Bad Smell Coming From GE Wash Machine All The Time

by Jim
(Affton, MO)

I have a GE clothes wash machine model # WNSR2100T2WW. I have had it since 1996. I just moved into a new house this summer and the washer came with me. I noticed a smell coming from the wash machine soon after the move that I had not noticed before. I decided to attempt a repair and finally am getting to it now.

I watched your washer dissassembly video and found it very helpful. I have partially dissasembled the washer. I have the top and front off and the tub out. This is what I have found so far. The four damper arms were all broken and I would guess that they have been for some time. I pulled the agitator out and found the screens below to be almost completely blocked. I thought that the blocked screens might be the cause of the smell but now am not so sure.

I tried to pull the basket out of the tub but cannot get the hub locking nut off. There is not a 1 and 11/16" spanner wrench or deep well socket to be had in South St. Louis, so I will have to wait until after the new year for that. So I pulled the tub and basket out together. The metal bracket attached to the bottom of the tub has a film of oil on it. The oil is on the motor pulley and the transmission pulley as well. The transmission and the uppaer part of the bracket are clean. The oil traces go no higher that the stack of washers above the transmission pulley. There is a thick film of oil on the floor panel both the oil on the pulleys and the oil on the floor panel have a pungent smell that I think might be the problem that got me started in the first place. Is the oil a sign that the transmission is on it's last leg, or is there something to be done about it?

The only other wild card is this small clip I found in the bottom of the machine. I do not know where it goes. See teh attached picture. Any help you can give would be appreciated.

Find your part:

Answer

Hi Jim,

I can’t see the clip very well but it doesn’t look familiar to me. My guess is that it has nothing to do with your problem.

When grease leaks out of the transmission and gets on the belt it can cause an offal smell. Not to mention the grease smells bad in general. The only way to repair this is to replace the transmission.

If you decide to make this repair be sure to clean everything when you take it apart to be sure you do not leave the smell behind even if the core of the problem is repaired. You will even want to clean the bottom of the washer with some de-greaser.

I will leave this link for others that may find this post. GE Washer Disassembly

Thank you,
Shawn/administrator