Why does my washer “walk”?

3 years ago

I have a Samsung front load washer. It is 9 years old. About a year ago, it began to ”walk.” I have checked with a spirit level and it is level front-to-back, side-to-side, and on the diagonal. Pushing down on the corners does not cause a wobble, so I’m assuming the legs are touching the floor when I check. Nevertheless, it walks and the size/weight of the load does not seem to make a difference.

What else is there to check or do before I call a repairman?

Featured Answer

dadoes

3 years ago

Another possibility is the drum support spider being cracked/broken on one of the arms due to developing corrosion, which causes the drum to spin askew, excess vibration and possibly trouble balancing for spin. The drum eventually breaks loose from the spider within the outer tub, typically during spin. The problem can sometimes by diagnosed by attempting to wiggle the drum by grasping the rim within the tub at several different points around the circumference to check if it's loose, but whether that evidences depends on how bad is the developing break.

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Comments (6)

dadoes
3 years ago
Regards to leveling the machine, it's important that the machine is equally firm at all four corners. Check either of the front corner leveling legs when a load is running and it's exhibiting the walking for which corner may be vibrating more than the other and adjust that one leg accordingly to minimize the vibration.

If you can't get any joy in that regard then there may be a problem with one (or more) of the tub suspension shocks, which can wear/fail over time. You didn't cite the model number. Most frontloaders have four shocks, which must be replaced as a set (even if sold individually) to insure they all match for support/dampening effect.
bbstx thanked dadoes
kculbers
3 years ago
Try putting some rubber furniture cushions under the 4 legs of you washer, if you determine the machine is level.
bbstx thanked kculbers
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a1an
3 years ago
How does she sound/vibrate/run when the tub is doing a high speed spin . Sounds like a shock is bad but you should notice it...
bbstx thanked a1an
bbstx
Original Author
3 years ago
The machine does not sound odd when it spins. What would it sound like if there were a bad shock?
bbstx
Original Author
3 years ago
After looking at a You Tube video, I tried to move the tub around. It doesn’t appear to me to be loose. I also spun the empty drum. It spun easily and smoothly, but I detected the same sound I would have heard if there were something small and metal in the drum EXCEPT I could not see anyting small or metal in the drum.

Guess I need to call a repairman.