[XtremeRob]

My 6 year old Whirlpool washer fails to spin at high speed. It spins slowly most of the time. Sometimes it will not spin at all. I can stop the spinning completely by holding the basket.

There was a post with a similar situation for a different model Whirlpool last month that had a couple of recommendations. One was transmission, one was belts. I don't think I have a belt and I believe the gearbox is ok since the rest of it seems to be working. But ???????. It seems like a 'clutch slippage' problem to me. But again, ???????.

It's model number LSB6200KQ0. Here's Whirlpool's part list:
http://shared.whirlpoolcorp.com/asse...%208179635.pdf

Any guidance is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Gene]

The first thing I would check is the drive block (#17 on the agitator, basket and tub break down diagram).

You can find the complete instruction in on of my previous posts: not spinning

The second candidate for the failure suspect is the clutch (#5 on the break, clutch and gear case break down diagram).

- The part number for the drive block is AP2905773

- The part number for the clutch assembly is AP3094537

Here are the break down diagrams for the Whirlpool washer Model LSB6200KQ0

Gene.

P.S. You were right - there is no belts.

[richappy]

You might have a bad clutch and dragging brake shoes. Remove outer panel, the pump and motor. Turn the tranny coupler clockwise till the spin basket starts to turn. If hard to turn with thumb and forefinger=dragging brake shoes. Post results.

[XtremeRob]

Thank you for the excellent assistance.

I'm stuck at attempting to remove the Spanner Nut. I'm unable to get it to breakfree even with the help of two people holding the basket. Did I overlook something?

Here is a picture. While the tool isn't exactly the right tool, I'm getting what I believe should be plenty of force onto the Spanner Nut but it isn't budging. I did try the hammer-and-pin approach without success.

Is there a trick to getting it free? Is there a 'lock-pin' to hold the basket while I'm working on the nut?


Thank you,
Rob

[XtremeRob]

Hi RICHAPPY,

I've removed the pump and motor. While I would call it pretty hard to turn, I can turn the tranny coupler with just a thumb and forefinger (no tools required). Is that as you would expect if the brake shoe is ok? Or should it really be 'easy'. It is 'easy' going counterclockwise, but firm-to-hard going clockwise once it engages.

Thank you,
Rob

[richappy]

You might have to use the special spanner wrench to get the drive block nut off
or you can use a short pipe wrench, just saw off a bit of the handle.
It sure seems you have dragging brake shoes. Go to the the general section of this site and you will find my procedure to fix them, involves grinding off some of the pads.But you will need to loosen the spin basket to fix.When you get the spin basket out, check the plastic filter to see if it is dragging in the bottom of the tub.

[XtremeRob]

Hi Gene and Richappy,

Thank you so much for the help.

The special tool was required to remove the spanner nut and even then it required a few good hits with a mallot in order to break it free. But once free, the process proceeded well.

I was able to inspect all of the items you suggested above.

The clutch was the culprit. I replaced it with part number AP3094537 (the clutch assembly). While there was still material left on all parts of the clutch's mating surfaces, the wear was apparent when compared to the replacement part.

Thank you!
Rob

[Gene]

Hi Rob,

We are glad you were able to fix it.

Gene.