[montanaJohn]

Kenmore Top load. was washing rugs when it went out of balance. reset load and now it just makes a grinding noise

[richappy]

Pull the pump and motor and check the coupler, probably broken.

[montanaJohn]

Thanks, right on the money

[cjwdoyle]

I think that is exactly what the problem is. We just replaced this part cost under $17.00. Here is a link to a site that gives detailed instructions even with pictures of how to do this.

Sears Kenmore Washing Machine Repair

My husband did the repairs and said it was really simple. We had this same problem 2 or 3 years ago and the repair man charged us $164.00. He said the problem was caused by overloading or things getting off balance which sounds like what happened to you. Good luck.

[timhnelson]

Gentlemen,

Just had this sound occur to my machine this afternoon. Needless to say the unit is over 10 years old and I just figured that I'd have to replace it. While at it, you know you may as well replace the dryer too. Gotta keep the wife happy. Anyways, followed the instructions on the linked site and sure enough, it appears to have been the coupling. I found the part and will pick it up tomorrow. $20 is much better than $1600!

Great forum!

[richappy]

If it happens again, do the tranny coupler test in my "sticky" above, "replacing direct drive brake shoes"