Fixing random crap - Maytag Washer

Not gonna lie, a complete title rip off from a friend, Craig MacKay. His YouTube channel, Fixing Random Crap with Craig.

Just a few days ago our washer broke and initial checks on the internet showed most repairs cost $5-7 hundred when you take in account labor and parts. At this cost, its nearly as cost effective to buy a new one. So armed with many skills instilled by my father such as confidence, trust in myself, and a ease of picking apart crap to see how it works. I decided this would be something that I would handle on my own.

Our washer has a similar operating panel as below and after a quick search online I found how to get into the diagnosis mode. Press the three buttons at the bottom in order when the machine is off, three times. Spin, Temp, Soil - Spin, Temp, Soil - Spin, Temp, Soil. Sort of like the old Nintendo cheat codes: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. 😁

Once in you can navigate through the options to find the options for fault codes. Here I was able to find two:

• F6E3: error on a Maytag washer indicates a communication failure between the control boards or a motor-related issue, often caused by unbalanced loads.
• F7E4: error on a Maytag washer typically indicates a basket re-engagement failure, meaning the machine cannot properly shift between the wash and spin cycles. This is most often caused by a problem with the shifter assembly, but can also be due to loose or damaged wiring, or a faulty motor or control board.

The first I was not too concerned with but the second one, added with the grinding sound we were hearing when trying to operate the washer seems to be of concern.

So time to turn off the water to the machine, disconnect the power, hoses and drain and flip this baby over.

First up, I need to use a hex driver to remove the center bolt. You may need to stick another screwdriver in a hole to keep it from spinning. These are the outside magnets. Since this washed does not have belts, it spins with the use of many magnets. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or bad, you'll see why. Once that center bolt is out you can grab hold of both sides of this wheel and pull off evenly, it may be a bit difficult because it is all magnets but it will come. Once off you'll see the following:

Next up is to remove the magnet clutch and stator, first disconnect the wiring harness and then remove it from the metal bracket. You will need to press in on a couple of tabs to do this. Next will be removing 6, I believe 7mm bolts. They can be undone in any order and are quite long, so don't give up. Make sure to hold on to the assembly once they are all out so it doesn't fall.

Once that is complete you can remove the magnet clutch and the stator. They can come off as once piece but also can be removed or separated individually. Once you remove them you'll see the magnetic slider, which is just a plastic cog with a metal band attached to it. This was the problem, the metal band has broken off of the cog therefore not allowing the magnets to do their job to spin the metal band on the cog to spin the drum.

Next up, hit up Amazon to search for the part needed and order. Washer Clutch Kit Compatible with Whirlpool Maytag Kenmore Crosley, Slider Kit Replacement Part - $40

Package received a couple of days later and now was the time to backtrack the above steps to put the washer back together with the new slider.

Reattach all of the connections to the washer once put back together and run it through a test cycle.

The washer is currently going though a cycle now while I write this. I have another ~30mins before I know if it was a success or not. Update: Success, she purred like a kitten 🐈 and the clothes are washed. Now onto the backlog of laundry. I've never been so happy to hear:

Washer is complete

0:00

/6.45

1×

In total it took me about 30-60 mins to diagnose the issue, find and order the part and reinstall everything once it arrived. I think savings and time of ~$500-$700 was well worth it.