Our Washing machine wont drain. It's an Amana Extra Large Capacity Heavy Duty washer, Model: LW3502W, MFG# P1163201WW. I got it from a family member in 2008. They only had it for a few years. So I'm guessing it's 6 to 8 years old. Has worked great untill now. My wife started the unit like any other time but after only a few minutes there was smoke pouring our of the front and rear panel seams. When the smoke cleared I was able to bypass the lid switch and watch the tub & water spin but not drain. We removed the clothes and shop vac'd the water out. I took the washer out to the garage and opened it up. The motor/pump assy smelled burnt. But it was a faint burnt smell. Not a heavy burnt smell. The pump impeller looks clean & spins freely. So does the motor. The belt has symmetrical cracks all around it. Almost like they are suppose to be there. There was however, rubber dust covering the top of the pump. But no evidence it made it's way inside the pump. The tub also spins freely. I opened up the top to get to the electronics. But there was no burnt smell of any other evidence of burning. My original thought was a bad belt but I saw the tub spinning. I just won't drain. Any suggestions?:confused:

So I put everything back together and ran a cycle. I worked! I didn't really do anything special so I wasn't convinced. And I was right. I ran a second cycle and it didn't drain. Everything else seems to work ok. I did notice the belt is very loose no matter how tight the tensioner and springs are. Would a bad belt cause all of this?

found the problem.....I pulled the hoses out but there was no blockage. Removed the motor/pump assy. Even though the motor shaft spins the impeller is intermittent. There must have been a blockage at some point because there is a broken fin on the impeller. I can easily hold the impeller still while rotating the motor shaft. There is a thin film of rubber/water splatter all around the inside of the sidewalls. A friend told me the rubber drum boot is failing and it's time to replace the entire washer.

I guess the next question is: if Whirlpool owns the Amana, Maytag & Roper brand names, are there any differences in those brands? If Amana brands seem to have boot seal failures, does that mean that Maytag, Whirlpool & Roper brands have the same failures, or are the designed differently?