Appliance repair

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

My laundry stuff is '00's vintage. Top loader washers only for me. Front loaders back in '60's went away for all the reasons with today's machines. Only reason they brought them back was because of low water use regs and it was the quickest way to meet them before the tech of low water use top loaders were designed. Combo washer/dryer units are coming back into style, but they are notorious for lint build up internally. Had them in the '60's also and went away for the same reasons. 2 hrs for one load vs one doing a load while other was drying is one of the issues. Current crop of top loader washers are throw aways IMO.
In the olden days customers expected 20 yrs out of laundry equipment along with other appliances. Not anymore. I've have worked on wringer washers back in '70's - '80's. That was when wash day was really a wash day, all day.
Best dryer is a Whirlpool design from the '60's that is still around, the models with the long lint screen that pulls out from the top.
I've got a hoard of parts from my previous life so my laundry equipment will outlast me.
Fridge is another story, new house new fridge so time will tell. Left the Whirlpool in my old house but no issues in 8 years. That one replaced a '85 Kenmore, Whirlpool built one that the compressor finally wore out.
Oven ignitors are a wear item and are to be expected to get weak and slow or not lighting.

I can appreciate that. If it wasn't for a bunch of special and sensitive clothing that I have I would have something of that vintage too.
But between the special cycles and gentle wash and me having to constantly to do laundry because of 1 dog and 2 cats I appreciate the HE washers even with their downsides.

 

[KevinMalone]

I repair as much as I can but it's starting to get difficult. Some parts can't be serviced after decades of use. Eg the tub seal on our 30 year old washer is leaking but the tub bearing is so corroded that I doubt I can remove it. A replacement bearing is also $500 which kills economic feasibility. Another issue I've ran into is that replacement parts are NLA or the current version is incompatible in some way. Eg the new fan belt/tube for our 50 year old dryer is made from urethane instead of rubber and slips on the old pulleys, which presumably were not designed for this material. The drum belt is NLA and I have to find new-old-stock off eBay which presents its own issues.

I can't complain given the age of the appliances, but it sucks because modern appliances are just not built to last.

So we were forced to replace the otherwise working dryer because of the issue with the urethane belt, and figured we might as well replace the washer at the same time since it was on borrowed time. It truly is astonishing that the washer lasted 30 years and the dryer 50.

We ended up getting a basic rebadged Whirlpool "VMR" set from Amana for cheap as recommended by Ben's Appliances, with the idea being that they are hopefully easier to service:

Washer: https://www.amana.com/laundry/washe...with-high-efficiency-agitator.ntw4519jw.html?
Dryer: https://www.amana.com/laundry/dryer...r-with-wrinkle-prevent-option.ned4655ew.html?

The obfuscated eco settings took a while to figure out. Eg "normal" cycle overrides everything with automatic water level and temperature control. We figured out you need to use "whites" or "heavy" cycles to get hot water and a deeper fill. The new washer cycles also take significantly longer, as it seems to gently caress your clothing for an hour while the old Maytag washer rapidly beat the dirt out of them in a vortex. At least its capacity is significantly larger though. The dryer also seems to work better as it dries our clothing quicker.

I highly doubt these will last but hopefully parts will be readily available and easy to replace...

 

[97prizm]

So who repairs their own appliances? Drier snagged the string on some of my daughter’s scrubs. Pulled it apart and front drum wear bearings (strips?) are essentially gone. Ordered from the big river for delivery tomorrow.
Can’t see spending $$$ for less than $20 in parts and some time versus having someone else do what I figured out myself.

My dad showed me how to replace the bearing and belt. Recently my dryer stopped drying and again my dad showed me how to pull the heating element out and low and behold one of the coils was scorched and broken. $60ish dollars from the appliance repair shop.

 

[nwjones18]

I had to replace the entire wiring harness on my nearly new Frigidaire double oven… it kept frying control boards randomly. I also swapped the pump on our 10yr old Whirlpool washer and it’s back working good as new

 

[Pablo]

LG and Samsung washers. Jorse. Never again.

 

[CarLuver]

jsut fixed a hot water kettle that can be bought new for $15 from amazon. would not turn on . took it apart and found a loose contact and recrimped it . like brand new now

normal folks would have just tossed it and bough a new one .LOL

 

[repairman54]

Barrel struts went in....still wobbles when empty and unable to get up to high speed. Looks like it's getting replaced.

Most likely the spider that the drum mounts to is broken, hence the ''rocks''. Its terminal unless you want to split the tub and replace the spider and tub rear.

 

[repairman54]

LG and Samsung washers. worse. Never again.

LG means low grade; Samsung is Asian for sucker per techs in trade when it comes to appliances. I've had good results with both of them with TVs though.

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

Most likely the spider that the drum mounts to is broken, hence the ''rocks''. Its terminal unless you want to split the tub and replace the spider and tub rear.

That is my assessment as well. In my research, some washers require a new motor as the parts aren't available separate. The bearings may have been impacted by the wobble or age, so would be a good time to replace those as well. Currently, $80 in parts with only a few hours in time to save a 2008 Samsung is fine....disassembling the tub would likely require relocation of the unit from our small closet to the garage and the spider is about $200. That is a bridge too far. To much hassle for too little return. We've ordered a new unit for delivery on Friday.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I need to repair or washer/dryer combo. The washer squeaks horribly on the agitation cycle.