How to Clean the Clogged Pump of a Kenmore Elite Calypso Washer (LD Error)

If your Kenmore Elite Calypso washing machine won't drain, there's a good chance that that your pump is clogged, and you can fix it yourself without a call to the repairman. Not only will you achieve a sense of self-satisfaction, but you might save a couple of hundred bucks.

Tools Needed:

Thin screwdriver, pliers, needle-nose pliers, paper clip.

Problem History:

In March of 08, my newer Kenwood Elite Calypso washer decided to start pumping out errors rather than water, and I was left with a full tank of dirty water and half-washed clothing in my machine. The error was the Ld error, or "Long Drain". The instruction manual was not as helpful as I would have liked, and only said to check for kinks in the drain hose.

That done, and like any DIY type guy, I searched around on the web for anything that would give me a clue as to how to fix this. It was my first repair of this kind, so I had no idea where to start.

Likely Failures and Possible Expense:

Based on information I gathered from the web, I narrowed it down to one of four things.

1) The plastic teeth on the pump which make contact with the motor shaft could be stripped.

2) The motor is burned out.

3) The pump is clogged (due to washing bathroom rugs)

4) The hoses are clogged.

A new pump and motor can cost over $200 dollars, so I wanted to take a crack at this to save myself some money.

Preparation:

The first thing I would recommend is moving the machine, even if it is full of water, out into a garage or to a place where you have plenty of room to flip it on its front and also a place where you won't cause any damage if you have some water spills. It will save you a lot of frustration in the long run because you'll have a better opportunity to examine the guts of the beast and also give you a place to test the machine and quickly dump any water that doesn't drain.

I worked mine out of our cramped laundry room by "waddling it" out into the garage, being careful not to do any damage to my walls or garage door frame. It might have helped if I'd had a dolly of some sort, but I managed just fine for being an average sized guy.

I positioned the washer near the open garage door.

Investigate:

I pulled the back panel off of the machine by removing the panel screws. I thought there would be a lot to look at, but all I saw was a tank full of water and two connection hoses, one located in the top right corner and one at the bottom left corner. They were attached with clamps that could be loosened by pushing the wire "tabs" together and working the clamp down the hose. Since I was in the garage, I removed the hose in the bottom left and pulled it so that it all of the water drained safely out of the machine, sweeping it harmlessly out onto my driveway with a broom.

I then put some door mats down in front of the machine and tipped it over on its front end. I removed the bottom panel by removing the fastening screws and took a look inside

There are some simple parts you can view from this angle, the chassis which harnesses the basket and also the water pump and pump motor which are located on the left side. In my model, the pump and motor are two separate pieces (the pump being a plastic, horseshoe looking piece), and I removed it by loosening the clips, removing the hoses, and pulling it off. It came off very easily.

I didn't feel mechanical enough to pull the motor off and test it, nor did I see any stripped teeth on the part of the pump that makes contact with the motor shaft. I pulled off the pump hoses and ran water through them from my garden hose to make sure they were clear

Repair:

I dumped the water out of the pump and took it inside, gathering a screw driver, some tweezers and anything I thought could use to clear a clog. The pump is a horseshoe looking object with an intake opening and a drain opening divided by a moving "wheel" piece inside the base. The wheel looks like something off of an old steam boat and is what the motor spins in order to evacuate the dirty water from your machine. After sticking a screwdriver into the one of the openings, I noticed the wheel was nearly impossible to spin. I sat on my couch and pulled out a reading lamp so I could get a good look down inside.

After pushing the wheel back and forth a couple of times, I noticed some thick threads coming loose within the base that looked amazingly like the bathroom rug I'd just washed! Filled with hope, I started trying to scrape out the fibers. After a few minutes, I got a paper clip out, bent it straight and then used a pair of needle-nose pliers to hook the end just slightly. With this new tool (yes I'm smarter than a monkey) I started pulling the fibers out with greater success. In fact, it became quite addicting. After an hour or so, I no longer cared whether or not this actually fixed the problem so focused was I on getting the fibers out. Other things came too, like hair, thread, and even some green fiber from an older bathroom rug. When I got tired, I handed it off to my girlfriend who continued to have good luck getting gunk out. After about three hours, we could turn the wheel to a reasonable degree, and could not see any more fibers or hair.

I went down, clamped the pump back on, and made sure the hoses were tight. I righted the machine and hooked up my garden hose to the cold water valve on the washer and started a cycle. It ran perfectly the first time and has done so ever since.