7MDKL1501WQ0 Kenmore Washer - Instructions

The hardest part of this job was pulling the machine away from the wall so the hoses could be disconnected and the machine flipped onto it's back. Putting the machine on it's back does two things. It drains the water left in the bottom of the tub so it won't pour out onto the motor when the old pump is removed, and gives the necessary access to the pump. Once the machine is on it's back you remove the hose clamps with a pair of pliers and disconnect the hoses. The pump is secured to the motor with a pair of spring steel retaining clips which are easily popped off by hand. Once the clips are removed, the pump is in your hand. Put the new pump in place, replace the retaining clips and hoses, and you're done. This has to have been the easiest repair I've ever done. I wish cleaning gutters was this easy.

researched potential causes, found cluch dust under the washer and determined that it wouldn't engage because clutch was too worn. ordered the assembly, removed agitator from inside the tub as it is connected to the gear shaft, turned washer on it's back for access to motor, unattached the direct drive water pump from the motor drive, unbolted the 3 gearcase mounting bolts and took the entire gearcase, shaft, motor, etc... together, out from under the washtub. the clutch slides off the gearshaft with a little fidgeting and the new assembly is easily installed where the previous was. put everything back together... then... spin spin! worked perfectly

If you load a washing machine unevenly, it will spin out of balance. But our washer seemed to make noise during the spin cycle regardless of how the load was distributed. I suspected that the suspension or balancing springs were getting tired, and ordered a replacement set.

First I disconnected the washer from the water and power supply, then I laid it on its back.

The tub rested on the back of the washer, making two of the three suspension springs relax, and they were pretty easy to pull out with pliers. After the first two were out, I had to support the tub with a couple 2x4s to relax the third suspension spring.

Installation was the reverse of removal - install the lower suspension spring, remove the 2x4s, then install the two other suspension springs.

The tub balancing spring was easy to replace, and probably wasn't the cause of the problem.

With $25 in parts and about 15 minutes, my washer spins much more quietly.

I removed the two screws on the back of the control panel. The control panel then flips back. The switch is on the left side. To remove the switch, I first detached the wire to the control panel and unscrewed the grounding wire. The new switch drops right in. I had a little trouble getting it in until I realized the washer lid had to be open. A little awkward but once it's in you can shut the lid and then I reattached the wire from the control panel and screwed in the grounding wire. Pretty easy. $20 for the part (with shipping) and 15 minutes. Way cheaper than a repairman.

Diagnosing the problem was the toughest part. I originally called a repair man - described to him the problem and he said it was most likely the transmission (gearbox)... of course that is one of the most expensive parts! I asked him if it was maybe the clutch... he said there was no clutch.. only a brake... I knew he was wrong after researching. The fact that the washer would agitate fine and spin very light loads but not spin anything heavy told me it was NOT the gearbox.. or the brake.. it was the clutch.. it had to be... so I called the repair man and canceled the appointment I had made then ordered the clutch assembly. Showed up very quickly. Now to the repair. I realized that I did not have to take apart the cabinet section of the washer.. I only needed access to the bottom. My washer - a 5 year old Whirlpool Gold Ultimate Care II had just a piece of foam blocking off the bottom of the washer... Easy access... I disconnected the hot and cold water and the drain tube. I removed the hot and cold water tubes from the back of the washer also so they would not get crushed when I laid the machine on its back. I unplugged the washer also. The drain tube I left connected to the washer.. I was afaid of it getting crushed while on its back, so I bunched up a large towel put it on the floor and tilted the washer slowly back onto it... the towel was enough of a spacer to keep the drain hose from getting crushed. I used a couple pieces of Duct Tape to hold the lid shut while on its back. I then removed the foam insert on the bottom. Then I unplugged the wiring harness. and a single wire that had a spade connector in the same area. I then removed the clips from the plastic water pump and slid it off the motor (I used Duct Tape again to suspend the water pump up and out of my way while I proceeded) I did NOT have to remove the motor from the gearbox. I used a socket wrench and unbolted the 3 gearbox bolts. I was able to take the whole unit, gearbox and motor out in one piece.. it slid right out (you will have to unscrew the the bolt in the top of the agitator/dispenser shaft - then the gearbox unit with the shaft will slide right out, I did this before I put the washer on it's back) Once it was slid out, I removed the clutch then reinstalled the same way I took it off. The only hard part was the circular wire retainer install for the clutch. It CAN all be done .. I ended up using 2 screwdrivers to put the new retaining ring into the new clutch assembly.. One screwdriver would hold down part of the retaining ring and the other I used to continue pushing the ring into place.. don't give up! You will get it in.. even with normal tools (This was the hardest part of the whole install) It took me 5 minutes with some force and fiddling. I also swapped in the new plastic piece that came with the clutch assembly... you will see where it goes... the old plastic piece looked fine, but I changed it out anyways - it hooks the clutch to the brake system it looks like. After the new clutch assembly was installed I just put it all back together the way I took it apart. One thing I will add was I was not sure if the clutch had to be lined up when I slid the shaft back into the washer.. It does not have to be.. It will align itself automatically. You know when you hear that click/pop when the washer is about to spin?.. well that is that plastic piece engaging with the clutch... there was a piece or two that fell off the shaft when I had removed it.. While sliding the shaft back into the washer I had to just put the pieces back on the shaft before I put the bolt back into the top of the agitator/shaft...

Summary:
Get the washer on its back - unplugged!
remove wire(s) Harness from motor
remove water pump
unbolt 3 bolts holding the gearbox
slide gearbox and motor out as one piece ( a bit heavy)
remove and replace clutch assembly (pay attention to how things are removed)

Done! put it all back together... hope that helps. It worked perfect for me.. and m

Took some online research to figure out how to get the cabinet off. Once inside I fitted the wear pads which were a breeze to remove using a knife blade to pry them up and removing them using the screwdriver. The springs were replaced one by one using strong fingers. The machine went through the spin cycle without any rocking or self-destruct noises.

Pried off the agitator cap. Removed the bolt. Removed the agitator. In the process of separating the agitator from the base, a plastic tab broke off which concerned me. BUT, in the directions with the part it explains that the 2 tabs are for factory assembly and to break both of them off. Broke off the second tab and reassembled. My 18 year old Kenmore is back in action.

I removed the two spring clips that hold the pump and two wire spring clips that hold the hoses. Then I had to pry the pump off the shaft (it was frozen with rust). Then I cleaned the shaft with sandpaper and installed the new pump (which, by the way, came the next day, thank you very much) which made my wife very happy, and I thank you for that , too.

I thought I would find broken springs but everything looked good. Comments and video very helpful.I figured springs must be stretched or worn out ,so for the money I figured worth a try. Insallation went well, washingmachine runs like a new machine. Much better than spending money on a new one. Thanks

Removed the gearbox from the drum and removed the direct drive motor from the gearbox. Disassembled gearbox and drained gear oil. Rebuilt the neutral drive assembly with the ordered parts. Cleaned sealing surfaces. Filled gearbox with new gear oil. Sealed and re-installed the top cover to the gearbox. Reattached motor and then reinstalled assembly to drum and clutch (installed new clutch lining at this time as well).

Laid the washer on its back and found leak in water pump. Found out it was caused by vibration from motor with bad bearing. Removed pump and motor which were held on by clips. Both were removed and replaced without removing cabinet from machine.

First I removed the fabric softener container and set it aside. Below that, there is a plastic cover with a rubber gasket that distributes the fabric softener. I also just pulled that out and set it aside. Below that was an 11mm bolt that attached the upper and lower agitator to the drive mechanisim. The lower agitator is attached directly to the shaft and that was working properly so I knew it was't a motor or drive issue. Until it broke, the top half of the agitator sat still for a second, then it turned clockwise with the lower agitator. This helped push the clothes down to the lower part to be circulated throughout the wash cycle. Well, now the upper agitator just sat there, like it wasn't attached to anything at all. Below the aforementioned plastic cover with the rubber gasket, I found a part that had 4 plastic "teeth" that moved in and out, releasing and grabbing the inside of the upper agitator, respectively. Over time, these teeth wore down and stopped "grabbing" the ridges on the inner part of the upper agitator, causing it to stop turning with the lower agitator. I removed the 11mm bolt and tried to seperate the upper agitator from the lower agitator to replace the teeth. This part was kind of tough to get out because the plastic clips that held it in were deformed. I just had to pull hard and eventually it came apart. In the process, I broke two of the clips. I wasn't really concerned because the 11mm bolt holds everything in place anyway. After that I just swapped out the worn teeth with the new ones. I put it back together in the opposide order I took it apart and viola....good as new. And it only cost me $15 bucks.

I have to admit that before attempting to replace the clutch, I had no clue how to do it. With the help of the diagram of the parts, I was able to access from the internet at PartSelect.com. I felt comfortable enough to attempt the repair because the diagram was easy to read and accurate.

Everything had to be accessed from the bottom of the machine. I tipped the machine backwards enough get under it. To replace the clutch, I had to remove the motor drive. To do so, I disconnected the electrial to the drive motor by simply unconnecting the quick connect harness. I then removed two screws from the two retainer brackets located one on top and one on the bottom. Once this was done the motor drive simply dropped down. I then removed the three bolts holding the gear case to the tub. I had to remove one bolt from inside the tub underneath the fabric softner dispenser. Once this was done the gear case slid out. The clutch sit on top of the gear case. I then simply removed the old clutch and installed the new clutch by reversing the process. The only real difficulty that I had was with the retainer ring. Once done, I reinstalled the gear case and motor drive. I would suggest replacing the direct-drive coupling at this time. I had earlier replaced the coupling hoping to solve the problem. The coupling was redesigned and is more likely to last longer than the orginal coupling.

Remove the washing machine cabinet. Use a large flat head screwdriver to pry/wedge the tub suspension apart and gain access to the pad locations one at a time. My old pads were completely gone, so there was no need to remove them. Clip the new pads into place and re-install the cabinet.

This completely solved the violent chaking problem. There was no need to replace springs.

Disconnected the bracket screws that held the suspension springs in place - fed new springs into bracket and reattached. Local repairman told me that springs dont wear out, they break - wrong, they do lose their tension and thereby lose the ability to counterbalance the spinning load. Washing machine now spins like new - no wobble or shake.