Hi - I have an older (early 1990's era) top load Kenmore clothes washer that I accidentally ran a load with Bounty paper towel mixed in. Post-wash (pre-spin) drain cycle, it discharged some water, filled/plugged my in-sink discharge link trap with white mush, sprayed water all over the place for a 10' circle around the sink, and the unit was just buzzing - no action. After turning it off & letting it cool down and removing the plugged lint trap, it still just buzzes when turned on -- guessing the water pump (exhaust) is plugged?

Can someone point me to a schematic of this unit, how to get into it and where to start cleaning/diagnosing the issue? I'm guessing there's a filter on the intake of the exhaust water pump that's plugged... hoping that's the only problem. Also hoping I can do this work with a full tub of water in the unit!

Thanks.

The tag say Kenmore Model 110.82374110

Hi Eric - Thanks for the help. The unit may very well be from the early 80's. I got it from my aunt as a hand-me-down/house warming present in 1998, and it was far from being new even back then. But it's been very reliable over the past 15 years, only needing a timer over that time span.

I dug into it tonight. With the timer set on drain & then turning the unit on, the whole drivetrain assembly kicks to the right (looking from behind through the access panel), but the belt itself does not move. It appears to me as if one of the pulleys was locked up (e.g. bad bearing), and the motor, when turned on, was just torquing the whole bottom mechanical assembly an inch or so to the right.

I then disconnected every output water hose, the water pump and trap -- starting from the rubber grommet/fernco looking gizmo coming down/out of the bottom of the outside tub all the way to sink output hose. I flushed all 3 hoses with hot tap water - nothing. The plastic clear trap (between the tub fernco and before the water pump) was mostly clear water with a little paper towl pulp -- but nothing close to what I was hoping to find -- no obvious blockage. The trap had about a dozen small push pins (like from new dress shirts) in the bottom, and a bunch of slime coating about 1/2 of the inside. I'd describe the slime as kinda like a white lithium grease consistency, but more beige/brown in color. It wasn't your typical white hard water calcium build up... more dirty slime/greasy. To my dismay, the water pump pulley spins -- not easy free wheeling - there's some resistance -- but I can spin it with 2 fingers. I'd say the bearing is worn, but definitely not frozen. All of the other pulleys spun freely... motor, big trans pulley on the upper right, agitator, etc.

While I was in there, I noticed there was drive belt shreddings all over all 4 pulleys. I measured about 1" of deflection when I pushed down 1/2 way between the motor pulley and top right (big) transmission pulley - belt felt very loose. The water pump is covered in black dust, and when inspecting the inside of belt, there's significant cracks between each cog. It needs to be replaced. What's the secret on how to get this darn belt off of the machine? I removed 3 braces and got it almost all the way off, but it's still wrapped around what I believe is the agitator pulley and almost looks like there's no way to get it off (both sides of the pulley are surrounded/obstructed). I see a 4th bracket I can remove (bolt through a long tube), but then there's also this shiny metal pin looking thing with a spring running parallel to it, and a bar/lever of some sort right by it. I gave it a tug & it didn't move, but I didn't want to get too crazy until I understood how this thing works. Any suggestions?

I'm currently planning to buy a new water pump, belt, and possibly a new trap if it's not too expensive. The trap looks fine functionally... just old & dirty. The water pump has a metal assembly on the outside of it (see pic below)... looks like a metal lever that connects to a smaller, long metal connecting rod, etc. No clue how this whole thing works... just hoping the new one has everything -- not just the plastic pump/propeller part of the assembly. I'd also like to replace that rubber grommet/fernco - it just wasn't obvious to me if that is replaceable from the bottom of the unit, or if you have to tear into it from the top. The rubber was still in decent shape, just slimy and the hose clamp was rusted.

Thanks again - would appreciate your thoughts!

You must lower the clutch shaft in order to get the belt off. I've attached the belt replacement instructions. Pay attention to the note about the steel ball. The tub exit hose is replaced from inside the tub. I wouldn't worry about replacing it.

Eric

The oil leaked out of the vent hole on the top center of the transmission. I wouldn't worry about that small amount of leakage. The tub drain grommet fits into the baseplate. The outer tub is screwed down to the baseplate so that the top of the grommet is sandwiched between the tub and baseplate. Replacing that grommet requires removing the inner tub. That can be very difficult on an old machine like this as typically, the drive block welds itself to the tub and/or basket drive.

Eric

This is what the grommet looks like.