Some time ago, a friend of ours decided that he wanted a new washer/dryer combination. So he bought them. Leaving him with the question of what he was going to do with his old machines. He answered that question by giving them to me and my family. Sweet setup, too. It’s a Maytag Neptune stacked full-sized washer and gas dryer. And up until last week it worked like a champ. The only glitch so far has been that it vibrates really hard and makes a noise like a speeding locomotive during all of the spin cycles. We looked into having that corrected by a lonely Maytag repairman, and learned that it would cost in the neighborhood of $900 to replace the bearings and the tub.
So we decided we could live with the train noise.
Last week, the washer stopped on me, apparently in the middle of the last rinse cycle (the clothes inside were more damp than usual). I emptied the washer and tried running it without clothing inside. It now starts to fill, but stops the entire cycle after about five minutes… And a lot of water is coming out the side of the washer. I looked to see it fill with the door open, and holding the interlock switch with my finger. It appears that most of the water is going onto the ground, and a small amount is getting into the tub.
A look at the troubleshooting chart behind the wiring access panel suggests that the control board is programmed to shut the machine down if the tub isn’t filled with enough water by a certain point in the timer cycle. Is this correct? If it is, would this suggest that the problem is in a hose (either cracked, or vibrated off of its fitting)?
I’m trying to decide if it’s worthwhile to bring in a plumber or appliance repair person to remove the back skin of the washer and gain access to the internal hose connections (the external ones are visibly NOT leaking).
Is there any reason you can’t take the back panel off yourself, and start a cycle while you look to see where the water is coming from? Just remember to unplug it before you reach in if you think it’s something you can fix yourself after seeing it.
How much is your time worth?
How much money would you save in energy costs with a new washer?
How old is the washer? If you fix this, how long until the next major problem appears?
I say open her up and see if you can fix on your own. If not, buy a new one.
A low cost, easy thing you could do, before you call in an repair man, is to run a program to clean the inside of the washer. Lots of problems with washing machines are caused by buildup of chalk deposit, soap remains, dirt and decaying organic matter clogging up parts.
I use an HG product(costs 5 bucks) every three months. This review suggests it might solve several of the problems you mention with your washer, at one stroke.
In a pinch, you could do the same thing with an hot program (100 degrees) no laundry, with a bit of chlorine.But that is no where near as effective.
Just below the control panel is a small panel (the width of the machine and about five inches high) that is held in with two screws. Opening it up reveals an access space with the connectors that lead to both the washer and dryer controls. And, of course, tucked inside is a paper with wiring diagrams for both appliances.
For what its worth, I have a very old Maytag Washer (20yrs or so). The front panel is inset about a half inch about four inches from the botton m of the panel. There are two Phillps head sheet metal screws, one in each corner. Romve those screws and the front panel is loose. There are two sheetmetal screws anchoring the panel to the frame in the upper corners. Reove these and you can pop off the front. I have never had and electrical problems. All the porblems could be fixed from the front. The water inlet hose keeps getting loose so I duct tapped it in place. The pump can get clogged with a sox but you csn feel the obstruction in the line to the pump. Remove the hose clamp and fish out the sox. Do not bother messing with the tub itself. You can remove the top but you can’t get at anything of use, and you have to realign the clamp carefully. If the bearings are shot, you can poobably observe the wobble on the shaft as ther tub rotates. Stand well clear of the tub and shaft because there are things hanging out which can ruin your day. Look for signs of water on the electrical motor. If this gets wet, it could short out and really ruin your day.
The more I think about it, If the bearings are shot, it isn’t worth messing with it. There’s a lot of torque in a tub of wet laundry. Be careful.
On the subject of vibration: it may reduce the noise somewhat if you put the washer on a stall mat. A stall mat is a super-heavy-duty rubber mat used in horse stalls to give them a comfortable standing surface. They’re made to endure horses standing on them all day, so they’re mighty tough. Buy one ($20-40 or so), cut it to size, and put it under your washer. I’ve read of folks who have vibration-prone washers who do this setup on the second story of a house (the noise gets seriously amplified if the washer’s on an upper story), and it pretty much eliminates it. Worked for my dad’s Whirlpool, too.