Outer Tub with Bearing

The Neptune stacked washer/dryer maintenance manual was a must-have for this repair.

The washer's sound during spin cycle had changed over time from a jet-engine whine to a low rumble. Inspection from the rear revealed that the seals between the spinner and outer tub had failed, and the bearings had been damaged by water intrusion. The bearings are not a replacement item. They are installed as part of the outer tub assembly, so the whole outer tub must be replaced. This requires almost complete disassembly of the washing machine.

The disassembly was relatively easy with the maintenance manual in hand. I had to use a gear puller to remove the pulley, though. I decided to replace not only the outer tub, but the spinner shaft as well since I believed the shaft may have been damaged when the bearings failed.

Reassembly was not so easy. I installed the outer tub, then wrestled with the heavy counterweights. The lower weight was particularly unwieldy, since I had support it from below while attaching it to the bottom of the tub. I finally used books of different thicknesses to hold the weight in place while locating the screw holes for attachment. The upper weight attached easily after I wrestled it into position. This is a concrete weight of about 25 lbs, I would guess.

The other problem was attaching the outer tub cover with the rubber boot attached. It is held by 12 clips, and it was difficult to seat the cover tight enough to attach the clips. I started at the bottom and worked around, instaling clips as I went. The last 4 clips were the hardest; I had to cinch up the cover with C-clamps before installing the clips.

The rest of the assembly was not difficult.

I had my wife help locate the new tub on the struts in the back and to help support the motor while I hung it on the outer tub. Otherwise, this is a one-man repair.

Total cost around $350, thanks to Partselect.com reasonable prices. I shopped around and they offered the best price snd excellent service.

I spent about 8 hours on this job.

This kit came with instructions. I followed them closely. The only thing I could add is clean the tub spindle with steelwool to remove any debris or rust. then wipe down spindle to remove all steelwool particles and follow instructions to reassamble.

If you are using the newer style seal be sure the taper part of the seal is toward the front of the machine. Installing it backward will ruin the seal and burn up the motor and or controller. The seal installation tool will fit on the side oppsite the taper. It will require a helper to hold the drum support while torquing the nut on the pulley. Better instruction would help too.

I opened the door on the washer,and pushed on inner tub upward.it moved about 1 inch and the I knew tub bearings where shot .So I removed all components and repaced the outer tub with new bearing pack.. NOTE... Not an easy repair..but when i finished i had no probems with water leakage.ALL GOOD.