Learn Me: Washing machine diagnosis

I have a frigidaire front loading washing machine that is over 10 years old, but recently started having issues.  I'm not in a good position to replace it until spring(garage is packed up for the winter, and that's the route it would need to get into the house), so would like to at least get it to survive until then.

Here's the rough timeline:

A few months back, it starts not finishing the spin cycle every time.  Like it would spin some, but not long enough (or fast enough) to get excess water out of the clothes.  This was not consistent.  Sometimes just running a drain/spin cycle would do the trick.  Sometimes, splitting the load in half and doing a drain/spin would work.

After lots of googling, I pulled the drain tubing, and cleaned the trap, as that seemed to be the first thing I was finding in cases where the spin cycle would still engage.  It did not work.  Next step was to replace the belt.  I replaced it with a (presumably) brand name belt.

Everything worked fine for a while, but it seemed imbalanced sometimes.  I'll admit I should have releveled the washer, but just never got around to it.  After a month or so, the behavior has returned.  Just in case, I did level it, and it hasn't helped.

Test loads run through it: 

• One large, heavy towel.  Spin cycle did not dry it out enough.
• Three smaller towels, about the same weight as the other towel.  Spin cycle worked fine.
• Empty.  Spin cycle worked fine, seemed really fast.

I don't see how, but is it possible that I burned up the belt in a month, by not leveling the machine?  I have also not found out if there is a switch that shuts it off if the imbalance gets too bad, but there was never any banging noises like I have heard with some old top loaders, so I don't know if that is relevant.  Any other ideas as to what the problem is?

My inclination is to order new shock absorbers, and see if that fixes the problem.  I may first pull the new belt, and compare it to the original I removed (didn't throw it out yet), and see if it has stretched just as much.  Motor and motor control boards are expensive enough that I don't think they are worth replacing on a machine this old.

Failing that, any suggestions for a basic, reliable front loader brands?  Speed Queen is way more than I want to spend.  I've heard to stay away from LG and Samsung, but don't know who is good nowadays.

Is there water left in the machine after it stops, as in does it drain all of the way? If so, might not be the spin cycle. My last Samsung was 12 years old when the board went up, I didn't think that was too bad for a store bought appliance. 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

Nope, no water pooling in the machine at all.  Drain, and drain pump seem to be working fine.

Regarding the age, I'd say we've gotten our money's worth out of it, but I like to squeeze as much out of appliances as is practical, and I really don't want to shuffle stuff out of the garage during the winter.  Heck, the dryer was here when I bought the house 22 years ago, and it's still alive and kicking.  The oven is the original 45 year old one that was installed when the house was built.

Your thought of checking the new belt for stretching is where I'd go next. Are there tensioners to keep it tight, or a specific routing sequence that's off? Is there a bearing that could be slipping based on weight? I'd think a slipping belt would make noise or smell. 
 

That 45 year old oven won't stop working, because it has 3 parts. Newer is never more reliable it seems...

When my top loader fails like that it's always the shift actuator. I have a drawer full of old ones that I should throw away. Here's what fixes it. Not sure if its the same for front loaders.

***Adding "Frigidaire" to the search bumps the price up to about $90 and it looks a bit different.

Edit for "Frigidaire":

This is what my top loader uses:

Steve_Jones said:

Your thought of checking the new belt for stretching is where I'd go next. Are there tensioners to keep it tight, or a specific routing sequence that's off?

Just a multi-ribbed pulley (more than the belt) on the motor, and a flat pulley on the drum.  Instructions I read online said to align it on the motor pulley so it is as centered as possible on the drum pulley.  Will probably yank it later this afternoon to check after I get some other stuff done around the house.

In reply to eastsideTim :

No idea if this would apply to your specific washer or not.  I've had pretty good luck with the tube of y'alls for random equipment diagnosis, this link mentions a door interlock motor that was prone to failure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U19Mmi9EMoA

Tech mentions in the video that there's a tech / test manual hidden behind the motor panel that might help too.

In reply to 11GTCS :

I think a door interlock would prevent it from spinning at all, but I could be wrong. 

However, I think I've got the problem.  The new belt is already stretched a tiny bit more than the original.  The drum and motor both seem to spin fine, so I don't think they are causing the problem.  I am going to guess either I got a counterfeit part, it was old aged stock that isn't as flexible as it should be, or quality control has gone to E36 M3.  I think I will order a new belt from an appliance supply place, install it, level the machine, and hope all goes well.  If it can make it to early March without failing again, then replacing the whole machine will not be as big of a deal.

I had a GE that didn't like to spin fast.  It just kind of slowly rolled over.  Turned out to be a leak dripping on the belt and letting it slip.  My current Kenmore had an issue with not agitating during the wash and rinse cycles and that was a corroded contact in the connector for the motor.

I'm going to be honest... I have never purchased a new appliance.  I always buy used and fix it if it breaks.  The current Kenmore stack I have was manufactured in 2014, I bought them in 2019 for a total of $250.  The only thing that has broken was the little pull handle on the detergent drawer.  The sellers had a new baby and they wanted a high-capacity setup to handle bigger loads.

LG and Samsung make great TVs, but the saying I always hear is "if a company makes something for your living room, you don't want them in your kitchen."  My sister splurged on a Samsung fridge and it didn't make it 5 years before the circuit board died.  My ex SWMBO got an LG washer/dryer, and the dryer was DOA so they replaced it.  The washer had something go wrong with the display and they fixed it under warranty.  I don't know how it's doing now, because ex.

CNET does pretty good reviews of appliances.  If you go with a gently used appliance, just search their site for the best ones of 20XX.  The top reliability and performance winners seem to leap-frog each other as they come out with new stuff every few years.

Bosch frequently takes top spots for dishwashers.  Maybe they do well with washer/dryer too?

I would bet on the shock absorbers.  If it is bouncing around that could be setting off a tilt alarm like an old pinball machine.

I've had pretty good luck with basic Whirlpool or Maytag. Mrs DX and myself got a pretty good deal at Lowe's on our washer last fall..