Clothes Washer Leaking Water Help!

[moosebag]

Leaks a small amount of water on the floor every now and then. Not every cycle though and not much water, maybe two cups or so. I have checked the back end and found no indication of any issues there. The washer is a Sears Kenmore and is about 8 years old. Last week it vibrated horribly when a load of blue jeans got out of balance. After that is when we first noticed signs of water. What could it be and where do I start first?

 

[HoughMade]

Make sure all of the connections for the hoses are tight. Especially check the drain hose at the washer because it is down low and usually held on by a spring clip.

 

[Brown]

had the exact same problem with mine. White Westinghouse that is 15+ yrs old. only leaked on the spin cycle.

Here is what I found :
Open the top of the unit and get down to the top of the drum. there will be a "cap" on the top of the tub that goes up under the lip of the top inlet where you load the clothes.

The seal that is under that cap between it and the tub was deteriorated. that is why on spin cycle it would leak. Warning it is a ^*(Q#$)^ to get that top off. Once I did decided with the age of the washer and cost of a new seal that silicone sounded about right.

worked like a charm. no leaks and wife not complainin

 

[Hoosierdood]

Leaks a small amount of water on the floor every now and then. Not every cycle though and not much water, maybe two cups or so. I have checked the back end and found no indication of any issues there. The washer is a Sears Kenmore and is about 8 years old. Last week it vibrated horribly when a load of blue jeans got out of balance. After that is when we first noticed signs of water. What could it be and where do I start first?

You need to get her to a doctor FAST!!!

 

[GREEN607]

Unlike the internal workings of a dishwasher..... washing machines do not 'recycle' water during their operation.... thus there are no 'connective' hoses.

Like 'Brown' above said, it is likely that agitator seal.

I'm not a "Maytag repairman"... but I play one on the internet.

 

[Suprtek]

I can't be sure but this might be worth checking. Most washers have some sort of a trap in the plumbing under the drum. If it gets clogged, it may not be pumping out enough water before it spins resulting in water splashing over the top of the drum and running down. Sometimes this can cause it to not complete a cycle or take longer to complete a cycle. I've found coins, hairpins, and even small rags stuck in there before. Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

[drillsgt]

We have a Whirlpool Cabrio that's about seven years old and ours has started to vibrate as well and leaking a little. We got an electical problem fixed yesterday and the tech said that our bearing is getting bad and that there is a seal by the bearing that starts to leak.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

You might want to watch it through a cycle or two to see when it starts to leak to get some clues. I'm thinking I had Kenmore one time that developed a leak in the water pump. As memory serves, it wasn't too hard to change out.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Make sure it isn't the drain

 

[Dybber]

This happened with a brand new washer I just bought and it turned out to have a small crack in the drum.

 

[Nayls47]

Depending on where the drum stops (toward the front or toward the back by the water inlet) water starts filling the tub and water will splash out and over the top of the tub. Sometimes it does it and sometimes it doesn't. It's a real pain in the rump.

 

[Bigtanker]

You need to get her to a doctor FAST!!!

Hahahahaha. I see what you did there! Rep inbound.

 

[danbb]

I had it where the drain hose coming out of the water pump had a pinhole, right after an off-balance load. Only during the spin cycle does the water pump push the water out through that hose, so it only leaked during spin, and only a cup or two. I believe it was on a whirlpool

 

[Mackey]

You might want to watch it through a cycle or two to see when it starts to leak to get some clues. I'm thinking I had Kenmore one time that developed a leak in the water pump. As memory serves, it wasn't too hard to change out.

Same thing happened to me, replaced a pump and all was well. It was a plastic job and developed a crack in it.

 

[Scarecrow]

Depending on where the drum stops (toward the front or toward the back by the water inlet) water starts filling the tub and water will splash out and over the top of the tub. Sometimes it does it and sometimes it doesn't. It's a real pain in the rump.

This was also our problem. I tried moving the water inlet as far forward as it would let me. If it got off balance, it could have weakened the springs so the drum doesn't stop exactly center.

 

[ROLEXrifleman]

If the leak is coming from the front of the machine and only happens when it's draining the water it's most likely the drain pump.
Did one on the inlaws over the summer, $26 and 45 minutes of my time.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwV71h86Gxw&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/ame]


Btw, the inlaws' was a 4 year old Kenmore. Replacement part was available at the Kmart service center.

 

[clfergus]

My GE was leaking a few months ago and since we don't have a water softner it was due to calcium buildup on the sprayer during the preload and rinse cycles. The plastic sprayer was getting clogged and not able to shoot the stream as hard so the excess was running down the sprayer, down the back of the drum and onto the floor. I removed, soaked in CLR and fixed my issue.

 

[aclark]

Open the top after it happens and see if its wet. I know ours sometimes gets out of balance and splashes water onto the lid. Sometimes it will drip down outside the drum and down onto the floor underneath. Not really leaking, just splashing.

 

[moosebag]

Good news... Found the leak!

Big thanks to "ROLEXrifleman" video. It gave me confidence to tear into it myself. Found out the water pump seal is leaking when draining water. Ordered a new pump today $30.00. Saved a service call and labor. Big thanks to everyone's great advice.

 

[Suprtek]

Great job! Glad it worked out!