I purchased a very stubborn Kenmore Series 80 washer in the classifieds a few weeks ago and I can't seem to fix it. When it spins, it wobbles like crazy and the tub hits the side of the washer. It's noisy, and sometimes actually moves the washer along the floor a bit.
The only strange thing I've noticed is that the tub appears to be leaning to the right-front, despite the fact that all four springs are attached. When water is going into the tub, the tub sits in such a way that some of the water sprays over the back lip (lowered section) of the tub and lands on the floor. When the motor is removed, everything is level, but as soon as I reattach the motor the tub leans in that direction, basically sitting on the side (or very close to the side) of the right-front of the cabinet. I don't know if the tub leaning thing is related to the tub wobbling, but I guess it could be. Is some leaning normal?
The only other symptom is the smell of burning oil (just a faint smell, no smoke or anything) when the spin cycle starts to get really unbalanced.
I checked/did the following:
- Washer is totally level on a cement floor, both front-to-back and side-to-side. Rear leveler legs are working as they should. (BTW,
*un*levelling so the left side sits lower doesn't help either).- All three shipping pins are removed and stored in their little plastic cases on the bottom of the washer.
- Clothes are balanced. It happens empty, too.
- All four suspension springs are in place. I rotated the three main springs to make sure none were stretched, but they all tension pretty much the same. All springs are connected to the right places (as shown on the parts diagram) and none are rusted out or anything.
- All suspension pads are in place and are in perfect condition. I replaced the three "tub wear pads" that sit between the tub and the frame.
- The skid plate is positioned properly on the frame (the corners of the triangle match up).
- The balance ring at the top of the tub sounds like it is half full of water, and it is in good shape.
- The tub seems to "rock" on its suspension normally when I push on the side of the tub.
- The cabinet is on the frame correctly, with everything lined up and the two clips latched.
The washer *does* work despite the noisy wobble, but I would really like to get it levelled out. What am I missing? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Matt