How to Change the Drive Block on a GE Washer

Required Tools

• Changing your GE washer’s drive block requires some specialty tools. The required tools include a set of assorted sockets, socket wrench, assorted nut drivers, Phillips-head screwdriver, 1 1/2-inch steel putty knife and a heavy rubber mallet. Also needed is GE washing machine spanner wrench, also known as a tub nut wrench, obtained from an appliance parts supply.

Opening the Washer Cabinet

• Gain access to the GE washing machine’s interior to make the repair. Start by unplugging the machine from the wall outlet. Two clips hold the top panel to the washing machine cabinet. The clips are located in the seam between the top and the cabinet, about 4 inches in from each front corner. Use a putty knife and push in on the front of the clips, while lifting the top off the cabinet. Let the GE washer top rest against the wall behind the machine. Use a nut driver or the screwdriver and remove the two Phillips- or hex-head screws from the top of the washer cabinet at the two front corners. Pull the front panel from your GE washer and set it aside.

Accessing the Drive Block

• To get to the drive block, remove the agitator and the interior washtub. Start by prying the agitator cap from the agitator’s top. Once the cap is off, access the bolt holding the agitator in the washer. Remove the agitator bolt with a socket and socket wrench. Grab the agitator from the bottom and yank it straight up and out of the GE washer. Once the agitator is removed, you can see the tub nut around the agitator shaft. Fit the spanner wrench around the tub nut. Strike one of the spanner wrench’s handles with the rubber mallet turning the tub nut counterclockwise to remove it. Unsnap the tub ring tabs from the exterior washtub. The tabs hold the tub ring to the washtub’s top. Lift the tub ring off the washtub and set it aside.

Change the Drive Block

• The drive block is attached to the agitator shaft beneath the inner washtub. Grab the inner washtub’s inside lip and lift it up and out of the inner washtub. You can now change the drive block. Use the rubber mallet and strike the drive block from beneath, raising it up on the shaft. Continue striking the drive block until you can remove it from the shaft with your hand. Slide the new drive block onto the shaft. Push it down onto the shaft with your hand, and then strike it with your mallet until it seats. Put the washer back together by reversing the steps you used to take it apart.