In addition, if you have a MAH3000 you can add a drain hose to the new boot. That way the water in the boot pocket can drain after every wash cycle which should help reduce the mold colony potential. Note: Some earlier MAH4000's also were shipped without the drain hose kit.
Below is a picture of the door boot with drain.
Below is a picture of a door boot drain hose retrofit.
You actually drill out the center of the nipple which allows the water to drain back into the outer tub.
As for the quality of some manufactures you listed above... I occasionally do searches on the Internet for other front loaders and I see folks who have problems with other manufacturers, too. Let's face it... Our appliances work very hard and there are a lot of environmental factors that play into how long your machine will last that is really beyond the control of any product manufacturer.
Below is a picture of a door boot drain hose retrofit.
You actually drill out the center of the nipple which allows the water to drain back into the outer tub.
As for the quality of some manufactures you listed above... I occasionally do searches on the Internet for other front loaders and I see folks who have problems with other manufacturers, too. Let's face it... Our appliances work very hard and there are a lot of environmental factors that play into how long your machine will last that is really beyond the control of any product manufacturer. I know... The grass is always greener on the other side... but the fact is you own a Maytag Neptune and the good news is that the issues are posted on my blog over time and they are what they are. The three main issues of the earlier Neptunes are the door latch wax motor, moldy door boot and the motor/ motor control board combo reliability.
I will now add a forth issue to the list and it is a wear issue and that is the bearings. Unfortunately, Maytag does not have part numbers assigned to the bearings so service technicians are going to leave you a $900 quote to fix your Neptune bearings. They will want to transplant the whole outer tub which runs about $450 by itself! Fight back and replace your bearings yourself with the help of http://www.neptunebearing.com/page4.html. If Shirley in the video can do it... so can you!
You can even rent the Neptune Bearing Tool Kit which really reduces the time you are replacing the bearings and there is an awesome step by step video that shows you how to take the Neptune apart, replace bearings and install the seal kit.
The bearing failure victim in the video is the standalone Neptune but the stacker bearing job is not that much different.
Once these four issues are taken care of you will be the proud owner of a happier Neptune front loader!
Lastly, don't forget to sign up for the Neptuner list so you will be kept up to date with more Neptune information and other valuable tips as they happen.
