The part costs $25. To have someone come here and install it costs $275 for trip charge and labor. Ugh.. I'm picking up the part this week to see if we can DIY.

Is that what retains the boot to the machine.

In my 4040, ours is simple ~wire~ - similar to a spring clamp that hooks on/off by some serious tension.

a1an - yes, it is a clamp that fell off the boot/gasket around the opening to the tub. In the meantime, the gasket/boot seems tight and stable. But this is there for a reason and needs to be taken care of soon. And clearly the wire clamp is the proper material to use. Why plastic was used for this is beyond me.

I called an independent appliance repair place that came highly recommended on NextDoor, and their price was the $ame. My brother-in-law is very handy and might know if this requires a specific tool.

The clamp,and broken piece.

Gosh, fatigued plastic. It's just a *retainer* for the boot though, so not that force to some degree. The boot sits into the sheetmetal via a -groove- on the boot anyhow .

That type of style might be better as it's uniform on the boot. On the metal one I describe, just due to the design, where it latches....it creates a slight --pinch-- on the boot, which I'm not too crazed about either.

I just reread your post. Not bad on the Miele closed parts setup and MAP pricing....$25 ain't too bad. I think I paid like $250 or somewhere (it was high for what it was) for a replacement shock.

I think you should make out OK. As once the teeth are locked....you just need to engage more on each increment till it's tight to your specs...I would put the ring over, then cinch the ends till they meet. The use any open adjustable pliers you have to snug/push the teeth down so they engage. Don't go crazy so it's super tight - again, it's just a retaining ring, kinda like a circlip

a1an, that's basically what brother-in-law and I discussed doing, a few minutes ago. This thing cannot have been overlapped by more than one or two teeth. I have picture-hanging wire I can thread through the holes on each end of the clamp, and twist both ends around something to lull them together. Dadblasted plastic parts. #&@%$!

Don’t use hanger wire to draw them together . Too thin/isolated pressure.. U want something as -wide- as it gets against the plastic ends to just spread the clamping force