My apologies in advance for a long post but I do want to explain what the problem is, my steps to get warranty service and what I have learned about the clicking noise issue.
I bought a GE washer for my parents home during November 2014. During the 2nd week of use an unusual noise appeared during the agitation cycle where a clicking noise would last throughout the agitation. However, we could not reproduce this on the next 2 weeks of use. Then the week before Christmas, the noise appeared again. So my parents decided to make a video of it with their phone.
Warranty service came on 1/5/14 which there was no solution to the problem as the sound did not appear when he tested it. And his computer did not show any error codes when connected. He stated though that it doesn't mean anything is not wrong as it cannot check hardware failures and such.
After 1st service call
After the initial warranty service call, I did a bit of research of what it could be as I was dissatisfied with the resolution to wait for it to get worse. What I found was that GE has a youtube account where they explain in a short video of the sounds that the washer makes and to notify the owners that it is normal. This is the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X38fSRbaI9IAt the 1:16 mark is where they explain that the sound of the motor clicking into gear is normal between the fill and agitation. To my surprise this is the exact sound we have on our home video of the washer making this same noise throughout the full agitation cycle.
Along with that I also found a service bulletin by GE that the older models in 2010 had a defect of a sagging apron. But speaking to GE they said that it is not an issue on the model I purchased.
2nd service call warranty
The week of the 12th to the 16th, the noise came back but this time it happened 4 times during the week. Prior it was only happening every 2 to 3 weeks.
So I made another warranty service to explain to the tech that they have to test it under a load. The 1st time, they tested it under no load. The result was the same, the tech was not able to get the sound come out. He did 2 cycles to see the gap between fill and agitation. But after showing him the video of the GE on youtube and the older GE sagging apron issues, he then had an idea of what it could be.
What he ended up doing was to tilt the washer backwards and started to bend and shove with full force something on the bottom upwards. He said he needed to relive the pan on the bottom from hitting the motor/pulley. But when he tested it on the spin cycle, the machine made this horrible loud noise along with the unit shaking violently. He then turned it off and pushed something again inside the unit. I could not see what it was but he continued the spin cycle and it worked as it should.
Later that night when the washer was used, the sound was still there but the length of the clicking and metal sound was not the full noise. Instead it was half the length than before but the sound was still in rhythm of every 1.5 to 2 seconds.
My concerns
At this point I am planning on eating the bullet and pay for the parts myself and bypass warranty as it seems that they don't know what exactly it is. And their fix for the washer seems to be a workaround that will not last. In my view, the last fix has only hurt the washer more as bending parts to the side with brute force seems kind of ridiculous in front of the homeowner.
Ideas of the part I need
If anyone has an idea of the part that may be causing the issue and the link on this site to purchase it would be very much appreciated. If the home video would help, I would gladly post it. We have 2 at this time.
Thank you
