[FIXED] Drum Gasket and Rear Shell Bearings

[Jake]

jnicosia has a great how-to about changing the rear bearing on the Frigidaire & Kenmore made by Frigidaire(model# starting with 417)

You can view the instructions here:

https://www.applianceblog.com/washers/Rear.pdf

A updated version that jnicosia has provided has more pictures and information:

https://www.applianceblog.com/washers/RearBearingV6.pdf

Here is the Outer tub assembly with bearing and shaft seal(Video Included in part link):
131525500 Rear Outer Tub Assembly (shell)


Here is the complete inner and outer tub assembly you can now order:
Drum Assembly 134453200


Jake

 

[IndependenceFlyer]

First off, you guys rock!! Thanks for all the contributions and information provided in this forum. The "How to" on bearing replacement is fantastic!
I recently returned home to the dreaded "washer is making a horrible noise and isn't draining" scenario.

I figured out pretty quick that the drain pump wasn't turning so ordered the part. When I removed the pump I found a chunk of metal in it that was stopping the pump and had, in fact broken one vane of the impeller. Ever the optimist, I put it back together and ran it. All was great until the spin cycle, and the all hell broke loose.

By now I had stumbled upon this site and figured that, given the symptoms, I had a broken spider on the drum and possibly bad bearings too. I priced the parts and decided that it was new washer time.

However, I HAD spent $62 on a drain pump and I couldn't let this defeat me, could I?

Hey now I'd have a spare washer for the hangar! Pulled the drum out today and surprisingly the problem appears to be limited to the spider (way worse than any of the pictures on this site, to date)and some gouging of the tub due to the out of balance drum.

Bearings didn't seem to have gotten wet and rotated smoothly (I'll still be replacing them though).

One thing I found interesting was that the original bearings were made in China -Guess that shouldn't surprise me though. The parts will likely arrive while I'm on my next trip so the reassembly will have to wait. I'll let you all know how the project comes out.

I've attached a picture of the drive end of my drum. The chunk missing out of the arm at the 10 o'clock position is the piece I found in the drain pump. Do you suppose this damage is caused by hard water? I've NEVER had a washer only last 4 years!

Regards,

Jerry

 

[jnicosia]

yep, it seems that this machine has a lot of failures after about 4 years. Good news is that if you are handy, you can fix it and should be set for another 4-5 years.

I have seen pictures with much more corroded spider arms than yours. I would say that the culprit is corrosive water more so. Good idea to do the bearings while you have it apart.

 

[Stephen B]

Hello,

Thank you for all the help in repairing my washer. The info and photos are great. I am attaching a picture of the culprit in my frontload kenmore washer. Any suggestions on how I can have the inner basket shipped to me for only the cost of shipping. I would just as soon complete the repair myself at this point.

(The "expert" I paid to tell me what the problem was, mis-diagnosed the problem and wanted to charge me for unnecessary parts and labor charges that equaled the cost of a new washer.)

Again, thank you so much for all the information and guidance.

Best regards,

Stephen

 

[DB130]

Does anyone have the McMaster-Carr part number for the bearing seal? I've emailed them two separate times mentioning the 40X80X10DL generic part number and so far, I've beentold by one rep that they don't carry them andthe other rep forwarded me the link to their sealed bearing catalog pages.

 

[Mad Mac]

Any of you gents heard of a similar (replace bearings/seals only) fix for the Maytag Neptune? I understand this is becoming more of an issue on these as well.

 

[IndependenceFlyer]

I ordered all the parts to repair my Frigidaire washer before I left on my last trip. I should be home early Saturday 5/14 and will post the part number for the seal once I receive it.

Jerry

 

[jnicosia]

Guys Repairclinic.com now carries the bearings and seal as a pak. I do not have the part number, and I cannot find a generic search engine on their site. But I recall that the description was "front load washer bearings". You can probably call them to get it.

 

[Mad Mac]

Tub Seal and Bearing Kit 5300137158

 

[jnicosia]

I would love to know if these are more of the same Chinese bearings.

 

[stever]

With the help of information posted here I successfully disassembled my 4 year-old Kenmore model 417.4114200 washer and replaced the 2 bearings and the adjacent lip seal along with the "O" ring seal/gasket between the halves of the plastic water tub.

The washer was making the characteristic grinding/groaning noise especially during high-speed spin. Also the tub seal was dripping slightly.The bearings felt very rough when I turned them by hand after removal.

The new bearings (NTN brand)and lip seal were purchased locally at an industrial bearing shop I found in the phone book.

I got the "O" ring for the tub halves Part number 134146100

The inner (stainless) tub was in good shape, including the spider which was caked with lint and soap residue especially near the center of the hub. Machine works fine now, I hope it lasts a lot longer than 4 years this time. Steve

 

[Louie]

I wish I had stumbled across this site (and specifically this thread) before. The washer started the spin cycle last night and suddenly started HAMMERING loudly as it got up to speed.

I disassembled the washer today and brought the whole drum assembly out the FRONT of the washer. Seems as though the rear would have been easier after looking at the instructions that have been kindly left on the first post.

Another note, the problem was a cracked drum spider as shown/mentioned in several posts here.

The washer is only a little more than 3 years old (almost fits into the 4 year rule of thumb).

Anyone ever contact Sears and/or Kenmore about this seemingly common problem to see if they are doing anything to keep their customers happy?

I've already ordered a basket because I don't have time to fight with Sears about this (selling my house and moving within the next two weeks), but I sure would like to see if Kenmore is making any sort of gesture to help with what appears to be a design flaw.

 

[DB130]

I have found an online source for 6306-2RS and 6307-2RS bearings as well as the seal: http://www.ebatmus.com

It seems that they carry name brand bearings as well as generic imports.

Disclaimer* I have no ties with them whatsoever. In fact, I came across their website after I had already bought my bearings elsewhere(I ended up buying generic bearings).

My Frigidaire FWT647GHS0 washer is lying in pieces in my basement as we speak while I wait for these bearings to arrive. Most likely, it'll be a holiday weekend project.

 

[DB130]

There is a Frigidaire part number for the bearing seal as well: 5308015092

 

[GSQ]

I just replaced my spin basket and outer shell because of a blown bearing. The funny thing was is that I could not order the parts separately as I had to purchase the entire unit (spin basket and outer shell and pulley) This was not a big problem however.

If I knew how to do this sooner I would have replaced it over six months ago.

If you are going to attempt this however I would recommend that you have a second person to help you because this thing is heavy. With the instruction asking you to remove everything, pump, motor, etc you better do this otherwise you will damage parts removing this beast out of your machine.

 

[Nikolai]

Now... I'm excited that this is my first post, because I think I might have something helpful to offer.

What if I told you that I had found the bearings at issue here, but in a stainless steel variety? The stock and replacement parts are not, which leads me to believe, as an engineer, that a SS replacement would last much, much longer.

Please feel free to email or post if there is an interest, as these would probably be cheaper for everyone if I got a bunch of these in quantity.

Thanks,

Nick

 

[DB130]

Nikolai, what kind of prices are you seeing for the stainless bearings? For stainless generic bearings, I was quoted just under a $100 for both bearings and $380 for name-brand counterparts. At those prices, the repair becomes very cost-prohibitive.

Some people say that the cheap bearings originally supplied to Electrolux are causing the early failures.Others say that it's the over-sudsing from non-HE detergent getting past the bearing seal causing the failure. We wouldn't really know for certain until the newly replaced bearings fail again(as others have said previously, hopefully we'll get more than 4 years of service from the new ones).

I for one went with the cheapest bearings I could find(EBC brand) and my bearing seal came from a company called Chicago Rawhide. I have done about 6 loads of laundry since the repair was completed in mid-June and have been using HE detergent. If my cheapie bearings fail 6 months from now, I will definitely inform the forum.

 

[p00bare]

Nick-
Besides the corrosion, which would be prevented by using stainless steel (ss) bearings, perhaps more important is degradation of the bearing lubricant (grease) by water which emulsifies with grease, and by detergent, which chemically reacts with grease. Without proper lubrication,even ss ball bearings will soon fail. The real issue is lip seal failure, which promotes subsequent bearing problems.

The standard ball bearings on both Frigidaire and Neptune front loaders are, IMHO, way over sized for the loads imposed on them...look at the online specs for these bearings, like they are rated to 10,000 RPM and so on. $100 ss bearings may not help much; we need to find a "$100 lip seal".

Several other features of these front loaders work to keep water out of bearings, such as the rubber seals on the bearings themselves, and (at least on the Neptune) weep holes between the lip seal and bearing to permit any water that does get past the lip seal to drain to the outside.

Drilling out the Neptune holes to double their size so they don't get plugged by Al-oxidation and soap residue.

All in all, it looks like the standard lip seals on the two machines mentioned have a life of maybe 4-7 years. If you pull a machine of this age apart for any reason, consider replacing the lip seal, it's not an expensive part. It's much easier and cheaper than replacing the bearings, which should last for 20 years.

Dave

 

[scorrie]

Hi I bought the back half of the washer and bearings and seal Part#131525500....I dont see how the guy saved 150 dollars??? By buying the bearings separate and pressing them in himself.?

 

[p00bare]

Hi -

To add to the uglyness, replacing the outer tub is a major operation, as many parts (motor, hoses, suspension, weights, motion sensors, soap distributor...) are attached to the tub. If anything breaks during this operation, more parts may be required. Having done the bearing replacement, I would certainly prefer this to the whole tub replacement. The bearings themselves are quite inexpensive, depending on where you get them. I certainly saved my $150!

Dave in Houston