Samsung DC69-00804A Washer Tub Seal OEM Part

I followed Matt's awesome video from AppliancePartsPros.com to build up my "I can do this" reserves. But here's the story leading up to that point... We purchased our Samsung WF419 on a “Black Friday” special November 2009 expecting to get some good years out of the washer/dryer pair. We don’t run more than 2 or 3 loads a week in the washer, so ours has had relatively little use over the beginning of its anticipated and expected long life-cycle. When the “thumping” started on the spin cycle a few months back, I just blew it off as an occasional out of balance load that wasn’t a big deal. Then the thumping became “very” noticeable and my wife said there was water leaking underneath. Well, nothing like a “leaking” and “thumping” washer to get your attention, so I thought I’d better look into the problem. After just a quick internet search, I found that these units have a “fatal flaw” that happens with a large number of them, even if you use them exactly as directed. We’ve never used anything other than the recommended “high efficiency” detergent and kept loads at a normal to light size, so what we found after taking the unit apart was quite shocking. The “spider” or drum shaft assembly had deteriorated into a metal mush and one of the 3 arms was completely cracked through. Also, the “thumping” we were hearing was the inner wash drum rubbing against the front half of the washers plastic housing and had sliced though the housing in 2 areas creating the leak we were experiencing. Wow, I really couldn’t believe a lightly used Samsung washing machine that was only 6 years old, could self-destruct like this. We had sold our “flawless” Maytag stackable after 15 years of continuous service (no issues ever) to “upgrade” to this Samsung set. Well, it goes without saying that I’m not real happy with this purchase now, and am only happy that I’m savvy enough to do this repair myself, with the help of the fabulous Appliancepartspros.com guys. Their website, videos, and of course staff have made diagnosis, disassembly, parts acquisition, and repair a much more comfortable experience. If you have this model and it starts to consistently spin out of balance, plan on a complete tear down of your washer or a VERY LARGE repair bill if you have a service company do the job.

Washer is 8 years old. The spider arm was significantly corroded and shedding chunks which blocked the drain pump. If you find what looks like slate rocks in the drain pump, you've likely got this problem. Disassembly was not difficult. There are many screws. Keep track of where they go. You have to remove the drum which means rear, top and front panels come off, including the bracket across the front that holds the control panel. None of this was difficult; only time consuming to keep track of everything. Removal of the drum is easy but it takes two people unless you are pretty strong. I could have done it by myself (I think) but it wouldn't have been fun. I'm over 60 so the help of my son-in-law for the heavy lifting was much appreciated. Breaking down the drum was straight forward. Watch YouTube videos to see how it goes. You have to remove the motor as it runs on the shaft of the spider arm. Remove six bolts, two per each of the three arms to detach the old spider arm. Put in new arm with gentle coaxing of a plastic mallet and a piece of scrap wood. It's a tight fit, but requires only a few taps to get it in place. Make sure the bolt holes line up before tapping in place. I put bolts in one arm to insure alignment, then tapped down the other two. Clean everything well, including the groove for the Tub Seal. I put in a new tub seal. Only a couple of dollars and I think well worth the investment as you don't want to have to do this twice to fix a leak. Reassemble in reverse order. This went pretty quick actually. Again, help with getting the drum back in the washer is a good idea. After that, I did all the rest myself. I left off the top and rear covers and ran a cycle to insure no leaks. Then installed the covers and all is well. Parts from AppliancePartsPros.com were perfect. Fast shipping. No connection to company except as satisfied customer.

Per google and this site, the symptoms of the machine were identical to what was described for a corroded / broken spider. I followed the instructions from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFXp2X99mQs and took apart my machine. It wasn't the exact model, but more than 90% of the instructions and parts were the same. If you've done any type of work on cars (changing brakes, oil change), you should be able to do this without any problems. You'll need a ratchet set, screw drivers, and some deep sockets for your ratchet. The hardest part was moving the machine (its heavy) to make space to work. Then getting the tub out and then back in (its the heavy part of the machine). Our machine was 7 years old and was really dirty inside from the mold and apparent usage of too much detergent. Originally we thought we only had to worry about mold on the gray rubber seal / gasket. But the tub was moldy too. For detergent, apparently, you should only use half of what is recommended. So, even if it recommends a full scoop for HE washers, use half of that. If you're using powder, make sure it dissolves well in water. Sometimes it only dissolves well in hot water. Other than the weight, disassembling and reassembling the machine was easy. We spent a good amount of time cleaning the machine, tub, and all hoses which I definitely recommend. Going forward, I will likely use affresh washer cleaner (sold everywhere) once a month, and also install a fan in the vent. There is a company that sells fans for front load washers, but it seems way over priced for what it is. I will likely use a USB computer fan. Also, wipe down the rubber gasket after every load, never leave clothes in the washer (try to take it out right away), leave the door open a bit, and finally, use a small self powered dehumidifier EVA-DRY at home depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Eva-Dry-333-4-6-oz-Mini-Dehumidifier-E-333/202847328

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!

Noticed large banging in the washing machine when transitioning from low to high speed spin. Also would get a slight smell of burnt rubber. Did an online search and best guess was the spider arm assy was broken. Ordered the spider arm assy, the rear tub seal and the tub seal. Make sure you get blue threadlocker - you'll use it multiple times during the reassembly. The washer is 9 years old and is heavily used. Used the online video on the appliancepartspros.com site to handle the repair. The washer was a bit different from mine, but close enough where there no problems handling the repair. Disassembled the washer using the video instructions. I found a large part of the spider had broken off. When I removed the spider from the tub the spider basically disintegrated - timely repair. I also found the real tub seal had been slowly leaking, so fixing that while the tub was apart was a good choice. Things to note when doing the disassembly; 2 of the 6 bolts snapped when taking the spider off the drum - plan on getting a new set of bolts. They sell them here, I went to the hardware store and found them. Followed the re-assembly directions in the video, everything went smoothly. Very nice to have a step by step guide to putting things back together. Couple of tips, other online videos will push for replacing the 4 shock absorbers that hold the drum. I checked mine when I pulled the tub, they still had plenty of resistance. Another tip is to wear work gloves - the machine has tons of razor sharp edges inside. In all the repair went great, the washer runs like new. The video is almost as valuable as the parts. It does take some time to do this; I did it solo which makes things go a bit slower - I took 4 to 5 hours, but I cleaned up the drum and tub really well, as well as the inside of the machine. I would guess this is the toughest repair you can do on this washer, you have to take apart nearly everything to make this repair.