Working on a washing machine...is this easy?

[daveleau]

Hi everybody!

I was recently given a washer and dryer set and the only thing that is wrong with either is that the washer's water pump needs to be replaced. Supposedly it costs about $200-$250 to have done by a repair man, but this sounds like it isn't too difficult of a job. Is this a correct assumption? Can the average decently mechanically inclined person replace a water pump in a washing machine? The set is relatively new (less than 5 years) but is out of warranty and ...hey...it was free...

Thanks for any info.
Dave

Estate by Whirlpool
Heavy Duty, large capacity 5 cycle washer
1/2 HP motor
Light blue top portion w/ white body

[fyxxer32]

Right up my alley. Pump ,here, costs about $45. Time to do it by me, a professional, 30 minutes. You maybe 45-60 minutes. A really easy way to show you is by this link. Yours is what we call a direct drive model. Fix it yourself.
http://www.applianceaid.com/procedures.html#remove

Need more help? Just holler.Most likely your pump is part #3363394 and looks like this:
http://store.yahoo.com/a-1appliance/dirdrivpum.html

There might be water in it so have a way to catch it, i.e. towels or wet dry vac.

One thing, what are the symptoms, I mean what doesn't it do? Or shall I say , what does it do?Just because they say it's the pump doesn't make it so.

[daveleau]

Well, it leaks. It started as a trickle and now is a fairly heavy amount of water. The guy who gave them to me (he just got married and this was the worst of the two sets from the couple) said that he had a local guy come by and look at it and his diagnosis was the WP. What should I look for to discount or affirm this diagnosis?

GREAT INFO! Thanks!!!
Dave

[jerrygarcia]

Fyxxer came over to my house and fyxxed my washer. The same symptoms, water leak. What had happened to me was my daughter left a silver necklace in her pocket and it got caught up in the pump.

[daveleau]

(I just noticed, I flew up to KC today in our training mission. We usually do not use that route, but with Isador off the coast we were forced to do so...)

Thanks for the info.
Dave

[fyxxer32]

Most likely if a tech said it was the pump , it probably is. If you want to check for yourself, get it into someplace where water on the floor won't hurt. Find a place to plug it in, put a large piece of cardboard or newspaper under it. Put water in it , you can just stick one of the fill hoses into the top, you don't have to hook it up. Put it on wash, let it fill until it starts to agitate. Shine a light under to watch for a leak. It might only leak when it spins but if it leaks alot you'll know pretty quick. Stop it, lean it back, look carefully. Usually if the pump is leaking you'll see rust/soapy water stains on the lower clip that holds the pump.

By the way , the "blue" top is probably a blue film left on the console from when it was new, peels right off.

[necromancer]

I priced a pump for a waser a couple months ago. It was like $ 180 just for the pump. I hope you find one cheaper.

They are easy to replace.

[daveleau]

lol, you were right about the light blue coating...

[Warthog]

Right up my alley.

haha sweet! You get more help than you bargain for at TechIMO

I did one on my washer last year - a Fischer & Paykel (or however ya say it). It's over 10 years old, but it runs really well. Putting the hairy dog blankets in the washer too often messes up the pump, though

This model the pump just twist off after you remove a clip, so it's dead easy to replace.

Hope the Whirlpool is easy too.

Cheers
Mick