How to Replace the Bearing on a Kenmore HE3 Front Load Washing Machine

Slide the washer about 4 feet from the wall. Unplug the power cord and turn off the washer’s hot and cold water supply shut-off valves. Disconnect the supply hoses from the back of the machine by unscrewing the connectors counterclockwise with a pair of channel pliers.

Remove the three Torx-head screws securing the top panel to the back of the washer with a cordless drill/driver fitted with a Torx wrench attachment; you will use the same wrench on all the Torx-head screws on the machine. Lift the back of the panel, pull it backward and lay the panel aside.

Remove the Torx-head screws holding the door hinge to the front of the machine. Remove the door and lay it aside.

Slide the tip of a flat-head screwdriver behind the small tension spring on the bottom of the door boot seal, and lever it forward. Pull the spring, together with the attached circular wire clip, out from around the boot seal. Peel the front of the seal away from the lip surrounding the door opening and push it inside the drum.

Remove the 12 hex-head screws securing the back panel to the washer with the cordless drill/driver and a nut driver attachment. Locate the two oblong white plastic moldings on both top corners of the back panel. Lift the outer edges of the moldings and push the central lugs inward. Slide the molding sideways, and remove them to free the panel.

Undo the Torx-head screws securing the two flat reinforcing cross frames to the back of the machine and remove the frames. Disconnect the large flexible water supply hose from the top right of the drum housing by compressing the tabs on the spring-loaded hose clamp with the channel pliers and pulling the hose off the housing.

Locate the slightly inward-angled white plastic breather outlet assembly situated near the left corner of the upper L-sectioned reinforcing frame. Press the tag on top of the assembly inward with the screwdriver, and push the assembly through the oblong hole on the upper reinforcing cross frame.

Remove the eight Torx-head screws securing the L-sectioned reinforcing frame to both sides of the top and back of the washer chassis. Pull the frame off and fold it up and back on top of the machine, together with the attached electrical connections and fittings.

Lift the front of the washer and push a plastic soda bottle crate under the front corner to support the machine. Undo the three Torx-head screws securing the bottom edge of the front panel, remove the panel and set the machine back on the floor. Remove the single Torx-head screw securing the white plastic water pump to the bottom front of the washer and lift it up and out of the machine, together with the return and supply hoses. Do not disconnect the pump from the wiring harness.

Grasp the bottom of the long black tubular rubber support rods on both sides of the drum housing on the back of the machine. Twist both rods counterclockwise to free them from their recesses. Twist the top of the supports the opposite way and remove both rods.

Compress the tabs on the spring-loaded drain hose clamp on the bottom of the drum with the channel pliers and pull the drain hose off the drum. Pull the right edge of the drive belt backward and rotate the drum pulley counterclockwise to remove the belt. Remove the two bolts securing the motor to the bottom right of the drum housing with a socket wrench and lower the motor onto the chassis floor.

Insert the handle of a large adjustable wrench between the drum pulley on the back of the machine and one of the webs near the top of the drum housing to prevent the pulley from turning. Slide a long metal tube over the handle of a ratchet wrench fitted with a fifteen-sixteenths socket. Place the socket over the pulley nut and pull the wrench counterclockwise by the end of the tube to loosen the pulley nut. Remove the nut and slide the pulley off the drum shaft.

Remove the Torx-head screw securing the green ground wire to the bearing assembly. Pull the ground wire out of the notches on the drum housing. Place a 6-millimeter socket over the back of the clips protruding through the brackets securing the ground wire to the bottom of the housing. Press the socket in to collapse the spring-loaded tabs, slide the clips off the brackets and lay the ground wire on the bottom of the machine.

Place a suitable support under the drum housing to prevent it from dropping down. Lift the drum with the help of an assistant and unclip the two support spring hooks from the brackets on the sides of the drum housing. Pull the drum housing out of the washer and lower it onto the floor with the shaft facing upward.

Slide the tip of the flat screwdriver under upper edge of one of the oblong U-shaped metal retaining clips holding the two drum flanges together. Lever the clip off the mating flanges. Repeat by removing the rest of the securing clips from the flanges surrounding the drum housing.

Place an open plastic soda bottle crate on the floor to support the separated drum housing section. Lift the top half of the drum housing off the drum and lay it upside down on the open crate to access the inner bearing.

Insert the bent end of a narrow pry bar under the inside edge of the rubber bearing seal and lever the seal out of the housing. Invert the drum and insert the tips of a pair of snap-ring pliers into the holes in the bearing assembly snap-ring; squeeze the handles together and remove the snap-ring.

Turn the drum housing section over with the flange uppermost and place it on the open plastic crate. Insert the same length of metal pipe used earlier as a lever through the hole in the inner bearing. Tilt the pipe sideways and rest the far edge on the outer bearing rim. Deliver a series of moderate blows to the end of the pipe with a heavy hammer while moving the pipe around the rim of the outer bearing until it drops out.

Turn the housing over and support the outer flange on two 3-foot lengths of two-by-fours. Remove the inner bearing by tapping it out with the length of pipe as described in the previous step. Wipe the face of the inner bearing housing clean with a rag and apply a thin film of aerosol lubricant to the inner surface.

Fit the new outer bearing into the housing by gently tapping the outer edge all the way around the perimeter with the hammer until it’s lined up evenly. Place a 1 1/2-inch socket over the bearing and deliver a series of moderate blows to the socket to drive the bearing down evenly all the way. Replace the snap ring removed earlier by squeezing the clip together with the snap ring pliers and slotting it into its groove.

Invert the drum housing and settle it on the open plastic crate. Insert the new inner bearing the same way, but this time, place the end of a suitably wide block of hardwood on top of the bearing and deliver moderate blows to the other end of the block while rotating the block until the bearing fits all the way in. Insert the bearing seal into the cavity and tap evenly all the way round the edge with a metal engineer’s punch and hammer.

Line up the tabs on the bearing half of the drum housing with the slots inside the mating flange on the other half of the housing and push the two halves together. Replace the spring clips over the protruding flanges around the drum housing by tapping the clips home with the hammer.

Reassemble the washer by reversing the procedures carried out in Steps 2 through 18. Replace the water supply hoses and plug the washer power cord back into the outlet. Run a short wash cycle to ensure that the washer is working properly and that there are no leaks from the hoses. Push the machine back against the wall to complete the project.