Whirlpool Washer Noise

[dnnswoodall]

Hey, I have been messing with this washer recently, a Whirlpool LA5200XTWO, after my mom called me to tell me it quit working. After some diagnosis I decided the motor was bad. It would shake badly even out of the machine so I figured the bearings had gone bad. I bought a new motor and installed it, but something was still not right.

When set to “run” the washer would fill fine, but at the start of agitation it would run kind of slow and make a kind of knocking noise along with the agitation. However, when in rinse mode it would agitate quickly and without any knocking. This made me think it might be the timer, so I disassembled the timer and sure enough a few of the metal "fingers" were melted with pieces of plastic burnt around them.

So I bought a new timer and installed it and everything seemed to start and run fine. Then about 3/4 way through the cycle it started agitating slower and making the knocking noise again! I would reset it to the beginning of the cycle and it would go away, only to start back up sometime after. Still rinses, spins, and drains perfectly fine.

I would think it could be the transmission, but it will agitate fine at the beginning of the cycle and during the rinse, so the transmission can't really be the culprit. I don't really know what else could be the problem, although I will admit that washers are not my forte.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. This washer is about to drive me up the wall.

[JWWebster]

Did you look in the pump for wires and such?

[dnnswoodall]

I haven't looked hard for anything in the pump, but I did take a quick peak and didn't see anything obvious.

[dnnswoodall]

But like I said, it will run/ agitate fast and then after a while like a switch being flipped, it will agitate more slowly like it is struggling and with a kind of knocking noise from the lower back of the machine.

[Bailey]

It is not unusual for whirlpool washers to change speeds during agitation. Is there a wiring diagram in the control housing? Look at the timer sequence chart. It will tell you if the timer changes the speed.

[dnnswoodall]

I will have a look.  It's not so much the change in speed that worries me, it's the noticable knocking noise that comes along with it. 

[go400]

You might have sticking brake shoes, or something stuck in the tub. If you pull the motor and try to turn the coupler atached to the transmission clockwise
and you find it hard to turn, that would confirm it. Usually, the newer washers have less pads, and the clutch will just slip, but in your case it did not.