808-756-0221Maytag Neptune Washer MAH5500BWW Bearing Replacement – Can it be done? Yes
I recently was told my noisy washer would cost $900 – $1000 to replace the inner tub. This is apparently because they cannot or “will not” sell the $75 bearing and seals kit to fix the issue. So after doing a quick Google search for the Maytag bearings it seems this is a common but easy problem to fix. Here is the bearing kit you need from Jeffreyson on ebay, he sent instructions and well as links and a DVD on how to replace the bearings. The only thing I would have liked to see would be an .mp4 version instead of DVD. I converted the DVD and put it on my iPad to follow as I was doing the repairs. I used Handbrake to convert the DVD to iPad format. It worked really well and took about 5-6 minutes to complete. The whole project from start to finish took about 3 hours. The kit comes without the spacer and I didn’t need it as mine was in good shape. The DVD and email he sends comes with everything you need, there are a lot of links and helpful hints as well as a PDF about the bearings. I am pretty mechanical and it was easy for me to follow and fix the issue. The bearings took a bit of persuading to remove but they did come out. I replaced the bearings and seal put everything back together tested it and it is just like new. Quiet sturdy and doesn’t shake apart on spin cycle. I will say that the instructions are for the older more common MAH3000, MAH4000 and MAH5000 series the difference between The MAH5500A and MAH5500B seems to be the snap rings. I don’t have any nor do I have any grooves on the inside for them or the white plastic snap ring. The good news for those with this specific model is that not only do you not need to mess with the snap rings, you don’t have the old style seal either so you can use the new style seal with the installer tool included in the kit. I made one other change from the video, I put the spindle in first then the tub after to prevent damaging the seal and to make sure everything was tight and working smooth. The only additional step was to remove the 3 baffles inside the inner tub with a T-20 torx bit and then you can remove the (3) 1/2 ” nuts that hold the tub to the spinner assembly. Note!: There are 3 clear plastic pieces that go between the spinner and tub to prevent rubbing. Don’t loose them! They go with the bend tab towards the inside and down on the spinner. This process added an extra 10 minutes but I think it made things much simpler when installing the big heavy inner tub and trying not to damage the new seal. I also cleaned out the drain hose which as others have said it would be clogged. This prevents the proper draining and you can get the LR error as the drum can’t spin properly. So that was it. I took it apart, cleaned it, then put it back together and tested it. We are on our third load and it is as quiet as it was when it was new. For $75 and a bit of my time we have a washer that should last another 3-5 years. Thanks to Jeff Hartman for the great instructions, simple kit and fast delivery! You can find more information at http://www.neptunehelp.com/index.htm Just as a side note this model does not have the door lock issue. The MAH5500B has a completely different setup. Here is a link to the helpful video – http://www.neptunehelp.com/index_files/Page482.htm. In an email I got shortly after placing the order it included the links to the videos a wealth of helpful hints and a pdf of the manual and bearing installations.