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GE top load washer will not spin with clothes in tub
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Hello,
I have an 8 year old top load GE washing machine (Model # WCSR4170DOWW) that has stopped spinning. It agitates fine. I have removed the front cover and have verified that the belt is fine and not slipping. I can see the motor/belt/transmission attempt to spin the tub but it immediately locks up before the tub actually starts to spin. I have visually verified that the motor shaft locks up and does not keep spinning when this happens. When I remove the clothes from the tub then the agitator will spin on the spin cycle (interlock bypassed of course) but the tub stays stationary. Its as if the motor does not have enough power. It does agitate fine. There are no audible indications that a bearing has failed but I am wondering if that might be it?
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You should be able to rotate the motor pulley by hand CW (looking from below) to simulate spin mode. This should rotate the belt, large pulley and transmission. If this doesn't work, observe the bottom of the transmission while trying to rotate the motor pulley. The cam dog should rotate towards the brake hub dog, a gap should open between the cam and brake hub which releases the brake, the transmission should start to turn. If it seems to be trying to work (brake releasing) but won't turn any further, there may be clothing stuck between the inner and outer tubs. Eric 
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Rank: Member
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Originally Posted by: fairbank56  You should be able to rotate the motor pulley by hand CW (looking from below) to simulate spin mode. This should rotate the belt, large pulley and transmission. If this doesn't work, observe the bottom of the transmission while trying to rotate the motor pulley. The cam dog should rotate towards the brake hub dog, a gap should open between the cam and brake hub which releases the brake, the transmission should start to turn. If it seems to be trying to work (brake releasing) but won't turn any further, there may be clothing stuck between the inner and outer tubs. Eric Thank you for the reply! I did this and it appears to be OK. The cam dog moves towards the brake hub and I can spin the agitator by hand. I just realized one other symptom... I also just noticed that the inner tub appears to be loose from the agitator (I can slide the tub side to side and spin it independently from the agitator in either direction but not smoothly). My wife also said she found pieces of metal inside the tub. Could the inner tub base hub be the issue or could it be just a separate problem? Again, without any clothes in the washer it will spin on the spin cycle. When clothes are added, it locks up. I can get it to reluctantly spin 1 or 2 times by initially assisting it via grabbing the inner tub and rotating it. I would think the motor on these things would be powerful enough to spin it even in this condition.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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You should not be able to rotate the inner tub easily by hand. Sounds like the hub is bad or problem with the split washer and tub nut. You need to remove the agitator by placing a strap under it and yank forcefully upwards to pop it off. Then remove the agitator air bell coupling to get to the tub nut. If this is the problem, you will need a spanner wrench to get the nut off. You also need to remove the top panel of the washer to remove the inner tub after you get the nut off. The nut is left hand threaded so turn it clockwise to get it off. It can be very difficult to get this nut off sometimes and may need to be cut off. Eric
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Rank: Member
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Joined: 12/5/2009(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: fairbank56 You should not be able to rotate the inner tub easily by hand. Sounds like the hub is bad or problem with the split washer and tub nut. You need to remove the agitator by placing a strap under it and yank forcefully upwards to pop it off. Then remove the agitator air bell coupling to get to the tub nut. If this is the problem, you will need a spanner wrench to get the nut off. You also need to remove the top panel of the washer to remove the inner tub after you get the nut off. The nut is left hand threaded so turn it clockwise to get it off. It can be very difficult to get this nut off sometimes and may need to be cut off. Eric Eric, Thank you for your help. It looks like the inner tub hub is bad. The metal is soft and it has separated from the transmission drive shaft. It looks like they used cast aluminum for this part! This washer was designed to fail. Kind of irritating. The nut was a pain to get off. I did have to cut it. When I replace the parts, is there any kind of anti-seize that I can apply so that when this part fails again it will be easier to do the job?
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Plastic agitator to tub coupler won't ome off after removing the very rusty agitator center bolt? Any tricks to get it off? Or should I cut it off with Dremel tool?
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Rank: Member
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Originally Posted by: Nitro itch Plastic agitator to tub coupler won't ome off after removing the very rusty agitator center bolt? Any tricks to get it off? Or should I cut it off with Dremel tool? You are talking about the plastic piece that is about the size of a giant Fosters beer can? Can you get it with a puller? If your inner tub hub broke like mine did then you need a puller anyway. I just borrowed one from Autozone.
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Rank: Member
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Sorry took so long to reply.
I got the hub removed by using my hole saw bit in a drill.
Just sawed the center section around the bolt hole, removed the hub and then the small piece left on trans shaft came off by hand.
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Rank: Member
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Oh btw, the transmission bearing was bad so I replaced the complete trans with a used one I had from a curb find GE. THANKS for your help. Warren
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GE top load washer will not spin with clothes in tub
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