Hi! I have a kenmore washer that is @ 20 months old. After the wash cycle, it sometimes makes a loud banging noise (I guess it is switching gears?) before the rinse cycle begins. This doesn't happen all the time. Could it be that the washer is not level or maybe the load is off balance.

Any thoughts?

Thank you,

Dorothy

Do check and be sure it is level and that it sits tight on floor (Not rocking) Imbalance loads would cause the imbalance switch to interrupt cycle. If noise is in agitate or spin cycle the motor coupling is damaged.If noise is coming from transmission, it is bad.

Hi! Thank you for the quick response! Is there any other way to tell if the transmission is bad, besides having someone check it? I will be very upset if this is the case, as the washing machine is not very old. Do you know how much it might cost if this is the problem?

Thank you again,

Dorothy

I just open unit and look and listen at suspected parts.My first guess would be to check the coupling. Did this have a 12 month or 24 month warranty. Did you buy extended warranty? If you can give me model # I can give cost of trans but labor rates are different all over the country.

Hi again! This had a 12 month warranty and no I did not buy an extended warranty. I did check to see if it was level and it is off a little. I will get my husband to level it. The model # is: 26852501.

Thanks,

Dorothy

Hi! I checked my washer manual and it does state that any of the gear case parts that are defective for years 2 through 5 will be replaced, but the consumer has to pay labor charges. I don't know if either of the parts you mentioned would fall under this warranty.

Thanks,

Dorothy

Get it leveled and watch it closely for a few days. This may take care of the problem. If it doesn't, You should only have to pay for labor. My guess is leveling will solve the problem. Good Luck and post back with any other problems. This is a great site to get problems resolved. Many good folks here to help you.

Hi! Thank you - I will.

Dorothy

Hi again! I am scheduled to have a tech from Sears come and look at the washer, but they will charge me a trip charge of $70 plus labor charges. If it is the coupling, could you tell me @ how much that part runs? I may choose to call a local repair shop instead.

Thank you,

Dorothy

Coupler runs under $40

Thank You. Dorothy.

Hi again Doug! Sorry if this seems like a lengthy question. Tonight (7/9/07), my husband looked at the washer again after I told him that Sears was scheduled to come out and it would probably end up running us anywhere from $100 to $150 or more, even with a possible covered part. Even though he had leveled the washer before, he didn't make sure the front legs were completely tightened!! Oh, well! Anyway, we filled the washer up a little bit and let it drain out without any clothes in it and it banged down and the washer actually moved. However, I put in a full load and didn't have any trouble with the noise or movement. It has banged down before (but not every time) with clothes in it, but I am not sure if they were smaller loads or not. In fact, the Sears rep asked me if it made that noise when there were different sizes of loads. So, I guess my questions to you are: would the size of the load (or lack of one) be enough to cause the banging down when the cycle shifts from wash to rinse or spin? Should I still have Sears come and take a look, or maybe just wait a couple of more days (especially since the leveling legs are secured) to see what happens?

Thanks in advance,

Dorothy

Yes different size loads make a difference. IF the legs are not tight and secure it can cause these problems. I have seen it many times. All 4 need to be tight against the floor with no wobble in the unit. If it were me I would run several loads in to see what it does now that it is sitting tight against the floor

Thank you. I cancelled the service call after doing several loads. Will keep an eye on it.

Dorothy

How have these loads done since getting legs tight,OK?

Yes, they have been o.k. The only thing that I haven't tried was to run the washer without any clothes in it (just filling it with water and letting if spin out). By the way, when Sears delivered this almost 2 years ago, they must have never tightened the screws on the front legs. That is why it needed leveled several times. I hope that won't cause a problem in the future.

Thanks again,

Dorothy