LA5580XSF1 Whirlpool Washer - Instructions

While taking apart my washing machine to clean the plastic basket I discovered the 3 main seals down the agitator were completely disintegrated and water was leaking onto the motor and onto the floor. The seals are a tight fit but slide into place easily with lubrication. When putting everything back together a bit of lubrication will be necessary as well. The leak is gone and my nearly 30 year old washer is working as well as the day it came off of the assembly line.

I followed the online instructions to remove the shell and attempted to remove the drum, but not having the special wrench to remove the special nut, tried using a screwdriver and hammer, which failed to loosen the nut. I then started examining the the undercarriage and saw that I could replace the springs without removing the tub and did that. In the course of replacing the springs I discovered I could also access the wear pads by lifting the drum off of the undercarriage and placing a block to hold it above the pads. I was able to pop the old pads out by tapping underneath them with a hammer. The new pads were then installed and the weight of the drum popped them in. It was necessary to lift the drum assembly three times for each of the three pads.

placed washer on side and installed new pads
and returned washer upright

Unplugged the appliance. turned off inlet water and removed hoses. popped the cap off hiding the bolt that keeps the agitator in place and pulled the agitator off. tipped the washer on its front . disconnected the Wire harness. removed the 3 bolts that hold the pump, motor,clutch, (drive assembly in other words). pulled the Drive assembly out of its resting spot removed the bad clutch and replaced it with the new one. then reassembled in reverse order.

Tilt machine on its side,snap off the two retaining straps and remove the pump and sanded the shaft on the electric drive motor to remove rust ,Install new pump and retaining straps and unit now running great.

Took the agitator out and gearbox off unhook wires from motor and take off water pump, replaced the parts and put back together. Pretty easy to fix. However, I still haven't got my problem fixed. Originally the washer wouldn't spin after the rinse. I put on a new coupler and it worked for a few loads, then something smelled hot and started stinkin the house up so I opened the washer lid and smoke rolled out. Turned it off. Took the moter off and checked it and it would barely turn at all. Replaced the motor with a new one. Still wouldn't spin. Put on a new clutch assembly. Still wouldn't spin. Bought a new capacitor thinking that would do it. Still don't SPIN!!! (The ring and washer I replaced was just a casualty, not any of the problem).

Removed screws on top of machine to remove the control unit out of the way. Then used large regular screw driver to pry out the two clips that hold the back of the washer tight to the top frame. This allows the back to come away from the machine enough to get the water inlet valve free. Didn't have to remove the bolts at the bottom of the back of the machine (they were pretty rusty) Just removed the single screw holding the water inlet valve in place, slid it down and away from the back cover and could fish it out to the side and disconnect the hose (with plyers) and slide off electrical clips (make a note of which clip goes to which valve.) I removed the part first so I could make sure I was ordering the right one. When the part came (very promptly by the way) it went back together easy. Only question was regarding reinstalling the wires since I didn't mark which way they went. I knew which one went on the Hot and Cold but didn't know if it mattered which clips went on each terminal. Figuring it was AC guessed it didn't matter so put it together the way the connectors seemed to want to lie naturally. Put it together making sure no hoses or wires where pinched or rubbing against sharp edges. Replaced the rubber washers in the hoses and made sure the hose connectors turned freely (they had been rusted a bit and didn't turn on the hose freely and I think this was the start of the cross threading problem) This time the hoses went back on very easily, screwed them hand tight not forcing anything at any time (DIDN"T USE PLIERS!). Tried water and no more leaks. Washer filled faster also, think this was because the screens on the water valve were plugged. I'll have to remember to take the hoses off and make sure the screens are clear every couple years or so. If you are having slow fills, suggest you check this first before tearing in to the machine.

Basically I followed the great instructions provided on the Part Select webpages. I would consider myself to have more common sense than mechanical skill. I didn't want to have to keep going back to purchase more parts so I decided to buy the motor coupler (under $5), new clutch assembly (Under $30), new motor (under $160). The shaft on the original motor wore down to a cylindrical shape which should have been more of a rectangular shape to fit precisely into the motor coupler and provide the grip strength for the washer tub to spin. Usually the no spin problem is linked to a faulty motor coupler. I was glad that I had to removed the motor to reach the motor coupler because in my case the coupler had not failed. That is when I saw the motor shaft had worn. Since I had all the new parts I replaced them all and since 6/13/19 the washer is running like new. Oh, the problem was most likely caused by someone in my family "overloading" the wash machine one too many times over 11 years. Guy's / Gal's you can do this and save yourself from buying a new washer for between $850 - $1,200. My repair expense was under $240 including tax and next day delivery of my parts. Thanks Part Select !!!! Neil

!. Removed agitator from inside
2.Removed outside cabinet
3 Removed pump, motor, and transmission.
4. Slid the entire drive unit out of the tub from the bottom
5. Removed the clutch assy. and installed new.
6. Reverseed the procedure to re-assemble.

Once I finally found the part I needed, the repair was very simple and took only a few minutes. Thanks to the very helpful operator to walk me through the diagram to find the corresponding number for the part. I really appreciate your help!

3 online people recommended tilting the machine on the side and replacing the 3 suspension springs. Someone else recommended changing the tub pads. That is the wrong approach. It is actually easier to remove the case than turn the machine on the side. Once you do it once or twice it takes less than 2 minutes and it doesn't distort the suspension. You don't even have to disconnect the hoses. When I originally examined the machine lying on it's side I saw that the tub balance spring was still attached to the tub but the other end had detached. I looked for the place to reattach it. I found a place on the glide plate. Unfortunately this was the wrong place and the machine continued to bang away. When I realized that the spring had to be attached to the lower frame rather than the glide plate (one week of looking). I even wrote to the Repair guru. Once I found my mistake the repair took 5 minutes and no tools other than the phillips screwdriver to take out the 2 screws for the case. I replaced the tub balancing spring for good measure. The machine works great.

Followed the excellent video instructions. They say you can perform the repair without removing the enclosure, but when I saw how easy it was to remove it, it definitely improves the access and speeds the repair. Have a piece of wire handy to to hold the pump assembly out of the way. Installed new clutch kit and it runs like a champ.

The repair itself was easy. The knobs come off on the water temperature and level, you just pull them off. On the timer itself, the handle unscrews. You push the handle down and then just unscrew it. There are two screws on the front and two on the back which you remove to get access to the inside of the control panel. The timer is attached to the front of the control panel with two screws. The only thing that was unusual was that the replacement part was not identical to the original. The old timer had threads on its body. The replacement timer just had holes for self tapping screws. Fortunately, I had some self tapping screws. Installation is the reverse of removal. The most important thing to remember is to remove the electrical connector from the old timer next to the new one so you can install it exactly the same. It would probably go on backwards. Not bad for a 21 year old washing machine.

Repair went well, but my switch only had one contact on the non common end. The new switch had two contacts. One is for operation with lid open and one for lid closed. Make sure to connect to the lid closed contact and the common on the other end and leave the lid open contact unused.

The repair was fairly simple and while it made the spin operation quieter and and a bit more stable, it still gets out of balance. Disconnected power, shutoff supply lines and disconnected them from the unit.

Laid washer on its front and replaced the two more visible springs fairly easily from underneath using a little leverage with a 2 x 4 to take any residual tension off the springs.

Then I turned the washer over on its back (gently and with a little support (board or old thick towel) so the weight of the unit didn't rest entirely on the water intake connectors

Again, lifted the tub with 2 x 4 and disconnected the power and control connector to the motor to make a little more room to get to the spring.

If you do this, be sure to re-connect that connector before you put the washer back and test, otherwise it will fill and then sit.... I had to siphon the tank out, disconnect everything, flip it over and re-connect that power connector!! After that the unit ran better than before, especially on the spin cycle. Over all this washer is 15 years old and worn a bit so we are still careful not to overload it and balance the loading as much as possible. Large bedspreads and king size sheets or mattress covers will always spin out of balance but for 90% of regular washing it was an improvement.