79640272900 Kenmore Washer - Overview

Removed the top of the washer by removing the 4 back screws and 2 small brackets. Then I removed the front panel, this was actually the hardest part, 2 screws and 8 tabs that you pop out carefully from the top of the panel. I only disconnected the power button and was able to rest the panel on top of the washer. The rest of the washer came apart quickly just moving down the front of the washer and removing the door, latch, tub gasket, drain cover. Removing the pump was just a mater of disconnecting the drain hoses, and one clip under the drain assembly. 3 screws attach the drain to assembly to the pump and only 2 wires that are clearly marked. Reassembly is just going back through in reverse order of disassenbly. The best thing about this is that it all comes apart with a standard phillips screwdriver.

I first tested the motor per the service manual. I checked the resistance between the terminals of the 3 pin connector. It's supposed to be 5-15 ohms. The motor checked out so I replaced the main electrical board. It turns out that wasn't the problem. After a brief web search I found out that the hall sensor (which is attached to the motor stator) was the likely cause of the failure. I replaced that and everything works great now. And now I have a spare main board in case that ever fails. I also want to mention that I took the time to remove the dispenser box (where the water comes in and is directed to the different cleaning products) and cleaned it with a very strong bleach solution. It got rid of the mildew and funky smell. It seems that the fabric softener caused a lot of mildew to form inside the dispenser directly above the fabric softener tray. The bleach took care of that. This is probably something that should be done routinely to keep the mildew from forming.

Watched a short video to figure out to remove panels. After panels were off I removed as much as I could from the inside of the machine. This was not completely necessary however for an extra half hour it made inspection, cleanup and removal of tub housing out the front of the machine much easier. Once out, I split the two halves of the outer basin and sprayed the spider shaft with penetrating oil. Using a brass drift I did have to get a bit aggressive to drive spider shaft out, then I used a heavy metal punch to hammer out the bearings. For those who may not know using brass or a soft metal will keep from damaging reusable parts. At this point it was cleanup time, with dish soap I scrubbed the two halves of the outer basin and the wash basin itself then used emery cloth on the bearing casing and spider shaft. I am a firm believer if u take the time to cleanup properly things go back together much easier. At this point I began to reassemble, replacing tub bearings and seal, the wash basin then putting the two halves of the outer basin back together. I strongly recommend replacing gasket for the halves of the outer basin, for as much as it takes to get there it is money well spent to up the chances of a leak free system. Now with the wash tub back together it was time to reset the tub and hook everything back up. I skipped a lot of steps but if a person pays attention, takes pictures if they have to, even numbers lines with a sharpie it is a very easy repair. Very easy but very time consuming. I am DIY’er, in all I spent about ten hours over two days to do this job. Thus being said I am very particular spent a lot of time cleaning, scrubbing looking at as many wear points and checking for rubbed wires. Hope this helps someone out there, definitely not a strong writer or like doing it. Oh one other thing, I ordered the shocks on the bottom side of wash tub just because I guess not thinking they were bad just thinking I could help tune it up. Was surprised to find the old ones were completely shot, was glad I ordered new ones. After repairs, noise is gone and machine is quiet again. Thank you, your website is very easy to find parts and order.