Wow, this was a bit frustrating. After a nights sleep I was ready to tackle this problem once again. I like to work as a gentleman, and unfortunately the location of the laundry room in this particular apartment didn't lend itself to that. The washer, dryer and HVAC system are in what I would call a small closet. To be able to work on the washing machine, I need to take the folding doors off the closet, take the dryer out of the closet (because the washer is slightly behind a wall) and move the dryer into the hallway, then take the washing machine out of the closet and move it also into the hallway. Keep in mind this hallway is only 42-1/2" wide. Not very much room to work or get by when I need to get tools, etc.
Yesterday, when I removed the transmission to replace the clutch, I only viewed/looked at the motor coupling. I didn't see any broken parts and the coupling seemed to rotate properly. Plus, according to my records I replaced this particular part about 15 months ago. The prior motor coupling lasted maybe 18 years. I re-installed the washing machine back into it's cubby hole and tested it out. I didn't work properly. I removed it again into the hallway, removed the transmission, checked out my work and once again, re-assembled everything and moved the washing machine back into the cubby hole/closet. It still didn't work properly. I was very frustrated. I needed a night to think about this.
Went back the next morning to once again work on the washing machine. Thinking about this, I thought I needed to actually examine the motor coupling since I only looked at it the first two times I had the machine apart. The strange thing is that before I started working on this washing machine, the agitator would agitate and the basket would spin, The problem was that the clothes were coming out wet. Once I replaced the clutch, the agitator stopped agitating and the basket stopped spinning. I did hear a strange motor noise.
Once I removed the motor from the transmission, I saw what the problem was. The plastic part of the coupling that sits on the transmission was a little loose. The metal insert in the plastic piece that sits on the transmission shaft was slightly worn. There was no easy way to see this if one didn't take the motor off to look.
Installed a new motor coupler, buttoned everything back up, ran a test wash and everything is working again!
The key/BIG take away here, if you are going to remove the transmission from a washing machine to service an issue, remove the motor coupling to check it out. To be on the safe side, just change the motor coupling while the transmission is removed.
I appreciate the tips Jake! The next time I have this machine apart, I'll probably perform a more thorough service and replace the parts you recommended. I picked up a spanner wrench a few years ago in case I'd happen to need it for a future repair. From the videos I've watched, I'm a bit hesitant to tackle the drive block due the the trouble people have removing them from the years of use and corrosion.
A couple of final questions:
1. Is it OK to run a washing machine through it's various cycles without the water connections? For instance, I move the washing machine to a work area to swap/replace the parts. But the work area doesn't have any water access and I want to test the machine.
2. The clutch that I removed had some oil in the clutch basket. Since the gear case is below the clutch, what would cause that? Maybe this is the symptom of another problem?