Greetings everyone!

I have a problem that seems not to be fixed by the st*pid technicians around here and most of the people that repair appliances in Mexico. I have a Whirlpool machine (don't remember the model but is the direct drive one). I bought that machine in the mid 90's.

It worked properly for a really long time: it fills with water, then pauses, then it agitates, then it pauses again, then drains witthout agitating nor spinning, then pauses and then spins... and repeat (depending on the program). But suddenly it stopped draining in neutral (after the pause from agitating) and in contrast, an abnormal sound like a gun shut is done (something that makes me believe a mechanical device is not properly assembled or broken) and spins while draining. Followed by that is a pause and then spins again. Here the problem is: if I filled the tub to maximum, when the drain sequence comes, the water spreads outside the tub and inside the washer to the floor. But whenever the mashine is on the mood, it drains properly... nothing seems to be afecting normal and abnormal operation (program, load, etc). Also, I cannot use the so called fabric softener dispenser, not a posibility at all.

I called the tecnician and told the story... :( The technician didn't find that as a problem, and tried to explain the whole in one argument... did'nt fix the problem :confused: and said not to put the machine in maximum (giving a very absurd argument). GANZ IDIOTISCH!!

I went to a very well known street in the city where many people sell parts for such appliances (Articulo 123), among other things. But the same story was told with the same answer. "That seems not to be a problem, is normal". I started to believe that I was a fool or all these people aren't really sure or informed about the machine operation. Someone there told (at least a real technician) that before pointing to the gearcase, I must see if the "brain" (control knob device) is working properly, if not, may something electrical be the problem. Gearcases are really expensive and if bought new and replaced without proper diagnosis on the mashine may be foolish.

What should I do? Is something electrical that affects the operation needed to be replaced? Or is it my imagination?:eek:

It fills with water, then pauses, then it agitates
That part is normal

Then it pauses again,
When it does not drain do you hear the pause?

When it is trying to drain does it sound normal or is it making a humming noise?

Thank you for answering

Mmmh, :rolleyes: let's see... for the pause: yes it pauses and one can hear that the motor stops (checked with bypassing the lid strike with a pen). Then, the machine starts again and at that moment, a gun shot is heard (like something metallic just released itself from a strain and hits another thing inside the machine). The washer is draining at the same time as it is spining (before it drained without agiteting, nor spining. i.e. the agitator and the tub are quiet). The so called "neutral drain" is no longer functioning. The washer is spining for the time the draining was supposed to be working alone (again, without spining). Then a second pause is present (3 sec) and the washer again spins.

That the washer humbles? No, it just sounds like spining (I corroborated this bypassing the Lid swithch and let the mashine work) the washer is checked so that it is leveled correctly (I thought it was eveling, but did'nt seem to be the cause). I am afraid that the transmission is the problem, because if that is the case: I will need to buy a new mashine since both will cost me mostly the same amount.

Any ideas?

Yes it does sound like the gear case is the problem. It does sound like the pump is a little slow also. A lot of these machines drop into spin on the first try with out leaking. The pump is normally fast enough so the water does not rise over the side during spin.