Shaft and Mode Shifter Assembly

The first attempt to fix the problem did not turn out so well. I replaced the tub bearing, split ring, tub bearing washer and the hub washer. After reassembly and testing, the loud airplane noise was still present during the spin cycle
Then I ordered and replaced the mode shifter shaft assembly and, since I was going to disassemble again, also ordered a new 6-rib belt. Once reassembled and tested, it was quieter than when it was when brand new, according to my wife.
Parts came in very quickly and the tutorials/youtubes were spot on.

Tub seal was found completely broken. Replaced it.
Then replaced tub bearing, tub bearing washer, shaft & mode shifter assembly and 6-rib drive belt.
Reassembled and tried, more quieter and like new machine.

Loosening tub nut was a challenge as it was bit corroded, use of WD40 was a great help.
Knowledge from you tube was a great help.

Took all apart.. front off,top off, took basket top off..took the basket assembley out by unhooking the four shocks. Took a picture of all wireing and fittings. Then came the most difficult. The main nut that holds the basket to the main shaft. If you do not have one of the wrenches made for that nut good luck. Between all the gunk and rusty parts around it. It would not budge. I used a pipe wrench and a 3# hammer and it wouldnt budge. It is a oppisite drive nut so it comes off in reverse as a regular one. I ordered the wrench on line to use on the new one i orderd. Had to because the nut was getting chewed up. So waiting to order the parts i needed i ground down the nut with my angle grinder.. worked well. Knowing i had to replace the main drive and bearing it wasnt that bad. Got the nut off... pulled the basket out and then the shot seal. Really looked tore up. So because of the seal leaking, the water drips down onto the main drive and thats what ruined it. Cleaned everything up really nice.. went to put the new seal in and noticed it didnt fit as tight as it should.. so i put some silicone around it and installed everything back together. Still thinking of the seal still i went ahead and finished it all and guess what. It leaked.. the seal in my opinion needs to fit over top of the plastic main bucket not just inside of it. After researching the same problem some guys said they filled the bearing seat with silicone and it helped. Others say the plastic tub needs replaced because the bearing seat is wore out.. the tub is like $70.00. The seal is $8.00. So, what to do? Buy another tub and seal and hope the seal fits in tight, or gob alot of silicone on the seal and older tank and see.. the washer new was like $600.00. Been dicontinued now. The main shaft assembley was $160.00... seal$8.00.. the tool for $15.00...misc stuff still comes out to $200.00 . Now to buy a new tub? Is it worth it or not.. we'll see

Followed instructions from video for shaft and mode shifter assembly and tub bearing, all went as in video except extremely difficult to remove tub nut. Could not get nut to loosen and when it did finally move it was spinning the whole shaft, had to have the shaft held with a pipe wrench from underneath (2nd person). The tub seal was another issue, removal was easy just as in the video but because water had gotten inside the seal it caused the internal metal of the seal to corrode and rust which deformed the old seal and the plastic of the tub where the seal sits. There was no way the new seal would go in and be tight enough to seal so I put a hose clamp around it, heated the plastic with a heat gun just enough to be able to tighten the clamp several times, let it cool and removed the clamp. It held its shape and the new seal went in snug so I proceeded with the reassembly. Test ran the washer and checked for leaks, no leaks. It has been a week now and approximately 10 loads of clothes cleaned, all is good.

Followed videos on partselect.com for changing tub bearing. Video does very good job of showing steps required. Repair would be easy if washer was new. First problem was conical tub nut could not be loosened even applying penetrating oil and heat. Finally resorted to 1/2" drive pneumatic impact gun (wrench) which hammered about 10 seconds before the nut came loose. Had to purchase 1-11/16 deep well 6 point impact socket at cost of about $30 for this task. Second difficulty was removing tub seal whose exterior rubber coating had apparently failed and the seal internal metal parts corroded causing it to expand. The tub seal had to be beat out from the bottom side using a drift. The next difficulty was removing the tub bearing which had corroded from minor leakage through the tub seal. Corrosion made the tub bearing outside diameter (OD) larger so it could not be removed using the method in the video. The outer tub bottom side was supported as close to the center as best possible and a socket just smaller than the tub bearing OD was placed on top of the bearing and was used to drive (hammer) the tub bearing out. There was a lot of cleaning necessary especially on the inner tub conical fit areas where tub rides on the split ring and hub nut. During reassembly the tub seal did not have a press fit into the tub; it was barely finger tight. I suspect the tub had permanently distorted in the seal area because the old tub seal had corroded and expanded. So silicone sealant was applied to the outside diameter of the tub seal to assure no leakage around the seal. I allowed that to cure overnight to be certain the seal would not move when inserting the shaft and mode shifter through the seal. A very light oil was applied inside the tub bearing. The last problem found was when tightening the bolts holding the base frame to the outer tub the base frame was pulled to one side so the mode shifter was not concentric with the base frame. This would place a side load on the mode shifter shaft and tub bearing. This was resolved by placing a 1/16" thick washer between one leg of the tub and base frame which maintained the base frame concentric to the mode shifter as the tub to base frame bolts were tightened. The repair is conceptually easy to perform but was challenging due to corrosion and detergent residue from 11 years operation. Now the washer rotating parts are essentially new, the repaired assembly is probably better than the original factory assembly, and the washer should operate for another ten years before the mode shifter bearing goes out again. A longer repair than anticipated but time and money well spent. Being retired helps.

Followed the video guidance supplied by this site