LA5500XSG1 Whirlpool Washer - Instructions

placed washer on side and installed new pads
and returned washer upright

Tilt machine on its side,snap off the two retaining straps and remove the pump and sanded the shaft on the electric drive motor to remove rust ,Install new pump and retaining straps and unit now running great.

Took the agitator out and gearbox off unhook wires from motor and take off water pump, replaced the parts and put back together. Pretty easy to fix. However, I still haven't got my problem fixed. Originally the washer wouldn't spin after the rinse. I put on a new coupler and it worked for a few loads, then something smelled hot and started stinkin the house up so I opened the washer lid and smoke rolled out. Turned it off. Took the moter off and checked it and it would barely turn at all. Replaced the motor with a new one. Still wouldn't spin. Put on a new clutch assembly. Still wouldn't spin. Bought a new capacitor thinking that would do it. Still don't SPIN!!! (The ring and washer I replaced was just a casualty, not any of the problem).

I followed instructions provided from Parts Select for removing and replacing the coupler assembly, and also instructions for changing the clutch assembly. I also took it's transmission apart (socket set and flat screwdriver required), drained the old oil, cleaned it, added new 90W gear oil. The instructions covered the swapping of parts very well. Cleaning up the oil spill took as long as changing the parts.

!. 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.

Once I finally found the part I needed, the repair was very simple and took only a few minutes. Thanks to the very helpful operator to walk me through the diagram to find the corresponding number for the part. I really appreciate your help!

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.

We ordered both the motor coupling and the clutch assembly based on our troubleshooting, and because we figured both parts were inexpensive enough we might as well have them both. We initially thought it was the clutch assembly, but as we were taking the washing machine apart, we noticed that actually one of the bolts was missing completely and one had snapped in two. We then realized that the spin cycle problem was actually related to the instability of the motor because of the missing/broken bolts (they didn't even have washers!). All we had to do was replace the bolts and use a bolt extractor to get the broken bolt out, but we went ahead and replaced the clutch assembly as well for good measure. Everything ran perfectly after that! I was very skeptical to do the repair myself, but it really is easy, as long as you have someone with muscle to help out. You can also look up videos online that show you a step by step repair process for the clutch assembly, and I would highly recommend doing that so that you have a visual. It will make everything seem 100x easier.

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.

Repair went well, but my switch only had one contact on the non common end. The new switch had two contacts. One is for operation with lid open and one for lid closed. Make sure to connect to the lid closed contact and the common on the other end and leave the lid open contact unused.

The repair itself was easy. The knobs come off on the water temperature and level, you just pull them off. On the timer itself, the handle unscrews. You push the handle down and then just unscrew it. There are two screws on the front and two on the back which you remove to get access to the inside of the control panel. The timer is attached to the front of the control panel with two screws. The only thing that was unusual was that the replacement part was not identical to the original. The old timer had threads on its body. The replacement timer just had holes for self tapping screws. Fortunately, I had some self tapping screws. Installation is the reverse of removal. The most important thing to remember is to remove the electrical connector from the old timer next to the new one so you can install it exactly the same. It would probably go on backwards. Not bad for a 21 year old washing machine.

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.

Followed the video instructions. Had no problems. The video was accurate.

Followed the videos on the website. But had to order parts twice because it wasn't the springs it was the plastic bushings the tub sits on that caused the wobble. No big deal though. All told it was still far less expansive than a new machine.

Turn washer on its side unscrewed clamps used pliers to slide clamps off of two hoses connected to pump then took clips off that hold pump replaced with new pump and put new clips connected hoses and clamps on new pump turned it back upright job finished