The tub seal I ordered is not listed for my model, but I gave it a shot to avoid ordering a new back half outer tub assembly after seeing that others have reported success with it elsewhere. It was definitely thicker than the original and may be putting more stress on the tub but oh well, it seems to be fine. Re-assembly went well. I did have a second person help me pop the tub assembly back in. Machine is working great and spins very smoothly!

About 2 weeks ago got an alert from my smart watch overnight of a loud noise, thought nothing of it. About a week or so later the washer started banging during the spin cycle. Though maybe the wife overloaded it and it was an unbalanced load. Tested with no load, worked fine, told her to not load it so much and see what happens. Issue persisted, and she could hear that the banging noise was coming from the front of the washer below the front loading door Came home and took the back panel off, shocks seemed a little loose so I assumed a bad shock and ordered new shocks for the washer. Decided since I’m going to have to take off the front of the washer anyway, might as well do that now so when the parts get here I can fix it immediately. Taking off that front is a pain, but just go slow, watch some of the videos on this website and you’ll get it done. Long story short, take off the front, and noticed that the basket weight is pulling away from the bottom of the basket. That was what was banging into the front of the washer below the door. One of the bolts that hold it on, came loose and must have shot off during a spin cycle (probably what caused that loud noise alert on my watch overnight). ALMOST canceled the order and just replace the bolt since the weight was still intact, BUT I said since it had probably been unbalanced for up to 2 weeks and only recently started banging the shocks we’re probably worn out a lot or damaged. Since I had this machine opened up might as well replace the shocks and then find out after putting it all together again it still bangs during the spin cycle and have to take it all apart again. Parts arrived, installed, put the whole machine back together and everything works great now. Spent $165 IIRC for the parts, tax, and overnight shipping. Don’t doubt the service call alone would have cost more than that, plus labor and parts.

Replaced broken drum spider and shaft assembly (part # AP4449265). Burning rubber smell was caused by spinning drum touches door boot seal. Also replaced all 4 shock absorbers just as a precaution. Replacing tub seal may not be absolutely necessary but it's cheap and easy. be aware of those razor sharp metal frames.