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Speaking of Sears

Basil

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The rear bearings on our 11 year old Kenmore Elite front-load washer are going south and it makes a horrible racket on the high-speed spin cycle. The cost for a Sears repairman to come and replace the entire outer drum assembly is north of $800. They don't sell just the bearings - oh no no no, you have to buy the entire rear outer drum -for $345.

As luck would have it, I found a very good, detailed video some wonderful person made showing exactly how to change the bearing (and where to buy just the bearings). The pair of bearings needed, with a new seal, will cost $75. These are not special bearings but Sears doesn't sell them separately, even though they appear to be fairly easy to replace. No worries, I have them ordered and will effect this rather straight-forward repair in a week or two. No wonder Sears is going under.
 

DrEntropy

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The bearings are stamped with their numbers, a good bearing house can reference 'em and likely be less than $75. John Timkin!
 
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Basil

Basil

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The bearings are stamped with their numbers, a good bearing house can reference 'em and likely be less than $75. John Timkin!

The $75 is not just for the bearings - it includes a new special rear seal as well (which I can't get unless I buy the kit with bearings included). $75 might still be a bit over-priced, but it beats the heck out of $345. I might poke around and see if I can determine ahead of time the bearing numbers and if the seal is common enough to buy separately somewhere.
 

DrEntropy

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I'm guessing the seal is also a common part. Kenmore/Westinghouse stuff was all put together in Pittsburgh and with commonly available bits. My guess is you could find the individual parts and make the repair for $30~ $40 bucks.
 
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Basil

Basil

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I'm guessing the seal is also a common part. Kenmore/Westinghouse stuff was all put together in Pittsburgh and with commonly available bits. My guess is you could find the individual parts and make the repair for $30~ $40 bucks.

Well, after some snooping the net I found the kits ranging from $19.99 - $43. This includes 3 bearings and the seal. My guess is these are NOT Timken bearings. I could see the numbers on the bearings and looked up equivalent Timken bearings and the largest is $35 for just the bearing. I know Timken makes quality stuff - not sure who makes these but have an emailed respective vendors to ask that question of each. I'd be willing to pay a bit more to get Timken bearings.
 

DrEntropy

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Well, even Timken is now foreign. Even if it's NGK, it'll be fine. Go for the least costly, they all come from the same source now.
 
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Basil

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Well, even Timken is now foreign. Even if it's NGK, it'll be fine. Go for the least costly, they all come from the same source now.

Swell. Cheapest it is then. At least they don't look terribly hard to replace (need to remove the drum assembly and then remove the inner from from the outer drum (outer drum shell is where the bearings are).
 

DrEntropy

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Fiddly, but cheaper than outsourcing the fix!
 

Boink

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The rear bearings on our 11 year old Kenmore Elite front-load washer are going south and it makes a horrible racket on the high-speed spin cycle. The cost for a Sears repairman to come and replace the entire outer drum assembly is north of $800. They don't sell just the bearings - oh no no no, you have to buy the entire rear outer drum -for $345.

As luck would have it, I found a very good, detailed video some wonderful person made showing exactly how to change the bearing (and where to buy just the bearings). The pair of bearings needed, with a new seal, will cost $75. These are not special bearings but Sears doesn't sell them separately, even though they appear to be fairly easy to replace. No worries, I have them ordered and will effect this rather straight-forward repair in a week or two. No wonder Sears is going under.

Similar here. Changed out the circuit board on the dryer and the door lock-out switch on the washer (both Kenmore Elite units that date from 2005). Felt virtuous. :cool: Still, I owe it all to YouTube (otherwise the expense would have been crazy for labor).
 

JPSmit

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Similar here. Changed out the circuit board on the dryer and the door lock-out switch on the washer (both Kenmore Elite units that date from 2005). Felt virtuous. :cool: Still, I owe it all to YouTube (otherwise the expense would have been crazy for labor).

+1 Youtube is astonishing when it comes to stuff like this - replaced a coupling on the washer a couple years ago - not only did youtube tell me how - but more importantly how to take apart the washer, without the video I would have ended up using a can opener. :grin:
 

JPSmit

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Oh and in other news - when we returned to Canada we bought a new fridge in the USA (Sears) - barn door top fridge - after a year the clip on top of the door went. First of all they didn't want to honour the warranty till I could find a CSA sticker on the fridge (Canadian Standards Association) and then when they did come they replaced the whole door ($1300) for a $3 part - :rolleyes:
 
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Basil

Basil

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+1 Youtube is astonishing when it comes to stuff like this - replaced a coupling on the washer a couple years ago - not only did youtube tell me how - but more importantly how to take apart the washer, without the video I would have ended up using a can opener. :grin:

Can't count the number of repairs I've successfuly made - appliances and cars - that were greatly helped with the aid of YouTube.
 

Boink

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Can't count the number of repairs I've successfuly made - appliances and cars - that were greatly helped with the aid of YouTube.

I love it... and I'd never had been successful otherwise (as I'd not have been sure where to start). Similarly, my wife and I changed out the starter battery on her Prius (which was not an intuitive process at all).
 

dklawson

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...when they did come they replaced the whole door ($1300) for a $3 part - :rolleyes:

My ex-brother in law stopped buying from Sears 35 years ago when the lights in his 3 month old clock radio burned out. The folks at Sears said "no parts" and suggested he buy another new clock radio. He went to a local electronics house that opened the appliance up, identified the bulbs, and installed new ones for about $5.

We have a Frigidaire refrigerator that we bought from the previous owners of our house... 30 years ago. The door closes with what look like mating spur gears that use gravity to swing the door shut. Those plastic gears/cams failed and no one had replacements. For lack of a cheap plastic part they suggested I replace the fridge. Using one of the appliance parts sources online I found a "similar" looking part for a different brand of fridge. I ordered a set and found that they were 100% identical to the part I needed.

It is annoying to be told something cannot be fixed or that repairs cost more than is reasonable. However, you'll notice from the posts above that British car owners are never satisfied with that situation and we tend to find our own ways to fix the problems for a generally reasonable price. We improvise and fix rather than replace.
 
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Basil

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It is annoying to be told something cannot be fixed or that repairs cost more than is reasonable.

Amen to that! If I had just called Seart o come to the house to fix this, it would have cost north of $800 (per their estimate). Thanks to YouTube and finding a cheap source for the bearings, I should be able to effect all repairs for around $50-ish (and that includes buying and a new belt, which I'll do just on principle since Ill have the back off)
 

HealeyRick

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Can't count the number of repairs I've successfuly made - appliances and cars - that were greatly helped with the aid of YouTube.

What I can't get over is the number of folks that take the time to do these videos just to help out the rest of us. Sure, some are done by the parts companies to help them sell their stuff, but a lot are from regular joes and janes that have no monetary interest. Here's to them. :cheers:
 

GregW

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The bearing on my washing machine went bad a few years ago (Frigidaire). I found the parts to do it myself but found that minerals in the water had bonded the main nut to the drums shaft. tried penetrating oil, then CLR for a couple days. Never could get the thing apart. Buying a new machine was much cheaper than trying to repair when the Sawzall became the next obvious tool to use. Good luck.
 

JPSmit

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What I can't get over is the number of folks that take the time to do these videos just to help out the rest of us. Sure, some are done by the parts companies to help them sell their stuff, but a lot are from regular joes and janes that have no monetary interest. Here's to them. :cheers:

I agree - which is when I remember that most people are good and kind and generous. :cheers: indeed!
 

SD Bugeye

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Wouldn’t it be something to know just how much money and materials have been saved because of you tube?
really quite amazing what you can research and repair
wasn’t that long ago it was cat videos
 
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Several local instances...one, a neighbor's electrostatic precipitator went...oh, 15 years ago. Board bad....company wanted over $300 for the board.

Puled it apart, checked it out....can't recall...op amp or regulator obviously blown...ordered two....five bucks....soldered one in, other in a ziplock taped inside the cover...still working.

About four years ago, other neighbors were in Romania visiting family. Hit the local airport on the way home, remotely cranked up the heat...all fine when they got home about 2200 hours on a January evening.
Hour later wife is pounding on my door.

Funny smell for a bit, now no heat...kids cold....looked at it, inspected the circuit diagram inside the front cover...checked voltages....looked like either a bad main relay, or failed solder joint. Pulled the board.

Apparently the solder joint had been a problem for some time with excessive heat. There was a 3/8" diameter hole burned clear through the circuit board at that relay pin.

Soldered a heavy jumper from the pin to a good part of the circuit board....reassembled....still working today, and no parts required.
 
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