Basic admiral washing machine banging, shaking, and overall acting up.

[tk3000]

Hello Folks,

I got 13 years old very basic Admiral washing machine (ATW4475VQ1). In spite of its age, the washer hasn't seen much use. Recently, the washer started to shake at lot and be very noise during the spin cycle.

It stays in the basement, so unless I am present at the time during the spin cycle, I would not know for how long it has been doing it. About a week when I went downstairs to collect the clothes, the washer was in a different position; so, clearly something was very wrong. Went ahead and turned on only the spin cycle, then it was clear: the washer was making tons of noise, banging, shaking and moving at a small pace due to the shaking.

So, I did some research about that type of situation and assumed that the likely culprits are the following: washer suspension springs (total of 3); plastic pads (total of 3, the ones in the washer seem very thin); or the washer door spring (one elongated spring). Never worked on washing machines before, so I am not sure if they are worn out or not.

Tried to shake the drum, but it does not seem to vibrate or to bounce back (or barely).

Thanks for any input.

Below are some pics:

 

[bud16415]

I don’t know if I can help you much other than we just replaced our machine a couple weeks ago. We bought it used 10 years ago and when it started acting up I figured it didn’t owe us anything so we went shopping.



I started talking to the one sales person we trust in our town and he said now they are all the same. Every brand but one hangs the basket from springs like yours is and they do that because it is cheap and it allows for the machine to measure how much is in it and run with less water and such. Quite a few of the new ones don’t even have the agitator down the middle and he said over time they will start to wobble more if you don’t keep the loads very light. He had me go around to each model and move the baskets by hand to see how easy they would shift side by side. They were all guaranteed between 5-7 years and he told us if we got 10 out of our used one we did better than most people.



I asked him did anyone make a good old heavy duty machine and he said only one but you wont like the price. Everything else was right around 500-700 bucks and the one he was telling me about was the Speed Queen and it was about double. We ended up going with the Speed Queen that is built like a tank and she is really happy with how it is cleaning the clothes and spins out without shaking the house.

 

[DFBonnett]

Had the same issue with a now 24 yo Kenmore. One of the springs securing the tub had become detached. Reattaching it was the fix.

 

[tk3000]

I don’t know if I can help you much other than we just replaced our machine a couple weeks ago. We bought it used 10 years ago and when it started acting up I figured it didn’t owe us anything so we went shopping.



I started talking to the one sales person we trust in our town and he said now they are all the same. Every brand but one hangs the basket from springs like yours is and they do that because it is cheap and it allows for the machine to measure how much is in it and run with less water and such. Quite a few of the new ones don’t even have the agitator down the middle and he said over time they will start to wobble more if you don’t keep the loads very light. He had me go around to each model and move the baskets by hand to see how easy they would shift side by side. They were all guaranteed between 5-7 years and he told us if we got 10 out of our used one we did better than most people.



I asked him did anyone make a good old heavy duty machine and he said only one but you wont like the price. Everything else was right around 500-700 bucks and the one he was telling me about was the Speed Queen and it was about double. We ended up going with the Speed Queen that is built like a tank and she is really happy with how it is cleaning the clothes and spins out without shaking the house.

Thanks for your insights!

In spite of the age (about 12 years old), it does not see much use given that I live alone and spend most of time away from home. So, the heavy-duty ones are not that relevant for me.

 

[tk3000]

Had the same issue with a now 24 yo Kenmore. One of the springs securing the tub had become detached. Reattaching it was the fix.

Yeah, I will take a closer look into mine; but when I checked them the spring seemed intact. I will replace all of them, they may be worn out and over stretched. Hopefully, it is only the springs and nothing else.