Learn Everything About Whirpool Laundry Center

Model #LTE5243DQ6, this laundry center with the washer on the bottom and dryer on top is a favorite of apartment and condo complexes everywhere because they can fit into very small working spaces. The washer on this machine was operational, but when the tenant would use it, the tub would bang against the side of the cabinet and make an awful sound. When the wash was complete, the tub seemed to be leaning to one side, which the maintenance person figured was the problem. Being a busy guy with other things to do around the complex, he gave me a call to get this fixed and clear one more of his repair orders.

The laundry center can pack allot into a small 24 inch space and they really do work well given their size and capacity. They work off the direct drive platform of the larger Whirlpool washers and share many of the same washer parts, while the dryer portion is also quite similar to it's larger relative. There are some significant differences, however that need to be known when looking at these units, or you may find yourself ordering parts that either don't fit, or don't even exist on this model. The most significant of these is the suspension system which is far removed from the larger direct drive models.

A leaning tub on a larger model is usually an indication of a broken centering spring, but the tub can still be centered simply by moving it over with your hand. On the laundry centers, the entire base assembly has be replaced with three rather beefy looking springs that hold the entire tub, and drive system in place. If one of these springs breaks, or breaks loose from the base of the washer, the results will be an off center tub, and lots of noise during operation.

When I first looked at the washer, the tub was leaning to the right rear of the unit which tells me at least one of the springs is no longer working properly. Once the top and front panels were removed, I could get a look at the springs and found one had started to work itself apart causing the obvious tilt of the tub. Further investigation found the bottom half of the spring that threads into the base had stripped the threads from the base screw and was no longer holding on. The condition of the right rear spring wasn't much better so a new spring kit was in order for this washer.


The spring kit consists of three new springs, some screws, a tube of locktite(tm) and instruction to make everything better. The new springs look just like the originals, with the addition of a screw in the side of the upper half to prevent it from coming loose from the bottom half. It doesn't seem very likely, but these washers tend to see a little more abuse than the average laundry appliance, and it's usually in the form of overloading. This little washer doesn't hold much given it's size and when overloaded, is subjected to more wear and tear then it was really designed for. This makes the washer work harder, and puts more force on the drive and suspension components making them start to come apart. With this new screw, the two halves cannot split in two as easily and should help prevent further damages as a result.

With the base removed from the washer section for easier access, I replaced each spring one at a time starting by removing the top nuts, then turning the threaded spring base off the machine base. One was stripped out as I mentioned earlier, but a good fix is to use a 1/2 inch nut under the base to hold it together. Much better than trying to replace the entire thing. With all three springs replaced, I put it all back together and now the tub sits right in the middle again. And after a little information to the tenant about how to prevent this and get better use out of the machine, I was off to another call.


Source: Technician Brian