GE Top-Load Puzzler

[JimW]

Just left one of the older-style (1991 vintage) GE 2-speed top-loaders I take care of and it's got me so puzzled and frustrated I decided to take a break and see if anybody out there could help.

Earlier today, I'd gotten a call that this machine was leaking. When I got there, sure enough, there was a small puddle. So pulled off the front and started a cycle - no clothes, just water. It filled and agitated just fine, and I didn't see a drop of water where it shouldn't be, but when it went into spin I could hear what sounded like the inner tub banging like mad against the fixed outer tub.

After I got all the water out, I opened it up and started taking it apart to see if I could find anything that might be at fault. The three tub bolts were nice and snug and so were the six screws that hold the transmission to the suspension. Also, the bottom of the inner tub was in good shape; I've had a couple of GE's, older than these, that developed cracks at the tub bolt holes and that let the tub wobble like mad. I did see some recent, bare, scrape marks on both the inner and outer tubs, about 4 to 5 inches below the top lip of the outer tub. Other than those scrapes, I couldn't find anything.

With the inner tub out of the machine, I manually advanced the timer to the final spin and let it run that way for a little bit. All I saw was that the transmission wobbled a little more than any I had seen before, but it didn't look excessive.

Is it possible that whatever GE used for a balance ring in the inner tub has some how gotten out of balance (yeah, I know I'm "grasping at straws", but I'm getting desperate) or is it something I've just plain missed? Anybody got any ideas?

[PeterH]

Check your 4 snubber pads. It could be that one of them popped out of the clip or is completely worn down. I'm pretty sure the balance ring in the wash basket is solid concrete, so it's most likely not that.

Did you find the source of your leak?

[JimW]

The pads look in pretty good shape especially considering the age of these machines; of course, since they only do about 3 loads per day you might expect them to be OK.

I may never know whether or not one of the pads somehow slipped out of its clip because, probably when I was taking the machine apart or moving things around to try and find the problem, it apparently "fixed itself". I found this out when I put the inner tub back in and ran a manually shortened cycle. No inner tub wobble at all! I have no idea what I may have done to fix that problem, much less what caused it.

So, I pulled the tub back out, sanded the rust off the places where the inner/outer tub impacts damaged the finish, and shot them with a couple of coats of Rustoleum paint. The machine's completely back together now and seems to be working just fine. I guess I'll just add it to my "keep an eye on" list for a while.

As for the leak that started this whole thing, it looks like there was a tiny flaw in the transmission boot that was allowing about 1-2 drops per minute to leak out. Not much, and almost impossible to spot, but enough to make a very visible puddle overnight. I still can't spot a bad place on the old boot, but a new boot in the machine has completely eliminated the leak.

[PeterH]

Sometimes the clamps that hold the boot in place will pinch the boot just right to allow a drip like you explained.