My Maytag washer make a loud screech when the washer tub needed to be stopped by the brake. Last year, I had replaced the suspension springs, the snubber ring, the drive belt and the drain pump. Those repairs worked fine, but a few weeks later, the screeching noise started. So I figured it was the brake system. I thought it would be better to replace the brake rotor and stator together as a set since I was going to disassemble both and they were 18 years old anyway. I decided to replace the thrust bearing just because I had to take it apart to replace the brake components and it was also original parts.
The first things I did was unplug the washer, turn off the water lines and disconnect the water lines. I moved it away from the wall and laid it on its left side in my utility room since the was enough room to work and I didn't want to ask my wife to help lift it to move it to my garage.
Next thing I did was remove the drive belt. Then after that, I had to remove the drive pulley assembly. I removed the dust cap, retaining clip, several washers and the cam. Several of these washers came out fast and I wasn’t prepared, so I somewhat lost track of the order in which they were installed. In my case, I was not too worried because I was planning on replacing the drive pully assembly and cam after I finished the brake replacement because I had a replacement thrust bearing kit. If you do not have a new thrust bearing kit, then you need to be extremely careful in making notes on how all of the washers, cam and pulley are assembled so that you can put it back together correctly at the end. I got lucky in that respect because the washers fell out and I wasn’t exactly positive how they all fit back together. But I didn’t need to worry about since the new thrust bearing kit was actually a much simpler design to install than the original parts and Appliance Parts Pros had created a very easy to follow video for replacing the thrust bearing and pulley.
Next, I had I had thought about removing the whole tub assembly like I had last year to replace the snubber ring, but I knew that I could replace the brake without doing that because the suspension springs require a lot of force to remove and re-install. I wanted to avoid that difficult task. I didn't have a special brake removal tool, so I used quantity (6) #10-24 screws, 2 inches long, to replace the shorter screws holding on the brake stator. I took all 6 of those out one at a time and screwed in 6 of the longer ones in their place, again one at a time. I went around the circle and loosened each one a few threads at a time to gradually back the tension off of the brake spring inside the drum. As I was loosening these 6 screws, it is important to make sure that the brake stator (drum) is centered so that it will clear the hole and fit through the bottom of the washer cabinet. If you loosen the six screws and the drum is not centered, the spring inside will press the drum against the inside of the washer cabinet and you will not be able to take it off. If that happens to you, then you have to gradually re-tighten the six screws and get the brake drum centered so that it will clear the cabinet. To do this, I had my daughter go to the top side of the washer and open the lid, then push on the tub in the direction I told her so that we could get the drum centered in the opening. When she did that for me, I was able back out the six screws again gradually and the pull out worn the brake stator and rotor. Do not lose the large spring.
Then I slide the new brake rotor and stator on the shaft while re-using the original spring. I gradually tightened each of the six stator screws a few threads at a time until they were tight and the spring was compressed. Then I followed the Appliance Parts Pros video for replacing the thrust bearing. Initially, I used the thinner washer as they did in the video, but the transmission slip was just barely in spec, so I changed it to the thicker thrust washer and it was performing much better when I turned the drive pulley to check it as they show you in the video. The retaining clip is harder to get on in its slot when the thicker thrust washer is used, but you can get it installed by pulling out the shaft a little bit to expose the slot for the clip. Then after the thrust kit was installed, I just re-installed the drive belt, stood the washer back up, moved it back into its normal position, and reconnected water lines and electrical power. When I tried it, it worked and did not squeak anymore. But it did seem to vibrate more than I expected. I ended up re-levelling it again, since it had been moved, so I recommend that you do that too at the end of your project. That helped and is also important.
This project was not that difficult. I had never done these repairs before and I was successful with a little help from one other person. So anyone reading this should be able to do this also. I just wanted to share a few things I learned while doing this so that others can save some time and frustration. As of writing this, the washer has been working great for two months since I did this repair. Good luck!