Water Inlet Valve with Mounting Bracket

Removed the top and back panels. Replaced
compoments and reassembled.
Test run machine. Ran like new!

My washing machine became slower and slower to fill over the past several months. It also made a loud squeeling noise during fill-up (all this was on the cold water side only). I removed the old water inlet valve and tore it down, expecting to find corrosion or trash that was blocking the valve from opening completely. Turned out to that the rubber diaphragm / seal was permanently "kinked", making it difficult to open the valve. The hot water seal was fine, but to make sure, I swapped them and re-assembled the washer. Now the problem was with the hot water, confirming what I thought. I ordered a new water inlet valve on Monday night and received it Wednesday! Installed it within 30 minutes and it works perfectly now. I am very pleased with PartSelect.com. I will definitely be a repeat customer, but hopefully it won't be anytime soon. ;)

To discover what the problem was, I intially tested the inlet valve by blowing into both sides - discovering that the cold side was stuck in the open position. The hardest part was removing the back of the machine. First, you unscrew the top plastic part which contains the controllers by phillips head on either side. Then you pop the clips out with a large slot screwdriver, then at the bottom, a nutdriver or large slot screwdriver there are two nuts to remove. The valve itself took a small nutdriver and pliers to remove the hose. Took less than 20 mintues to complete repair. Washing works like new now.

I took everything apart and put in the new inlet valve. Tried to run the washer and it was still not stopping when filling. I looked more into it and the tube that comes up from the wash basin to the load size selector switch was disconnected and that was the real problem. If this happens to you, I suggest first looking under the control panel at the clear tube and ensuring that it is connected to the switch. Then if that is connected it is probably the inlet valve. There are helpful installation videos that can be found on the part select website that I would recommend looking at before taking things apart because it will make it much easier.

The hot water worked fine on the washer. The cold water would sometimes work/fill the tub, but would only produce a trickle of water at other times.

There were 2 screws to remove at the top back of the washer (attaching the console) two nut screws at the bottom left and right and another bottom center. There were also two screws on front of the console attaching it to the top of the washer. All of those are easy to remove.

The water dispenser (this is the opaque plastic part that fills the tub) has two rigid/hard plastic tabs that hold it to the back of the washer. They were difficult to move/push into the slots to release. It is probably a better idea to push the water dispenser down a bit and jiggle it off the top of the tub then to try and slide those plastic attachments over and down out of the slots on the back of the washer. I spent the most time doing that than anything else.

Also do not forget to detach the rigid steel clips that hold the console on top of the washer, a standard screwdriver or pliers work fine.

Unscrewed (with socket wrench) the mounting plate for the water inlet valve and pulled off the electrical connectors. Had a bit of trouble holding the hose clamp and pulling out the nozzle, but got it. I used pliers for this, but think in retrospect a vice grip would have been easier.

Put the new part in (it came with an installation sheet, very easy to follow) and remounted/hooked everything back up again. Reattached the back of the washer, screwed everything back in and put the console back on the top and screwed that in. Remember to put the steel clips back in that you remove in the beginning, otherwise the console will be loose.

Attached the Hot water hose, then the cold, turned on the water connections from the house and plugged the washer back in.

After pushing it back into position, I turned it on using the cold setting. A big glob of gray sediment shot out and the cold water was gushing in a lot stronger than it ever did before. Hot water came in faster too.

It fixed the problem. Working great now.

Before ordering part, took the old valve out to make sure it looks similar to the one described online by Partselect. After ordering online, put things back together since I expected delivery would take 5-7 days. That night the water stopped dripping and has been OK ever since. I suspected that there was some rust in the electrical connections. By disconnecting and reconnecting the terminal, the electrical connection is better and water stopped dripping. Still keep the new part just in case (which came overnight after I ordered it).

First I disconnected power.

Next I turned off the hot and cold water supply hose bibs.

Once that's done, I pulled out the washing machine to get to the hose connections on the back of the machine, removed and drained the residual water in the hoses.

Note: Since the hoses were fairly new, I reused the supply hoses but replaced the rubber washers. However, if your hoses are older than a couple of years, it's cheap insurance to go ahead and replace since you're right there.

Next was to remove the two end caps of the control unit on top of the machine. This exposes the two screws that is then removed so that the control panel can rotate up and back.

Once the panel is open, I removed the single connector attached to the top of the machine. This leads to the lid open switch.

Followed by removing the two spring clips with the help of a flat blade screwdriver and pliers to keep the clips from flying off.

Once the clips are removed, the top/front shell of the washer is free to rotate foward. At this point, it can be removed or just laid to the side (forward).

This opens up the area to be serviced.

Disconnect the quick release wire connectors, taking note that the red connector is for the hot water control valve solenoid. disconnect the mix hose going to the tub from the valve by using pliers to disengage the hose clamp (catch the residual water with a sutable container). Then I removed the old valve assembly by removing the two screws holding the assembly to the back panel.

Follow the instructions enclosed with the part to preassemble and install the valve.

Reassemble by reversing the process. Check for leaks, test hot and cold water cycle and you're done.

It actually took me more time to gather my tools and pull out the washing machine than the actual replacement of the part!

Oh, by the way, I've purchased parts from PartSelect.com many times. Each and every time has been an outstanding experience. Quality parts, fast shipping and great prices! It's always been a pleasure!

I ordered the parts at a minimal cost compared to the repairman's quote, they arrived in 3 days. I used the laptop and put it right next to where I was working so that I could follow the directions step-by-step. The instructions were easy to follow and showed you right what to do so I never had any questions. My washer had a slightly different configuration but I figured it out. Replacing the parts was simple, take one off, put the other on. Putting the washer front back on was a little tricky, I had to have my daughter help me hold it in place while I wiggled it around to make sure it was just right before I screwed it back together. It was easier than I thought it would be. I told my husband I loved the internet, I would never have been able to do this job without the instructional video. Thanks PartsSelect!

I'd noticed for a while that our 15-year-old Kenmore washer was filling slowly, but when it started to take 30 minutes to fill to the "medium" level, I knew something was really wrong. There was plenty of water pressure, so I replaced a hose that was loaded with minerals and cleaned the filter (also clogged with minerals). But that didn't help! So I ordered a new water inlet valve, and replaced that. There's nothing tricky about the repair -- the hardest part is opening and closing the washer, for which I found instructions online. (Even so, it's the most time-consuming part of the project.) The result is the washer now fills as fast as when it was new. Just for fun, I took apart the old valve and expected to find it encrusted with minerals, but it looked fine, so I'm not sure where the actual breakdown was. But since the part only cost $25 -- less than a service call, for sure -- I was very happy to use a half hour of my time and keep the machine going a while longer.

First, be sure to take the washer apart properly! The first time I fixed my washer I took it apart the hard way to change the clutch, and believe me it took longer to put it back together!
This time I was replacing both the water inlet valve and the hose leading to the disperser.
First remove the two screws holding down the control panel. It then flips back and hangs out of the way behind the washer. Then remove the spring-clip holding the rear plate to the body of the washer, one on each side under the control panel.
Next you need to remove the screws holding the body down to the base at the rear of the machine.
I then tipped the body of the washer forward and let it rest on a bucket so I didn't have to take it completely off. Then it is easy to access the hose and the water inlet valve. Shut off the water and remove the supply hoses to the washer. Remove the two screws holding the water inlet valve to the rear of the washer using a nut driver. Next remove the wires to teh inlet valve, making sure to note which one is cold and hot, and which orientation they are. Mine was yellow on top and brown on bottom. Next remove the springs clamps holding the hose on. Replace the hose re-using the same clamps. Replace the water inlet valve reverse the process to re-assemble the washer. Tilt the body back on, put the screws in the base, clamp the back to the body, flip the contorl panel back over and insert the screws. Reattach the water supply lines and you are done!