Maytag Neptune Bearing Question from the blogosphere

Here is a Question I received from a future customer and I noticed he also asked one of the online appliance repair forums and I wanted to share the forum's response to his question...



"Neptune MAH4000AWW "disintegrated" bearing"

10 year old washer was making a lot of noise and I told my wife to just close the laundry room door and ignore it. Wish I'd done some research before I've gotten to where I am. The unit finally failed about 2 weeks ago.

When I took off the front/top I found the belt laying in the bottom of the unit, it looked warn & stretched & warped so I thought "OK, I'll just buy a new belt and put it on". Ordered a new belt from RepairClinic.com and when it arrived I took the back access off and discovered pieces of the disintegrated rear bearing laying in the brown muck covering the inside bottom of the washer

So now I'm considering an attempt at bearing replacement using instructions from the web (maybe renting the patent pending neptune bearing tool I came across). I've already got the PDF of the repair manual and it has been helpful, except the part about the bearings not being replaceable.


My questions...

1) When the bearing failed the spin basket dropped and the drive pulley carved some groves in the back of the outer tub. I thought a fiber glass /epoxy repair kit would take care of that problem. There are 5 places that are grooved, one near the top completely penetrated the outer tub (about a 2 mm hole), one at the top on the opposite side is almost penetrated and the other three are minor scratches that I probably won't touch. There is also some wear front shroud assembly where the spin basket scraped on it when it dropped while spinning, but it does not look like significant damage. Is attempting a repair on this a good idea? Or should I bite the bullet and buy the entire outer tub with bearings for $475?

2) I purchased a new drain pump when I ordered the belt, because I read that the newer 80 watt pumps are quieter than the old 40 watt pumps. And it's 10 years old. Now that I've got it apart I'm also wondering about the recirculation pump. Or do I return the new (unopened) drain pump and just clean up the old ones?

3) From my research I'm definitely replacing the door locking wax motor. I have the "brown" kind and I guess I've been lucky so far! Thinking about putting a fuse in line with the wax motor to protect the control board based on some instructions I found on the web. Is fusing the wax motor a good idea or pointless with the newer wax motor?

4) As long as I have the unit this far apart are there any other parts I should consider replacing? I'm wondering about struts, springs, hoses, etc. What wears out after 10 years?

5) I'm also buying my wife a new dispenser assembly bottom for $18 because the old one is very rusty from our bad water.

6) Or is it just time for a new washer

The boot was replaced several years ago with the draining type under warranty after the class action lawsuit.

Overall I would have to say that this washer is nice to work on, things are fairly accessible. I'm not an appliance repair person, just a handy person who tries to figure things out. I don't mind putting in the time to do the work. I'm just debating how much money to invest in parts. I'm at $90 now and I just hope another $150 and 3-4 hours of work will get the washer to "near new" condition. Really don't want to buy a new outer tub if I can avoid it.

Thanks for your time and I welcome answers on any questions you think you can answer."




Response from Jake:
"Yes, you would need the outer tub assembly, at almost $500, its not worth fixing, you can buy a brand new Frigidaire front-loader for about $650.

These Maytag Neptune's had so many problems its not even funny. If I were in your shoes I wouldn't waste my time or money on your Neptune, unless you want an endless money pit."




My Response:
There we go again... Jake, another technician whining about how 'bad' the Neptunes are...

I get tired of these techs spewing negative things about the Neptune front load washers. Besides, I thought their lively hood depended on making appliance repairs so why would they complain about Maytag failures? It has really helped my business grow in the last 4 years. ;-)

For Neptune Bearing help and the Tony tool rental see Neptune Bearing.

Yes, the Neptunes had some design issues but they are solid machines once these issues are corrected. Maytag was the first residential front load so you can expect some design issues on a product of this complexity. The issues can be corrected easily, too. I think the issue most Neptune owners have is that Maytag did not stand by their product as well as they should have when the design issues started to surface.

What were those design issues? The door latch wax motor ($20), the door boot mold issue ($64), the motor / motor control board reliability ($174) and now the bearings ($79 or $155 with Tony tool rental). The Neptune timers are very reliable as I have not sold one in 4 years. The door boots do smell moldy but my 8 month old Kenmore Elite HE3T smells moldy after a few days of sitting?

As for the motor control board reliability, I recommend a good surge suppressor and you wait until it fails. You can replace it for $174 at Neptune Help. It takes about an hour to install.

Let’s talk about the new Whirlpools with the rotting spinners… I’ve yet to see a Neptune spinner support rot out. You know why? They are made from the more expensive stainless steel vs. the cheap alloy that Whirlpool uses. Here is an article on the rotting spinners.

Let’s talk about the new Kenmore Elites HE3 and HE3T’s that need bearings and seals after only 3 years… See Elite Bearing for replacement HE3 and HE3T bearings and seal kits. Guess who makes the Kenmore Elites? Whirlpool.

The appliance techs I’ve talked to recently say the new front load machines don’t address the bearing and seal issues enough. I guess water and bearings don’t mix? Maybe the washer Engineers should focus on the bearing / seal reliability issues instead of adding steam, faster spin cycles, etc.

Presently, I have non-technicians starting side businesses repairing Neptune bearings (with the Tony Tool) from placing ads in craigslist and local newspapers charging $200 instead of the $900 to $1,000 that is quoted for fixing the Neptune bearings. Another person is purchasing the returned Neptunes when people buy a new washer and dryer set from box stores for $12.50 each and rebuilding them for resale. He says he can’t keep the Neptune Stackers in stock because customers love these. I’m thinking about starting a new Neptune service army made up of local people who can repair Neptunes… Who knows maybe we can put the whining service tech’s out of a job?

Until next time...



"Everyone knows someone who owns a Maytag Neptune..."




Update:

It looks like Jake did not like being called a Neptune whiner.... I guess I could have said complainer instead? I apologize for that. I received the same email from this customer and actually suggested this customer try to patch the outer tub because I know folks who have successfully patched their outer tub... It is obvious he was willing to do the repair and with the Tony Tool rental he could replace his bearings and seal. By the way, I do have an engineering (not technician) background so I believe in finding solutions to problems.

Jake also brought up the Neptune recall as evidence that Neptunes are not worthy machines? I see where Frigidare just recalled new machines in July, 2009, due to fire hazard? And Jake recommended this guy buy a Frigidaire for $650... By the way, Jake must not be married because the wife will want a new matching dryer, too! So the $650 just doubled... And she will want the largest washer for the comforters so the basic Frigidaire will be too small... Look to spend $2K for a decent front load set.

Back to this guy's Neptune... It seems most of this damage could have been prevented if the washer was not forced to keep operating when he knew something was wrong as he said he told his wife to close the laundry door and ignore it.

When it is all said and done... I would rather repair a machine with a few known problems then shell out $2K for a decent new front loader set where I will get to discover all of the new problems...

Was Columbus really first in America (in 1942)?

Here is a new book just off the printing press that just may rewrite the history books...

The title is "Iron Age America before Columbus".




It was written by William D. Conner, who is my father-in-law and it is now available at Amazon!

The publisher is Coachwhip Books, who is based out of Lancaster County, Pa.

If you are into America's History or you want to be involved in the rewriting of the History books then check this book out today!

If you are interested in an autographed copy please contact me and I will help you get one...


Here is the link again....





Until next time....



"Everyone knows someone who owns a Maytag Neptune..."

Neptune Help
Neptune Bearing
Neptune Kits

Maytag Neptune How to video - Wax Motor inspection

Maytag Neptune Washer Video - How to disassemble your Neptune for Wax Motor Inspection

I get the question "How do I know if I have the faulty wax motor in my Neptune's door latch?" all of the time so I decided to create a video that shows the Neptune disassembly.

See www.Neptunehelp.com to order your replacement 12002535 wax motor. Maytag redesigned the wax motor and when they did they specified that the tip be black so you could easily identify if you have the faulty design or the new design.

I have a cute video at www.NeptuneHelpSong.com that explains what happens if you don't proactively change your faulty door latch wax motor.

If your machine has a timer knob (non digital) then yours shipped with the faulty wax motor.

Until next time...

"Everyone knows someone who owns a Maytag Neptune..."

Maytag Neptune repair - door latch wax motor

Maytag Neptune Repair


I just finished a new video that shows how to replace the door latch wax motor in the maytag neptune door latch. Here is the Neptune Wax Motor Video link.

If you have a Maytag Neptune front loader with a timer knob you will want to inspect your wax motor and make sure it has a black actuator pin. If it has the brownish color actuator pin then you will want to replace it as soon as possible.

Keep in mind that if you have a MAH3000 model with the serial number starting with a 10 thru 25 then you will have two more wax motors in the soap dispenser. These control the bleach and softener flows.

See Neptune help for more valuable Neptune front loader information.

Kenmore Elite's have bearing issues too?

Kenmore Elite - Do these front loaders have bearing issues too?

I have been offering Maytag Neptune owner's the bearing and seal kits for about 2 years now at Neptune Bearing.

Recently, I had emails from 2 Elite owners that needed bearings. One was for an HE3 machine that was 3 years old and the second was an HE2 model. Does anyone build a washing machine that will last? I have an Elite HE3 and it is still working... (Knock on wood)

Well, don't fret Elite owners... I just put up a website where you can purchase replacement bearings and seal. See Elite Bearing for details.

You can also replace the outer tub as these are not too expensive yet because they are still in production. But once they are out of production the price will go up considerably just like the Maytag Neptune outer tub has.

Until next time...

Maytag Neptune Bearing Tony Tool - Testimonials

Maytag Neptune Bearing Tony Tool - Testimonials


Ok, I have to just pass these along... Here are a couple of Neptune owners that recently rented the Tony Tool and saved over $700 by replacing their bearings!

#1
"Just wanted you to know the tonytool worked great. Neptune washer is up and running again. Received tonytool on monday sept 28 repaired washer on tuesday sept 29 mailed tonytool back wednesday morning sept 30 by priority mail. I was considering scraping the washer before seeing your site. The bearing replacement job is nothing a person with average mechanical skills can't do. Thanks for all your help"

Curtis F.


#2
"The Tony Tool system is superb. The installation process went forward without a problem. The tool worked flawlessly. The additional tools like the snap ring pliers and wire brush were nice touches. The DVD step by step instructions made reading instructions unnecessary. Although I’d worked on old style Maytags before, the Neptune was new to me. Even so, I completed the whole job including clean-up in less than 2 hours. All the parts needed were included; nothing was overlooked. I’d definitely do business with you guys again! Thanks."

Mark Baker



As you can see the Tony Tool is the solution for your 'Out of Control' Neptune bearings... The Tony Tool is available at www.neptunekits.com along with bulk bearing and 12002022 seal kits.

Don't forget to change your 12002535 door latch wax motor when you have it apart... All of the Neptune front loaders with timer knob run the risk of damaging R11 and Q6 on the machine control board. See www.neptunehelpsong.com for the cool video that explains the issue.

Until next time...

IRS Warning Emails and other computer hazzards...

Hi Neptuners,

You know better than to click on links in unexpected emails.... right?

If the IRS sends you an email don't click on the link... I recieved an email today and if you click on it you will be whisked away to a site that will undoubtedly feed your computer a virus or trojan.

And a reminder – it is best to avoid opening .zip files you receive in emails. A lot of times these will appear to come from UPS, DHL or FedEx with a note about a package that could not be delivered. The .zip file contains an executable attachment which will infect your PC. Companies will not send notices to customers in .zip files.

Finally, and most important (and thus, in bold and in red) – if you go to a website or click a link or open an attachment (or you’re just sitting there minding your own business) and a notice pops up on your screen that says something like “Warning! Your computer is infected” – it might be accompanied by an animation showing a scan and an increasing number of threats – DON’T CLICK ANYTHING. Clicking the graphic may download malware to your PC (even clicking the X that typically shuts down a window).

Things you can do are:

· Press and hold the ALT button and tap F4 to close all open windows until the computer shuts down. (You’ll hold the ALT button down the whole time.)

· If you know pressing your power button briefly shuts your PC off, you can do that instead. (Sometimes this puts a computer into hibernation mode – typically, in computers that came with XP or newer installed, its shuts them down.)

· If the network cable is easy to get to you could unplug it before the ALT-F4 step.

· If the ALT-F4 and power button items don’t work, press the power button in until the computer shuts down.

Good luck and keep your computer safe...


Keep your Maytag Neptune safe as well... See www.neptunehelp.com for Neptune information.


Until next time...