MAH6500AWW Bearing and Tub Seal – How To Replace

MAH6500AWW Bearing and Tub Seal – How To Replace

If you own a MAH6500 and it sounds like a freight train it is time to replace your bearings. If you bother Ole’ Lonely he will quote you at least $950 or suggest that you scrap machine. You don’t want to scrap machine because you can save money by replacing your Neptune tub bearings and seal and be washing clothes soon. Ole’ Lonely will want to replace your large outer tub which runs over $500 alone! You don’t need to replace the expensive outer tub.

There are two seals that are available in the genuine 12002022 seal kit. The earlier lip seal and the revised lip seal. If you have the earlier lip seal (with plastic white spacer clip) you will need to replace it with the new earlier lip seal in the kit. If you would like to install the revised lip seal you will have to replace your W10181639 spinner support because its shaft is machined different.

It should take about 1 – 4 hours depending on how much cleaning you need to do while you’re in there and no special tools are required. You could save time by renting the Tony Tool which pulls the rear bearing out first. You then knock the front bearing out and then after some clean up you use the Tony Tool to install the new bearings and spacer. The tool kit rental includes an extra bearing spacer just in case you need it. The Maytag Neptune Bearing and 12002022 Seal kit also includes an ebook with more information and tips to help you be successful.

Depending on how long your machine has sounded like a jet plane you may need to heat up the aluminum hub when extracting the inner or front bearing. The aluminum has a higher expansion coefficient than the steel bearing does so the bearing housing should expand more than the bearing does thus loosening it up. Just don’t over heat it since some of the heat guns can really get hot.

The good news is that you don’t have the faulty brown tipped wax motor in your door latch. Only the timer knob based Neptune’s have the wax motor which would fail and damage the Q6 triac and R11 and the upper control board. See Neptune Help for more wax motor information. The digital Neptune models all use a solenoid to lock the door.

I hope this was helpful to you. 

Please leave any comments below.

Jeff Hartman