FIXED Maytag Bravos Washer MVWB880BW0 - Loud Spin Cycle (Bearings?)

[NKY]

Model Number

MVWB880BW0

Brand

Maytag

Age

6-10 years

Hello, I have an 8 year old Maytag Bravos washing machine (MVWB880BW0) and it recently starting making a loud noise during the spin cycle. The noise gets louder the faster it spins. Everything else works as it should and the machine still does a good job washing clothes.

I've researched this forum and it appears that my issue is the bearings and I need to replace them. I've researched youtube and while not a fun job I can probably get this done. I replaced the heat pump in my Bosch dishwasher so this can't be too much worse than that. Before I give this a shot, I wanted to verify with this forum that the culprit is likely the bearings.

I believe Maytag discontinued the Bravos line so getting parts is more difficult. I found the bearing kit. but finding other parts if needed could be more difficult.

Please let me know if you think it's the bearings and if there's anything else I should repair while I'm at it.



Thank you!
Brian

 

[Jake]

Good Evening Brian,

Yes, that's the bearings that's the cause of that noise.

We only recommend OEM parts per the manufacturer for safety and liability reasons.

Look at what a aftermarket ICE MAKER did to their refrigerator:

KSRS25IKBL03 KitchenAid Refrigerator stopped making ice part 2, this time the ice wont come out of the ice maker

Hi you might remember me from this thread: FIXED KSRS25IKBL03 KitchenAid Refrigerator stopped making ice - no light on the inside of freezer by the ice on/off switch? in which we all replaced the optics, cleaned out the ice tube, and swapped out the inlet valve. Everything was working peachy...

www.applianceblog.com

Here's the OEM outer tub and drive shaft repair kit:
Tub Seal and Bearing Kit W10435302


Here's the OEM bearing and seal tool:
Bearing Driver W10447783


Jake

 

[NKY]

Thank you! I'll order the OEM part per your advice.

 

[Jake]

Ok, sounds good, keep us posted.

Jake

 

[NKY]

All done! Total repair took about 5-6 hours but that includes 2 hours of cleaning (machine looks brand new inside and out). While it took some time it's very doable and not complicated at all.

Here's some advice/lessons learned for anyone reviewing this thread:
1) Buy the genuine bearings. This is way too much effort to use an inferior product that will likely break in 3-6 months. Use genuine so you don't have to worry about it for 5-10 years
2) I did use the aftermarket bearing setting tool. For some reason the genuine tool cost more than the bearing kit.
3) I used the 2x4 and jack method to remove the tub. Very easy but took awhile to get the correct length
4) The most difficult part for me was removing the rotor. For some reason it did not want to come off. Just get mad at it, you'll win eventually
5) I'm somewhat embarrassed by this last part but it might save someone a little grief. When I put the machine back together (after letting the adhesive cure 24 hours) it would not go in a full spin cycle and was giving me the Sd error. I was worried that I messed something up and would have to buy a new machine after all this effort. Then I thought back and I actually put the hub assembly in the wrong order. I couldn't get everything to line up so I put the piece with the screws first then the inner part on top. Was easy to screw in and everything went back together. Don't do this....... I corrected the order and the machine is working great. It just takes some time to get these two lined up properly. I spent all this time researching how to do the repair then got lazy and didn't check on the last step!

If I had to do this again and did not clean the machine, I could probably do the repair in about 2 hours. No matter what, it's going to take some time as you have to keep going from the top of the machine to under.

I appreciate this forum and want to thank Jake for his advice on using genuine bearings and confirmation this was the issue.

Brian

 

[Jake]

Excellent Brian, glad to hear the OEM outer tub and drive shaft repair kit fixed it.

Thanks for the added information as well, that will help others.

Jake