LG washer with mystery leak...

[Jillians]

Last night as my washing machine had finished it's cycle, I noticed water on the floor in front of the machine.  Pulling the machine out revealed a fair amount of water damage to the baseboard & evidence of moisture under the machine.  The baseboard damage would suggest it's been leaking a little for a while.  First thought - the drain line in the wall had a small leak (maybe a finish nail puncture).  Not it.  There is no evidence of water leaking at either end of the supply lines.  No evidence of water on the wall or on the back of the machine.  Removed the grey drainage hose to inspect, again no discernable holes & no evidence of moisture on it last night (just after the incident).  No error codes on the machine.  Seemingly normal amount of water left in it when I drained it.  Nothing unusual in the filter.  I've checked all the rubber bellows & hoses...  Honestly, I can find no evidence of a leak inside the washer and yet it *has* to be coming from inside.  Washer is about 3 years old. 
The only thing worth noting is I do have a few cats, so it may be processing more pet hair than a normal washer.  It doesn't seem to be an issue with the filter (and usually the hair shows up in the dryer).   The load which caused the increase in water was towels - heavier than my usual loads.  I did two smaller loads the day before w/o noticing water- It was probably there, but in smaller amounts.  So this leak might be to some degree weight dependent...
Any ideas/suggestions are greatly appreciated.  Thanks-

[clman]

The most commonly leaks in these units is a very small trickle from the door gasket where it meets they meet each other. Look at the font panel below the door for a trace of water deposits. Its best seen looking sideways across the panel. If its leaking from from there clean the gasket and door very well. If cleaning does not work change the gasket. Another place to check is a split in the manual drain hose by the filter.

[Jillians]

I did find a small clog in the white plastic connector between the boot drain and the bottom of the drum, if that makes sense.  It was totally blocked, but I'm still not sure if that was the whole problem...
 

[wildimaginations]

What is the model number?  Top load or front load washer??

[Jillians]

The model # is WM2010C.  It is a small front-load machine.  Since I cleared the blockage in the boot drain, we've run 2 loads and haven't seen any leaks...  I'm still not convinced that was the issue. 
 

[wildimaginations]

Have you checked for a possible drain issue in your plumbing?  When the machine goes into drain, look & listen at the drain hose that goes into the house drain.  See if the water starts coming out of the house plumbing.  It's possible that you may have some restriction in the house drains.

[Jillians]

Drains like a champ.  There's no evidence of water on the wall above the baseboard.  Sadly my BF convinced me to let him cut a hole in the drywall to locate the leak in the drain only to discover there is no water leak in the wall.  I'm glad I don't have a bunch of hidden moldy drywall, but I do have a hole in my wall now. 
I think I'm investing in a pan to go under the washer for now.  I feel like there's something else, something intermittant & perhaps load dependent, that's causing a leak.
Is there an easier way to clear the little plastic connector from the boot drain to the drum?  Something that could be threaded through it w/o taking the whole machine apart?

[wildimaginations]

No, don't do anything like that to the machine.  If you haven't seen the leak in the last couple of loads, then the only thing left is that you're using too much detergent and the excess sudsing is coming out the rear vent hole.  Use only 2 tablespoons of detergent per wash.  You can try this, run a load of whites without any detergent and see if it produces any soap bubbles.  If it does, then your washer is overloaded with excess detergent. 

Hope this helps.

[Jillians]

I did a rinse & spin after we took it apart.  There was a little sudsing, but nothing crazy.  I can see some traces of water on the front of the machine under the door, but how do you know that wasn't from pulling wet clothes out of it?  it's entirely possible that it leaked from the door (maybe due to that one clogged drain hole) and/or foamed out the air vent (because my BF likes to free pour his detergent).  I just didn't  find any evidence of moisture on either surface on the night I noticed the water under the machine.
In the past, I've always just used bleach & the cleaning cycle to clean the washer.  Maybe something like Affresh would help clear any strange clogs, and I won't have to take the whole thing apart again.
 

[clman]

There are typical places these machines leak from then there are the unusual leaks. The typical places are the door gasket, dispenser drawer ( check the side of the machine from the drawer down ), splitting drain hose or manual drain hose in the filter access.

If the leak is intermittent it will be hard to pin point the source. Looking for the obvious first is what any good tech will do.

If there are traces of water down the front of the cabinet, as I mentioned, it would not be from wet clothing. The clothes you remove from the machine should be spun out so much that they cannot drip any water anyway. Also since I said the stain may be there, and it is, then it's likely be where it's leaking from. 12 years of doing only LG appliance repair aught to lend the notion some credibility. It may not be the source, but likely is.

Dripping from the door can run in a few different directions, including the underside of the bottom panel. Clean away the stain on the front panel and then run the machine and watch it. Often you can see the slight seepage by starting a cycle and watching the spot where the door and gasket meet each other at the bottom with a flashlight. As I stated before cleaning the gasket and door, very good, usually solves the problem.

The gasket drain hole that you said was clogged would only allow a small amount of water to collect. It should not cause any overflow from the gasket when the door is open and will not leak when the door is closed. It doesn't come up that high. There are three rectangular holes in the gasket center and three slots in the gasket at the basket that will allow excess water to drain back into the tub. The drain hole in the gasket is to allow the gasket to drain out completely to avoid odors. By the way make sure those holes and slots are cleaned as well.

Most of the interior of the cabinet can be accessed by removing the rear and top panels. Dry off EVERYTHING you can get to and feel around for water as the unit operates. WATCH OUT FOR MOVING PARTS!!!

[cabron]

Had a similar problem and it was the bellows from the main tub to the pump and front clean out drain.. If the crack is small and the load does not make the drum vbrate the leak is minor or non existant.. If the load is large and the drum wobbles a lot the leak will be present..PArt is inexpensive but its loads of fun to replace. ( I didnt bother disasembling the top and front panels I accesed it through the back)
Ohh by the way , you guys have a great site here..

[bigbuck]

I have seen lg washer leak or drip from the cold water or hot water valves. Take of top cover & inspect valves.

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