7MDKL1501WQ0 Kenmore Washer - Instructions

!. Removed agitator from inside
2.Removed outside cabinet
3 Removed pump, motor, and transmission.
4. Slid the entire drive unit out of the tub from the bottom
5. Removed the clutch assy. and installed new.
6. Reverseed the procedure to re-assemble.

3 online people recommended tilting the machine on the side and replacing the 3 suspension springs. Someone else recommended changing the tub pads. That is the wrong approach. It is actually easier to remove the case than turn the machine on the side. Once you do it once or twice it takes less than 2 minutes and it doesn't distort the suspension. You don't even have to disconnect the hoses. When I originally examined the machine lying on it's side I saw that the tub balance spring was still attached to the tub but the other end had detached. I looked for the place to reattach it. I found a place on the glide plate. Unfortunately this was the wrong place and the machine continued to bang away. When I realized that the spring had to be attached to the lower frame rather than the glide plate (one week of looking). I even wrote to the Repair guru. Once I found my mistake the repair took 5 minutes and no tools other than the phillips screwdriver to take out the 2 screws for the case. I replaced the tub balancing spring for good measure. The machine works great.

After removing the bolt (7/16" head), and using a pair of pliers to remove the 3-4 in deep "cup", it was immediately obvious how to assemble the new cup and pawls (ratchets).

Orienting the black "bearing" was not so obvious, but on closer inspection of the illustration, it became clear. The four "ears" of the bearing go closest to the pawls. The little tabs that are co-planar to the ears fit into the four grooves of the new cup.

And here's the trick (besides making REALLY, REALLY SURE how the pawls orient)--Soak the black bearing piece in hot water to soften it up, and let it slide over the cup better. If you don't, you risk breaking it. If you do, it slides over and "clicjs" into place, with the ears resting right against the bottom lip of the cup, capturing the pawls.

Installation back into the washer is obvious.

The thing works like a charm! It hasn't worked this well for a decade!

The repair was fairly simple and while it made the spin operation quieter and and a bit more stable, it still gets out of balance. Disconnected power, shutoff supply lines and disconnected them from the unit.

Laid washer on its front and replaced the two more visible springs fairly easily from underneath using a little leverage with a 2 x 4 to take any residual tension off the springs.

Then I turned the washer over on its back (gently and with a little support (board or old thick towel) so the weight of the unit didn't rest entirely on the water intake connectors

Again, lifted the tub with 2 x 4 and disconnected the power and control connector to the motor to make a little more room to get to the spring.

If you do this, be sure to re-connect that connector before you put the washer back and test, otherwise it will fill and then sit.... I had to siphon the tank out, disconnect everything, flip it over and re-connect that power connector!! After that the unit ran better than before, especially on the spin cycle. Over all this washer is 15 years old and worn a bit so we are still careful not to overload it and balance the loading as much as possible. Large bedspreads and king size sheets or mattress covers will always spin out of balance but for 90% of regular washing it was an improvement.

First, I wrestled off the top cap of the agitator. Then, I unscrewed the bolt and took out the cam. I noticed that the agitator dogs were worn smooth. I replaced them, put it all back together and VOILA! I bought the whole agitator kit, not knowing what I was going to find, because I wasn't a Magtag repair woman. It ended up that the cam that came in the kit was too big for my washer anyway. Luckily, all I needed was 4 plastic dogs. The price of the whole kit was so inexpensive anyway, it was no big deal. Especially because, I was looking to buy a new washer or a big repair bill. This website is great! Thank you.

I thought that the lid switch was the problem why the washer would not perform the drain or spin cycle. I broke the lid switch by moving the wires around. I rigged it so my daughter could use it by screwing a screw in the switch til the new one came in. After a few days, the machine stopped working again as stated above with the motor. I purchased a new Whir-pool washer for her and later found a white wire that connects to the electric motor was burnt around the connector in that only one tiny wire was still attached. I reconnected the wire in the connector and the washer started working again.

Unplugged the appliance. turned off inlet water and removed hoses. popped the cap off hiding the bolt that keeps the agitator in place and pulled the agitator off. tipped the washer on its front . disconnected the Wire harness. removed the 3 bolts that hold the pump, motor,clutch, (drive assembly in other words). pulled the Drive assembly out of its resting spot removed the bad clutch and replaced it with the new one. then reassembled in reverse order.

Pop off the softener dispenser. Pull the cover/ seal out of the upper agitator. With 7/16" socket and extesion bar, remove bolt and pull upper agitator straight up and off. dump out old assembly and replace with new assembly. Set back in place and replace bolt. Repair kit comes with good instructions and new rubber O ring for bolt cover/ seal. (thanks).
The suspension spring takes more effort but not hard. with washer laying on face I used a piece of 2x4 to pick up the tub in the direction of the broken spring. Put the new spring through the wire hook loop and snake it through the slot in the frame and you can see how it locks in place. With the 2x4, push the tub toward the new spring until you can hook it through the slot on the tub frame. Done. Parts cost less than an estimate from a service call and I finished the job in 30 minutes, which includes unplugging the power cord, turning off the water and taking off the hoses so I could lay the washer down. Saved the website in my favorites for the same great prices and fast shipping next time.

Followed the excellent video instructions. They say you can perform the repair without removing the enclosure, but when I saw how easy it was to remove it, it definitely improves the access and speeds the repair. Have a piece of wire handy to to hold the pump assembly out of the way. Installed new clutch kit and it runs like a champ.

Removed the top cap, unbolted the agitator, lifted off the top section, removed old "dogs" and replaced new "dogs", reinstalled agitator and tested.

Took off softener dispenser, pried off top of agitator, removed bolt from top of agitator.

Then pulled out the agitator assembly for easier access.

Used screwdriver to brake small plastic keepers holding secondary agitator ratchet clutch to the secondary agitator.

Assembled and inserted new ratchet mechanism in the top of the agitator, making sure 4 small square pegs protruding from the end of the new assembly fully entered into mating holes on the secondary agitator.

Placed the agitator back on the agitator post and installed and secured bolt. Replaced cap and installed softener dispenser.

After removing the 2 phillips screws at the base of the control panel, I flipped the panel toward the back. Using a screwdriver, I popped off the spring clips, releasing the cabinet. I removed the 1/4" hex head screw on the spring mount and removed the old spring and replaced with the new. I repeated this with the other 2 springs. The spring bracket in the rear also holds the tub balancing spring. It is easily replaced while replacing the suspension spring.
If this didn't fix the problem, we were going shopping for a new washer. After this repair, it operates like new!

Remove the washer case/enclosure to expose all the internal parts. Lie on the floor and with pliers and a strong arm. Remove and replace each spring one at a time. Pretty straightforward.

While taking apart my washing machine to clean the plastic basket I discovered the 3 main seals down the agitator were completely disintegrated and water was leaking onto the motor and onto the floor. The seals are a tight fit but slide into place easily with lubrication. When putting everything back together a bit of lubrication will be necessary as well. The leak is gone and my nearly 30 year old washer is working as well as the day it came off of the assembly line.

diconnected water supply and discharge, unplugged the unit, removed the aggitator, laid the washer on it's back, romoved the hoses from the pump, took out 3 bolts, removed the motor/transmission and replaced the clutch and put it all back together.