Drive Belt - 6 ribs 134051000

First I turned off the water and disconnected the hoses. I took off the back panel and unscrewed the 4 bolts holding the motor in place. The grounding screw was impossible to remove, so I had to cut the wire off. Took out motor and disconnected the electrical connector. Put new motor in (ordered new belt, figuring it would need replacing - was still in excellent shape, but replaced it anyway), bolted in the motor (socket set works best on further away bolts, screwdriver for closer ones). Put the belt on the motor first and then pulled it up over the side of the tub and turned the tub to get it around the whole tub - took alittle bit of turning to get it on. Plugged in electrical connector and screwed grounding wire into hole. Replaced back panel and water hoses. Got a bit dirty and sweaty but not too hard to do it yourself, as I am a 48 yr woman and don't usually do this kind of thing.

I did my best to stretch the belt out and as I wrapped it around the pulley one hand was preventing the belt from slipping off and the other hand had the screwdriver to use as Leverage to stretch and slip the belt on the other side of the pulley. One thing that I saw but didn't try was to use zip ties to temporarily hold the belt in place so it didn't slip off that may have helped.

1. replaced (2) shocks, remove bottom cover 2. (1) spring and rib belt, used a wooden block to hold up drum , rolled out ld belt and rolled in new----remove top and rear covers after replaced same ---thanks..

disassembled cabinet to access, repl'ed switch with repl'mt sw. and harness provided. Instructions provided with repl'mt sw. made install very easy.

Pulled the back off and it was right there. Hardest part was to get the belt all the way around the drive wheel on the washer tub. Found out that it wasn't just the belt. It is the shock absorbers that probably broke the belt, even though the belt was probably well over 15 years old. The bouncing and banging because of the absorbers being bad probably had something to do with the belt eventually breaking. Now, we need to replace the shock absorbers.A big thing to remember about the belt install....clean the drive wheel real good!!!

The hardest part was moving the stacked washer/dryer from the alcove. I found the instruction videos from this site accurate and helpful.

After disconnecting the water/gas/electrical connections:
Shock Absorbers:
-Remove front service panel
-Squeeze lock tab on shock absorber pins and gently tap out of sockets
(inserting a small screw driver kept tab depressed when starting)
(lower left is pretty easy due to clear access)
(right side is more difficult)
-Optional: remove drain boot on lower right to improve access
(squeeze spring clamp and wiggle off of connection then work boot off of nipple)
(I did this step but in the end discovered it was not necessary, as I ended up taking the back panel off of the washer to replace the belt)
-Position new shock absorber in mounting brackets
-Manually extend shock absorbers to line up with pin holes
-Tap pins into place
(For lower right, the pin was captured by the circuit board enclosure. I was able to remove it but ended up removing the two mounting screws for the enclosure to reinstall the lower shock absorber pin)
-Reinstall drain boot & spring clamp
-Replace front service panel

Drive belt:
-Remove back panel of washer (multiple phillips head screws around perimeter)
-Remove old belt by pulling toward you and rotating drum
-Position new belt on motor pulley
-Position new belt on drum pulley
-Zip tie new belt to drum pulley to keep it engaged as you rotate the drum
(new belt will likely be much tighter than old belt)
-With belt installed on both pulleys, clip zip tie
-Rotate drum multiple times to ensure belt is centered and tracking properly
(if needed, the belt can be manipulated in/out while rotating drum to ensure engagement on drive (motor) pulley)
-Replace back panel
-Put unit back in service