Whirlpool W10820039 Washer Basket Hub OEM Part

After ignoring for a couple of years that the bearings were bad on our Whirlpool Cabrio washer and just closing the door to the laundry room, it started slinging grease underneath during the spin cycle. Knowing that the cost to call out a repairman would be close to the cost of a new washer, I decided that it would be a nice Saturday project after reviewing AppliancePartsPros’ repair video. The bearing & tub seal kit and bearing installation tool arrived in two days. I’ve done a lot of self-repairs over the years by following repair videos and I have to say AppliancePartsPros’ video for this repair is one of the best I’ve used. I simply took my tablet to the laundry room and followed the video step-by-step. The repair is pretty involved but doable for anyone who wants to tackle it. The washer is now quiet and I wonder why I waited so long to repair it. Here are a few pointers based on my experience: 1) Since the bearings had been bad for a couple of years, our drive shaft was in pretty bad shape. I used the jack and 2x4 method shown in the video to remove the tub. However, after jacking up the tub to the point that the tub bottom was flush with the bottom of the jack, the tub still had not popped free. I realized that if I tried a 1x4 instead of a 2x4 to give me a little more jacking range the 1x4 would break. I took one of the bearing seating parts from the bearing installation tool and balanced it on top of the drive shaft, and balanced the jack on top of the bearing seating part, and the tub popped free after just a few more turns on the jack. 2) When installing the bearings with the bearing installation tool, make sure you crank it down until you can’t turn the nut anymore. I am always worried about tightening too much, so I turned the nut to where the lower bearing was seated well but not until I couldn’t turn the nut anymore. When attempted to install the drive shaft, I couldn’t seat it properly against the upper bearing. So I knocked out the drive shaft and reseated the bearings, this time turning the nut until I couldn’t turn it anymore. The drive shaft easily seated properly after doing this. 3) Before disconnecting the recirculation hose at the top of the tub, make sure you remove the recirculation hose clamp that is about halfway down the recirculation hose. You will have to remove the back of the washer to get to the clamp. I didn’t and when I pushed the recirculation hose out of the way while struggling to remove the tub, I cracked the recirculation hose just above the clamp. Of course AppliancePartsPros had me a new hose in two days. 4) After you finish the repair, make sure you run the automatic diagnostic test to make sure everything is working properly. It’s implied but not explicitly stated in the video. I thought about skipping it but went ahead and ran it. That is how I found out I cracked the recirculation hose. If I had not run it I would have had a laundry room full of water with the first load of clothes. As it was, it wasn’t too much to clean up.

Posted my problem on APP's Question and Answer Forum. Was concerned about liquid trapped in top and bottom plastic rings of SS laundry basket when I removed it. Was advised by APP's tech service this was normal and is added during manufacturing to add weight to improve efficiency of spin cycle. I purchased and replaced the outer tub with a new shaft, bearings and seal already assembled (about the same price as purchasing shaft/bearing/seal assembly and installation tool without the tub). Whole job was about 6-8 hours including thorough cleaning of dust, dirt and sludge from parts I reused and cabinet interior. Advise checking/cleaning pump inlets/outlets/hoses while you have everything apart. Most difficult part was removing the laundry basket from the drive shaft because worn bearings ruined seal allowing water to be trapped between bearings and badly rusted the shaft. Had another person lift up on the basket to add about 20 or 30lbs pre-load on the bearings while I drove the shaft down with a 2ft long pce of 2 x4 (to protect shaft end) and a 3lb mall. Accomplished this while outer tub was still suspended in washer cabinet. You will have to remove the motor rotor from the old drive shaft and unbolt the motor winding from the old tub to reuse. Be careful to support the winding when removing so as to protect the attached wires and quick connector. Fairly easy to do, just be patient and don't rush. Ordered parts on Monday and received next day with standard shipping. Also replaced plastic drive hub that was worn through on SS thrust washer. Repair is complete, washer has worked flawlessly and quietly through several full loads. Many thanks to the helpful folks at APP. Total cost of repair parts was about $215 with shipping. Not too bad for $700 machine that's 6yrs old.

After hunting the web for info on causes for this problem and finding only vague information, I found Appliance Pros website. By this time, i had narrowed the problem to either the drive hub or the Control board, which is about $150 difference in cost between the two!! I used the site's info on how to run the automatic diagnostics test. This gave me a C8 failure (drum wouldn't spin). I followed the directions for the manual motor tests and everything passed. I then went through the parts list and looked up the suspect parts. What Iiked the best about the site ( there wasn't anything I didn't like) was that when you look up a part you see what other people's problem were fixed by replacing that part. The vast majority said that the problem was the drive hub. I used the WTW6500 service manual to find out how to remove and replace the hub. The biggest difficulty I had was removing the drum. This was necessary in order to remove the shaft drive gear which is part of the drive hub. There was a buildup on the shaft that prevented the drum from sliding off the shaft. It took some force to pull the drum from the shaft. I kept wetting the shaft to remove any loosened residue and to keep the shaft lubricated. Be patient; it works. After taking the drum out, I removed the gear, cleaned the shaft with fine emory paper and waited patiently for my parts to arrive. I used priority mail and got them the following day. When I installed the new parts I realized what the failure of the old part was. The old drive gear rode easily up and down the shaft, which doesn't seem like a problem. However, the new part fit snugly on the shaft (it stiil moved smoothly along the shaft). I put everything back together, ran a rinse and spin cycle, and everything worked perfectly. I suggest that you also run a machine cleaning cycle to make sure any residue from assembly/disassembly are removed before you wash clothes. I was extremely pleased with the information on this site and the ease of ordering parts.

I bought the bearing/driveshaft repair kit, along with the specialized tools that are needed. These are OEM replacement parts, not cheap knockoffs. Please note that this is a two-person repair unless you are Hercules. It is also a two-day repair, because after the bearing, driveshaft and seal are in, you must apply a sealant that has to dry for 24 hours before final reassembly can take place. This project is so labor-intensive that if you find a repairman, they will probably tell you to just buy a new machine, as it it will be cheaper. However, if you do it yourself, you will save $500+ in labor. It's not complicated, more time-consuming than anything. Just watch the videos first and make sure that you have ALL of the necessary tools. These include a small sledge hammer, a small scissors jack from a car, a piece of wood to put across the lip of the tub to raise it up off of the old driveshaft, the parts kit, and the specialty Maytag/Whirlpool tools, which are necessary to remove and reinstall the bearings. Please note that I could not install the new driveshaft into the new bearing without putting a thin film of grease around the driveshaft first. It's not ideal, you want a press fit, but the driveshaft would not push through the bearing without it, even though I was striking a piece of wood on top of the driveshaft with a small sledgehammer. I also purchased the Washer Basket Hub, just in case, but as it turned out I really didn't need them. They are a couple of nylon gears that go beneath the washer plate, which are pretty easily removed anytime. I put them in anyway, as mine were a little bit worn, but they may not be needed. All in all, I would do the project again. It was too good and expensive a machine to throw away over this repair. Just have a partner, watch the video along the way and above all be patient. All told we probably put in 4-5 hours of labor over two days.

Replaced the part by watching YouTube