Just call me Handy Manny

My Maytag washer has been a workhorse for 12 years and I am a bit attached to it. Lately it has been on the fritz and not advancing to the next cycle. I have been coaxing it along until I realized I need to do something a bit more.

*More* could mean several things. The idea of starting to scrub clothes by hand with a washboard just sounded archaic and time consuming. So I browsed some ads and saw that you can spend a pretty penny on the new washers. They are very energy efficient these days and the idea of a front loader reminds me of grandma (which is always a good thing) but I really didn't want to shell out for something if I didn't have to.

Plan C (which really should be plan A because it was my first choice) was to see if I could figure out what was wrong. I love to tinker with things so I got some tools and started taking the panel apart. I knew the problem was with the timer so I unhooked that area and had a look-see. behind the panel was a big metal box that was the timer. After removing a small plastic cover I could see the cams and realized one was not firing properly ( which could be deduced by the spark when it did catch)

Now to see about ordering a part- but trying to figure out a model number wasn't working as there are tons of numbers all over the machine. I hit the website AppliancePartsPros which told me exactly where to find the model number. The part was available for about $75 including shipping and arrived today.

Now for the big test! Was this the problem? Could I install it? Could I not break anything WHILE installing it? How in the world was I going to install it? I couldn't see anyway to remove the metal box. After thinking about it I decided to see if access was available through the front nob and after popping the cap off- voila I was in business. It took me about 15 minutes to remove and replace and then for the big test!

My 5 year old new the washer was acting up so I made it a fun game for her- we fill it up with water,clothes,soap,and fabric softener and then voted if we thought it would start agitating when I closed the lid. She voted that I had repaired it correctly ( Thanks Gracie) I made it a big deal for her to shut the lid and see what happened and it worked!!!

I am pretty proud of myself :)