If you know us, you know that we’ve had endless maintenance issues with the “new” house. Well, last weekend was one of the few maintenance jobs involving something we already had. For several months, our front-load washing machine has sounded like an airplane taking off, taxiing the runway, and landing. Really loud. We always knew when laundry was running, because the spin cycles could be heard throughout the house. Even the regular wash cycles produced a pleasant grinding noise.

Last weekend Liisa was out of town, so it was the perfect time to fill the laundry/mud room with washer components. YouTube and Google DIY at its best. Off came the top panel, control panel, front panel/door. Disconnect all the wires and hoses from the drum. It was actually not too bad to disassemble, taking pictures as I go, of course, to keep track of things. Then it came to removing the drum.

In all my research, the grinding noises most likely were coming from the motor bearings in the back. I had already found a new bearings and seal replacement kit online for a decent price. These were sitting on a shelf nearby, as I was removing screws, hoses, and wires, all while hoping this effort was going to be worth it. The drum assembly had to be removed from the frame to access the bearings at the back. This step actually took me a couple hours, and it was during that time I realized that this was probably a two-person job. After some finagling and contorting, I got the drum out.

I had watched a very good DIY time-lapsed video for the entire process, but I had to find a better detailed video for removing the bearings. I transported the drum-basket assembly to the garage, where I propped it on some storage tubs. A quick trip to the hardware store bought me some extra wrench pieces and a sledge hammer. Yes, a four-pound hammer to wield at the back side of the drum to get the bearing—no, two bearings out. Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a lengthy task and thought, Man, I really hope this works? But hey, if this worked, it was going to save us several hundred dollars for new laundry machines.

So yes, I swung the hammer. Several times. A DIYer on YouTube really helped though, with making a contraption from wrench and socket parts to knock those bearings out. And the front bearing was pretty nasty. So was the seal, which had obviously been leaking for some time. The back bearing was in surprisingly good shape though, and water had not leaked through to the stator. So really, this was the best the situation could be.

Below is a look at the rusted out front bearing and neighboring seal. That second bearing was the rear one, which is what the front bearing should look like.

Since I had all the pieces laying around, I took advantage of the opportunity to clean off all the grime. We’ve had this washer for more than a decade, and now I could see why it smelled horrid. The drum and basket are now the cleanest they have ever been—other than when we first bought the washer.

I thought it would take longer to put the machine back together, but it went fairly smoothly and quickly. And no leftover screws!

The moment of truth came when I plugged the power back in and ran a test load. With bated breath, I watched the whole express cycle (only 15 minutes)—smooth as butter!! Too good to be true. The thing actually runs well, and I guess we’re good for another decade. Or until something else on it breaks. The whole process, start to finish, took me around 11 hours. Needless to say, I slept well that night.

You probably won’t enjoy these as much as I enjoyed tearing apart this appliance that we use on a weekly basis, but here are some before and after videos of my all-day journey. The videos really don’t do it justice. You had to be there. But it’s satisfying to me anyway.

It’s amazing that the entire weight of wet laundry in the basket relies on the back spindle and bearings. No other component in the machine helps hold the weight. I had always heard that you should not wash heavy towel loads, comforters, or even bath rugs in a front load washing machine. Now I know why, and the only thing between the bearings and water is that disk-shaped seal in the photo above. I was actually looking forward to going back to a top loader, but I guess we’re stuck with this one for more years to come. But at least we’re not letting the neighborhood know we’re doing laundry anymore!