Won't agitate or spin

[woods witch]

  I just received a used Matag Performa PAV3200AWW for $50.00 that doesn't work well. It came with a Performa dryer that works great, so it was a deal I couldn't pass up. The washer fills with water, cycles completely without agitating or spinning and empties when needed. The woman I got it from said that it was sitting un-used in her basement for 2 years but that it worked fine the last time she used it. It's in great condition as far as appearance and she didn't abuse it..she was single and used it only 1 or 2 times a week. It is 9 years old. I have downloaded the service manual. My husband is a very good mechanic and will try to fix it. Any suggestions on where to start would be greatly appreciated!!! I did tilt it and looked at the belt which seemed okay, but that's as far as I got.

thanks in advance!!

[Repair-man]

Go ahead and price out a new transmission, but your best bet is to have a  decent funeral for this  machine and get something else. The special tools rquired to fix this issue far outweigh what you paid for it, not to mention the tranny cost.

[JWWebster]

Sometimes the brake will seize up when the washer ain't in use.

[Repair-man]

Does that explain the lack of agitation, o sublime one?

[schaffersapplian]

check the thrust bearing.  the thrust bearing assy. on the bottom of the machine engages clockwise to take pressure of the brake and allow the tub to spin, when the machine spins counter clockwise the machine agitates... there has been an updated part (12002213)  i change a lot of the original style ones that came on the machines to fix your problem

MAYTAG 12002213 Thrust Bearing Kit, AP4009132

[Repair-man]

Maybe, but no agitation means a bad tranny. The thrust bearing isthe least of her problems. Remember she said it would run, and even drain, just no movement of the gears, etc. We had a slew of the Performa  trannys that were bad when I was with MCS

[JWWebster]

Yeah these washers are pretty crappy. Makes me laugh out loud everytime I see that maytag man.Tell me about it. Yeah everytime I see that I go Is that a schitty washer and then I hear him say...

[woods witch]

what do I need to do to check to see if the brake is frozen? the drum won't budge when I try to turn it by hand

[Repair-man]

The brake is always on unless the machine is spinning. You cannot turn the tub by hand. The bottom pulley on the transmission releases the brake when it turns (if the tub bearing was not frozen up and the thrust bearing was good)

You have a BAD transmission. The new transmission comes with the tub bearing and seals, but as I said, you have to have special tools to do the  work. You will spend $300 in parts and tools alone to get this repaired.

[woods witch]

thanks for the honest heads up....not worth the headache, huh??