It started making a high pitched whining sound when spinning the water out. The noise got really loud so the wife called the repair guy. BAD NEWS .. Death is imminent and the estimate for the repair is $609. No brainer. Went to Lowes and bought a new one for $620 OTD. I remember when washers lasted 20 yrs . This one made it 9 yrs .

I just gave away a 1996 vintage Kenmore, a few issues over the years but working fine.

A neighbor gave me a nice Maytag, just a few years old. I realize the older ones may be better.

My free Kenmore went like a hotcake. Since I got the free Maytag, I thought I’d pass the karma on.

Out of curiosity, what exactly did they stay was dying in your washer?

My washer and dryer are both down at the moment. Belt for the dryer got here today so that should be back up and running shortly.

The broken agitator in my washer is discontinued so I've got a good used one coming that I paid more than I wanted to for and won't be here until Monday.

I think over the last 16 years I've done two snubber rings, a brake rotor and stator, a spin bearing, a tub seal kit, the inner drum (that one was my fault), a belt, a motor, a fill valve, a drain pump and a couple of transmission pulley and cam kits in my washer.

The dryer got a belt and roller kit, a belt tensioner spring and a couple of pairs of Teflon guides and the gas valve solenoids in the same time period.

My washer is a piece of junk, but it is relatively cheap to fix when needed which is the reason I've let it keep nickel and dimeing me year after year. The discontinuation of many of the wear items will likely prevent me from keeping it running for too many more years.

If I couldn't fix it myself, I'd have junked my current washer years ago. That said, it gets a LOT of use.

ETA, I'm back up and running completely as of last night (Wednesday). Dryer belt got installed before work yesterday. Washer agitator showed up early and I got that installed after work in about two minutes.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: M1Garandy,

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
It started making a high pitched whining sound when spinning the water out. The noise got really loud so the wife called the repair guy. BAD NEWS .. Death is imminent and the estimate for the repair is $609. No brainer. Went to Lowes and bought a new one for $620 OTD. I remember when washers lasted 20 yrs . This one made it 9 yrs .

Yes, sad how things are made today. The first washer and dryer my wife and I bought when we first moved in together 30 years ago was an already 20 year old Kenmore set for $50. We only replaced them probably 10 years ago because my wife wanted something newer. We bought another set of Kenmore, but they barely lasted a few years and that was after two $250 controller board changes I did on my own. Now we have the home commercial version of Speed Queen thanks to this forum and no problems so far.

Nothing is built to last anymore. They're all disposable. Cars, appliances, pick something.

quote:

Originally posted by M1Garandy:
Out of curiosity, what exactly did they stay was dying in your washer?

I'm trying to remember what he called it . " Gear case " or something like that. There's a bearing inside that's going bad , He said it was the worst possible thing to go out. My luck .

My son just replaced a Whirlpool washer that was 5-1/2 years old. We bought it and a dryer as wedding gifts. The outer tub had a broken mount and the plastic has spots worn through in a few locations. I asked if they had run a lot of unbalanced loads, and he said he didn't think so, but it had gotten noisy around the first part of November. I'm thinking the broken tub mount was causing it. A new tub was around $175 + the time to replace it. But since he has a wife and 2 todllers, he just decided to get a new washer.

Our Samsung lasted 12 years...there's two of us.

Tub spindle broke, corroded through from back side of tub. Comes assembled with tub...$350 (no labor). They don't want you fixing this stuff. We'll see if the new GE lasts longer. No more Korean stuff, except phone...sigh.

Consider Speed Queen next..............as the last washer you will ever buy!

My GE front load set was purchased in 2003. The first problem wasn't until 2021 when the dryer control's plastic knob broke. I went to GE's site to order a new one thinking it'd be maybe $5, wrong it was over $40! Needless to say I epoxied it back together. Last year when the washer's main bearing started failing I thought "what's that going to cost...... $300?" I bought a new set.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ridewv,

New washer delivered today . A scrapper hauled the old one off . Back to normal around here .

Our washer croaked recently, I think it was a Maytag. Had a repairman come out, it was the transmission. Was going to be about $700.00 to fix.On his recommendation bought a Speed Queen. The only washer actually made here. Very expensive though. He was convinced that the new washers and driers were built to last about 3 years (except the Speed Queens).

quote:

Originally posted by MMSIG229:
Our washer croaked recently, I think it was a Maytag. Had a repairman come out, it was the transmission. Was going to be about $700.00 to fix.On his recommendation bought a Speed Queen. The only washer actually made here. .

Not true .
https://www.geappliances.com/ge/usa

^^ GE Appliances is part Haier Smart Home, Ltd, headquartered in Hong Kong, China. Not all of GE Appliances sold in the US are made here, but they are re-shoring more manufacturing to the US:

https://apnews.com/article/ge-...538ae8e2c775f1eb0525

Maytag is part of Whirlpool, the only major manufacturer of Kitchen and Laundry appliances based AND owned in the USA. Whirlpool claims Approximately 80% of the major appliances they sell in the U.S. are 'Made in USA' — that’s three times more than the average of our major competitors.

Speed Queen is a US company and manufactures in the USA. Laundry is all they do.

I had a 1991 Kenmore Washer & Dryer that were still going strong when I replaced them in 2022 with new Maytag's.

It seems that our dryer decided to bite the dust in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday.

It is an old old old school Lady Kenmore.
I asked the other half and she said the manufacturing tab said 1965.

I know she has been here since the fall of 2019 and it was here.

Sooo. It looks like we are shopping for a new dryer.
I wanted a Roper since that is what both my grandparents had for years and years but it appears they are no longer.

(They were bought out by Whirlpool and are now called Amana. Which are less than stellar according to gossip.)

I see some edits here .

Jinxed myself...2 year 2 month old GE had control board failure.

Next day, drag the wife into Lowes to pick out new one. Wife says don't buy new, there's still value in it; hhhmph, fine, you deal with it.

10 days later I'm stuck coming home to meet the service guy. $123 later I find out what google already told me, except he can't diagnose any further, because of.... control board failure.
But "9 times out of 10 they fire right back up with new board."

Ok Einstein, how much. Another service call $123, $200 labor, $200 parts. Whoa, another service call? Sorry, doesn't carry parts in his van. So you mean to tell me you're gonna fix my two year old washer for $100 less than brand new? Remember 2 service calls. But they might waive one. Seriously...might?

Beat it dude, thanks wife, thanks crappy China board. Ok Amazon, here's your $160... So the board already has a new replacement part number...Hhhmmm

Now I wait for: Inverter board failure, door lock failure, or pump failure (which also burns out the control panel)

Ok, any cheap piece o'chit from China, gets extended warranty from here on out.

GE GFW550SSNWW...buyer beware.

Just fixed my very simple and who knows how old Maytag dryer for the ??? time. Love that thing.

But now my oven is on the fritz. Will figure that one out tomorrow.

Thank goodness for the “fix it” gene from my dad. And YouTube. Well…mostly YouTube lol

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
My GE front load set was purchased in 2003. The first problem wasn't until 2001 when the dryer control's plastic knob broke.

Washtub Time Machine?