Whirlpool WP8182233 Front Load Washer Drum Baffle (1) OEM Part

Searching for paddles or baffles led me to Appliance Parts. Discovered I didn't have to buy anything in order to view the video which is a pretty nice feature to see if my skills are up to it. "How in the world do I repair something without external screws?" "Take the top off the machine to see if there are any mounting screws and then just smack the baffles toward the rear of the machine with a mallet to loosen and remove?" Easy, really easy. My wife was missing an underwire to one of her bras and I thought it had slid underneath a loose baffle. We found it in the front of the machine underneath the big rubber front door gasket and the drum - mangled. Seeing it however clued me in to what to look for because a wire to me is round and with or without insulation, bra underwires are flat sided. Leaning into the machine with an led shop light and 6" long tweezers to see if there was any debris in the collection tub at all, found there were a couple small pieces of underwire and a fairly large wadded up "ball" of denim thread near the drain in the back that I pulled through the mounting holes of the baffle. Reassembled everything and put the drier back on top of the washer. Next, vacuumed everything having to do with dryer; exit tube, vent tube and wall exit vent. Noticed too that the printing on the water hoses to the washer indicated to be replaced after 5 years and it had been twice that - got braided hoses. Felt like solving one problem took care of several and one big potential problem of having a flooded house from a burst hose.

I watched the video. Made the assumption that my baffles did not contain screws. I simply slid the new baffle in place. If I should have this problem again, I'll replace all 3 baffles and I'll add screws whether they had them to begin with or not.

I followed the directions provided on the excellent video that was on the same page as the baffle when I ordered it. The video showed me how easy it was to remove the washer top and basin plug, which I did. However, because my washer does't need a screw to secure the baffle, all of that effort was actually ultimately unnecessary. All I needed to do was to reach into the washer basin and slide the baffle into place. It was that easy! Although it only took 10 minutes to do my repair, I want to mention that for those who like me don't need a screw to secure the baffle, the repair could take less than 60 seconds! In my case I needed to remove the top, etc… in order to discover that none of the baffles had screws, but in the future, I won't bother opening it up! Thanks!

The old one fell off. Ordered new one and it arrived in a couple days. I set the new baffle into the holes in the wash basket and slide it until it locks in place. Minimal effort and simple enough for the novice.

Bought the replacement and installed. Ended up requiring no tools or disassembly. It just slides/snaps in place.