A friend of mine has a Whirlpool washer that just quit spinning.  I had her take all the clothes out, but no change.  She and her room-mate have a tendency to overload it, so I suspect that's the cause.  I haven't made it over to look at it yet, but thought I would ask the all-knowing Oracle that is ARFcom.

What should I be looking for?

Michael

There is a "safety" clip mounted to the tub. It may be in the front. Overloading it or tiliting it can cause it to break.

Look here;
www.repairclinic.com/0088_11_1.asp

Here's where I found the best price for some parts I needed for my washer;
www.pcappliancerepair.com/find.html

Depending on the year it was made. If it was PRE-1992 (I think) there is a part called a Wig-Wag... I am not shitting you... that is what it is called, there are two solenoid coils on the Wig Wag... One operates Agitate and the Other operates Spin. May be either the Spin coil is bad or the wire going to it broke.

On the direct drive units there is a coupler that connects the motor to the transmission. It is made of plastic and rubber. Majority of the time those are the problem. They cost all of 5.00.

Tell you what, look at the back of the machine. If the back of the unit has an 18 x 18 panel down towards the bottom that is held on with 2) 5/16" screws, or is the back panel a solid one going from the top of the console to the base with NO removable 18 x 18 panel. that will tell me if it is a belt driven or direct drive unit.

i can walk you through it.

On the direct drive units there is a coupler that connects the motor to the transmission. It is made of plastic and rubber. Majority of the time those are the problem. They cost all of 5.00.

+1 (I had to do this)

MT

Quoted: On the direct drive units there is a coupler that connects the motor to the transmission. It is made of plastic and rubber. Majority of the time those are the problem. They cost all of 5.00. +1 (I had to do this) MT

Not too bad huh? Sounds a lot worse than it is.

DrFrige, it is a solid panel, that's a direct drive unit right?

Yepper.. I have installed many wig wags on whirlpool model gear cases..

wig wag might be a good bet..  

It might be a leap model..  

Lid saftey switch could be bad ..  ( simple fix )  

There also is a plastic clutch between motor and trans. Take the motor off and that plastic piece will be busted. For under 5 dollars you can replace it. This piece serves like a safety fuse to protect motor and trans.

Quoted: DrFrige, it is a solid panel, that's a direct drive unit right?

Yes. it is.

FIRST DISCONNECT THE ELECTRICAL PLUG FROM THE WALL.

1. Remove the Two phillip screws in the bottom front of the control panel
2. Flip the whole console up and over the back.
3. Unplug the black,White, Green wire plug from the control panel to the chassis
4. there are 2 weird looking spring clips (brass colored) that hold the back panel to the chassis. Put a screwdriver in the hole where those clips go into the chassis. Remove the clips. REMEMBER HOW THEY GO IN!!!!!
5. Now you can remove the whole chassis from the frame by leaning the whole chassis towards you, leaving basically the whole machine in place.
6. Down in the front bottom there is a grey box with two black hoses. That is your pump. It is held on with two spring clips. Pry those off (NOT THE HOSE CLAMPS!!!) These are flat bands that go from the motor to the pump.
7. Remove the pump off the shaft of the motor and push to the side.
NOTE: It is a good idea to inspect the pump. If the center of the pump looks like it has water leaking, you might as well replace the pump ($14.00) While you have it apart.
8. Now you see the motor. It too is held on with 2 spring clips however they are locked in by two 5/16 screws. Remove the screws and pry the springs off the motor. Be careful not to let the motor drop on the floor.
9. Unplug the motor and move that to the side.

You now notice that there is white plastic wheel on the back side of the motor. There is another wheel IDENTICAL to that on the transmission. Between the tranny and motor there is a rubber grommet that mates those two wheels. They can be bought as a set. Replace all those wheels and grommets. Everything is press fit so its real easy.

To put back together... Just reverse the order.

Easy. Hope this helps.

I got to be an expert at re-splicing the wig-wag wires, or wig-wag war as it's called here in Tn.