Washing machine woes

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R

rwhite

Minister of Fire
Nov 8, 2011
1,986
North Central Idaho
My washer may just be on its last leg. I just want to see if I'm missing anything. It basically just walks around on anything other than empty. It is a direct drive maytag about 12 years old . Here is what I've done so far:
1. Checked all springs. They are attached and seem ok.
2 . Replaced all snubber pads. This seemed to improve it for about a month then it went south again. Pads are still in place.
3. Balance ring still has fluid.
4. Releveled multiple times.
5. Checked floor and structure, all is good.

Anything I'm missing? I may just have to come to terms with it being shot. Which is to bad because my previous avocado green maytag probably lasted 40 years. We just thought we would upgrade to a newer model with more capacity.
 
how loose are the legs? are the back legs self leveling style? they may have become loose
 
figure they should be tight but loose enough to self level.. Iv seem the pads fall off the feet and cause the same issue.
 
The only thing I haven't been able to check is the motor bushings. I didn't have a spanner to pull the tub.
 
Are the bearing loud when it is in spin cycle? I just replaced mine last year, not a fun job, but doable.
 
Hogwildz said:
Are the bearing loud when it is in spin cycle? I just replaced mine last year, not a fun job, but doable.
Click to expand...
Doesn't seem to be loud. It runs fine empty but with anything in it, it walks. May have to just break down and get a new one. Trying to find a large tub, agitator, with minimal gadgetry is proving difficult! I don't need 47 different cycles and water levels.
 
Did you life the lid and see if the balancing blocks are still in place?
 
If you do replace it, let us know what you go with.
 
I have Maytag, and under the top is a hard weight I thing there is another also, but I forget. They are there to help maintain balance. If the bearings were bad you would know, it sounds like a freight train during the final spin cycle. Very loud.

You can always fins simple easier used models on Facebook market or Craigslist. I think most companies still make economy no frills models without a lot of the bells & whistles. Is it a top or front loader you have?
 
If I had to buy a clothes washer now my top criteria would probably be how well the spin dry cycle works. Our present front loader spins so fast that clothes come out much drier and less clothes dryer or line time is needed. Synthetics come out feeling dry.
 
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Speed Queen and be done with it. Still made in the USA and about as solid of a machine that you can buy.
 
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Speed queen isn't what it was even last year. They redid their lines. Performance has gone way down. There are tons of YouTube comparisons of the new vs old out there.
 
EatenByLimestone said:
Speed queen isn't what it was even last year. They redid their lines. Performance has gone way down. There are tons of YouTube comparisons of the new vs old out there.
Click to expand...

I've been reading the same thing unfortunately. So far the cheapest Amana at home depot is getting the best review. I could almost buy 3 of those for the cost of the speed queen.

Wooden Head said:
It becomes more of "what can you spend on a new washer?" and then pick the best from that list.
Click to expand...

Man I wish it was that simple. We did that last time and have 57 settings that never get used. It's not so much the money as it is what we use. I'll bet in 20 years we've never used anything but the normal wash cycle. I do like the idea of no agitators for blankets and things but they all get poor reviews for cleaning really dirty clothes.
 
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rwhite said:
I've been reading the same thing unfortunately. So far the cheapest Amana at home depot is getting the best review. I could almost buy 3 of those for the cost of the speed queen.



Man I wish it was that simple. We did that last time and have 57 settings that never get used. It's not so much the money as it is what we use. I'll bet in 20 years we've never used anything but the normal wash cycle. I do like the idea of no agitators for blankets and things but they all get poor reviews for cleaning really dirty clothes.
Click to expand...

I'm going to be shopping for a washer and dryer soon. I have no clue what to look for other than we need a stackable or all in one because we don't have a very large utility room and nowhere else to put a w/d setup.
 
EatenByLimestone said:
Speed queen isn't what it was even last year. They redid their lines. Performance has gone way down. There are tons of YouTube comparisons of the new vs old out there.
Click to expand...
Not what I want to be hearing.
 
Our last Speed Queen lasted about a year - hopefully not the norm.
When we bought our latest machine we wanted something made in the USA. We ended up with a Bosch -- made in the USA. Who woulda thought?
That was about 10 years ago.
 
The top 5 for Top Load Agitator Machines are Maytag and GE. They range in price from$665 to $1230. The top 5 for Top Load None Agitator Machine is LG. The price range for these is $630 to $1440. The top rated of these is $720. ( I have this machine and it cleans just great)
For Front Load Machines the Top 5 are LG. Priced fro $810 to $1800.

These ratings are from Consumer Reports.
 
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When we were looking, speed queen was at the top of the list until I found out they'd changed them. Maytag eventually got our money as they had larger motors and good reviews. We picked up a mid level front loader.
 
Iv had good luck with a top of the line GE. Before that a Top of line Kenmore for 12 years. We use it several times a day.
 
Or dryer prob only used a handful of time since bought back in early 2000 ASko ended up being the motor bearings... Hubby took it to a local guy HUBBY HANDED OVER THE MOTOR armature only ONLY AND THE NICE GENTLEMAN INSTaLLED TWO NEW BEaRINGS FOR $10 cash after taking out the old ...ones.The man rebuilds distributors.. The dang company Asko and their parts distributors)only sold you the whole expensive motors ... also 5he pc of poo support rollers just deteriorated too. made like out of Bakelite type plastics.... go figure
oh I hang up clothes to air dry.. esp during winter it puts moisture in the air... I use solar and or wind dryers rest of the yr.
 
last year i had the same thing happen to my whirlpool. i changed the balancing ring. i balanced it 20 times because it would walk and the only thing that would hold it from going across the room was the feed hoses. there is a spring that the back feet has to make it balance so i replaced that. on that machine it only had 1 spring for counter weight balance and replaced that i ran out of thing to replace so i put 2x4 between up stairs floor joists and the washer to hold it down to buy some time to buy a new one. then the plastic outside tub sprung a leak and that was the end. 2x4's bought me 7 months time. now have the biggest top loader we could find, maytag. no agitator but a small stub that works like one. so far so good. speed is great on the spin stuff comes out much dryer so the dryer does on half of what it used to. it uses small amount of water like a front loader but uses half the power. front loders i seen take 12 amps mine takes 6
 
fbelec said:
last year i had the same thing happen to my whirlpool. i changed the balancing ring. i balanced it 20 times because it would walk and the only thing that would hold it from going across the room was the feed hoses. there is a spring that the back feet has to make it balance so i replaced that. on that machine it only had 1 spring for counter weight balance and replaced that i ran out of thing to replace so i put 2x4 between up stairs floor joists and the washer to hold it down to buy some time to buy a new one. then the plastic outside tub sprung a leak and that was the end. 2x4's bought me 7 months time. now have the biggest top loader we could find, maytag. no agitator but a small stub that works like one. so far so good. speed is great on the spin stuff comes out much dryer so the dryer does on half of what it used to. it uses small amount of water like a front loader but uses half the power. front loders i seen take 12 amps mine takes 6
Click to expand...

How does the stub do with blankets? I'm in the market for a small stackable washer dryer setup due to the small space. Never shopped for these types of appliances before, but have no need for the crazy digital smart washers.
 
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