Well now that the holidays are winding down, around here they stretch on for a bit, I tore apart my Whirlpool FL washer.  I picked it up a month ago and have not done anything other than run a few loads of clothes through it.  Very noisy on all spin speeds.

Got the tub out with little problem, took perhaps 25 minutes total to disconnect wiring and various feeds, this unit has a steam generator so one more hose to the tub, plus more in the fill area.  Had a more difficult time getting the shaft of the tub out of the bearings, it was really frozen in.  Put the nut back on the shaft and held the socket I removed it with and beat on it with my small 5lb. sledge.  took a few minutes but it finally came out.

Over all the tub is quite clean, and the spider is in good condition.  It appears the seal failed, and there is lots of rust on the metal ring that holds the bearing on both the inside and the outside.

My big issue now is getting the bearings out.  Tried beating them out with a cold chisel, no luck.  afraid of using heat as the tub is plastic.  My cousin suggested using a Dremmel with a cutting blade and cut 3/4 the way through the bearing in 2 or 3 spots, might consider that method.

Seems I recall a thread on getting the bearings out of a FL a year or so ago, searched but found nothing in about 10 pages of search results.  can anyone point me to the thread?  Does anyone have a suggestion on how to get rusted bearings out?

I took lots of pictures and will post them soon, just have the wrong cable for my camera at the moment.

Edit: found this video very helpful and used his method.

Well, I couldn't sleep so I banged on it a bit more, both bearings popped out.  Apparently I had set the chisel on the metal housing the bearing rest in rather than the bearings earlier when I tried to pop them out.  Few good whacks and they both popped out.

Going to check with the auto shop tomorrow and see if they stock the bearings.  It seems they are used in many applications including a number of Chevy's. 

The trick will be finding the seal, but it appears to be a

" I just don't see why one wouldn't just purchase the official replacement part and do it right the first time, even if it would cost a little more."

Uh...  Whirlpool will only sell the entire back half of the tub and the tidy price of $495.00, yes you read that correctly.  The parts can be had for from $3.95 per bearing on up.  Seal is on ebay for about the same price.  So for about 2-3 hours work and maybe $40 if I go with mid grade bearings, Whirlpool used BOL by the way, I can save $450.

I made the rounds for the last 2 day to various auto shops in the area, scored ZERO bearings.  All had to be ordered in at $$, same with any sort of seal.  I ended up ordering the bearing online, got Japanese sealed bearings, and I bit the bullet and order the seal from the guy in the video.  opted NOT to get bearings from him after reading through is Google group.  A number of people complained that they are cheap Chinese bearings, his comments amounted to s--"So what, that's what WP used...".  I got both for $38 delivered from VXB bearings,

Since I can't find any sort of lead on the seals, I order it from him, $24, but at exorbitant $13 for shipping.  I bought a caliper and found that the metal ring that fits into the bearing on my machine is 50mm and the outside diameter is 100mm, not any thing like many of the seals I see online or mentioned in various posts, perhaps Wp changed the design a few years back,

Thanks for the encouragement, am trying to do a little pictorial to go along with this post, just waiting for the parts to arrive.  Outside of getting the parts it really seems to be a relatively easy fix.

Well the parts showed up Monday, but had out of town company so I tore into the project today.  I bought sealed Japanese bearings and the seal from the You tube guy.  The seal has CHO- 03283  TC 50 100 10 stamped on it.  It has a solid metal underbody unlike the one it's replacing.  here is a shot of the new set:

New seal underside :

Here are some pics of the tear down:

Apart:

Drum open:

Old seal:

Old seal underside:

Shaft and spider in decent condition.  I used some steal-wool to clean up the shaft, it was pretty corroded.

After I got it all back together I heard a squeak as I rotated the drum.  Opened up the outer tub and checked, found nothing.  Put the unit back together and ran a cycle or two heard something rubbing, squeak again. Debated if I should let it go for now or do it right,  so once again I pulled the entire unit apart.  Could not see ANY signs of wear or or anything rubbing anywhere.  Put it all back together and heard no sounds so I did a load of rags. Toward the end of the cycle I hear the squeaking again.  My conclusion is it's the rubber getting wet and rubbing on the disk tat seats into it.  Will run a few more loads and see what happens.

Dis-assembly is not that bad, at this point I can pull the tub out in about 20 minutes.  Popping the bearings and seal in takes only minutes, and they whole process should only take 2 hours if you have all the parts.  I followed the YouTube instructions, removed the motor, set an steal I-beam under the tub for support, the struts come off easily with a quarter turn, and lifted the tub out.  I did not replace the inner gasket between the tub halves, I pulled it apart 3 times and it sealed right back up, no leaks, so unless something drastic happens to it, I'd say don't replace it.  It would really help to have a second pair of hands around when re-assembling the unit, hanging the tub on the springs can be a real pain, especially doing it 3 times, but it's doable alone.

I think we need to find a good source for the bearing seal, I didn't mind paying the $24 for the seal from the You Tube guy, he did put the work into finding it and doing the video, but his shipping is way over the top at $13, for an envelope with the seal in it.  There seem to be a lot of machines out there with bad bearings, this is a moderately easy repair, and could get a good machine back in service rather that the dump, and there might be a few $ to be made.

I've run a number of loads through the unit now and all seems well.  In thinking about the rubber squeak now I wish I had put a light layer of silicon lube on the seals, odds are that would have stopped the noise.

Yup, I had the same thought!

Odds are there will be a few around in 20 years, then herd get's thinned early on, I think if it makes it to the 10 year mark, with routine work it should last.  I've got an 8 or 9 year old duet that is still doing well, picked it up last year cheap because it needed a new pump.  it became my daily driver, and I've given it a lot of use. I'll give this one a few more weeks of use and odds are I'll list the older one on CL.