Front loader basically tore itself apart mid spin - repair or scrap it?

I had almost the same thing happen to my LG a few years back. Spin cycle, loud clunk, and the drum ended up low and crooked in the cabinet. On mine the spider arm behind the drum had corroded thru and let go, which took out the tub in the process. I called it done and bought new. For me the deciding factor was that once the tub cracks, you are ussually not fixing one thing anymore. The bearing, the seal, the tub halves, maybe the suspension rods all need checking, and a used tub off a donor machine is a gamble because you have no idea how worn its bearings are. A friend of mine went the donor route on a Samsung and it lasted about a year before it started thumping again.

It is also not a small job. The front panel, door assembly, counterweights, and springs all come apart in a set order, and you are wrestling a heavy wet assembly out of the cabinet on your kitchen floor. A determined DIYer can do it, but it is an afternoon minimum with two people. If her machine is over eight years old I would tell her to replace it and not look back. New tub parts plus your labor on an older washer rarely pencils out versus a sale price on a basic new one.

I'd push back on the write-off answer, at least if she's handy or you're willing to help. I rescued a Whirlpool Duet the same way about four years ago. Spider arm let go mid-spin, took out the back of the tub, drum sagged just like you're describing. A guy on a parts site was parting out the exact same model for next to nothing, and I grabbed the whole tub and drum assembly off it. Swapped everything over in an afternoon on the garage floor. Still runs today, and that was my kids' laundry machine through two more years of college.

Before you write it off, have her check the receipt. alot of people forget they bought the extended coverage through the store or thier credit card, and a split tub with a dropped drum is exactly the kind of claim that gets a machine replaced instead of repaired. I do appliance repair on the side, and on the last one of these I opened up, the drum had beaten the door latch assembly up on its way down too, so add that to any parts list. If nothing pans out there, drag it to the curb with a free sign on it. Around here a dead front loader is gone within two hours beacuse someone always wants it for parts.

Agree with the replace-it crowd here. When my sister's machine let go the same way we found a cheap tub online and thought we scored a deal, but once it was back togather it shook hard enough on high spin to walk out of level every few weeks. Turned out one of the shocks was tired too, so that was another part and another afternoon under the thing. A cracked tub is never the only casualty, and chasing parts on an older washer gets old fast. Tell her the curb trip is the cheaper option.

Not sold on the idea that a donor tub is automatically a shot in the dark. When I pulled one for my old washer I spun the drum by hand first and felt for grinding or notchy spots, and the seller actually told me the machine died from a control board, not a mechanical failure. That told me more than any listing would. If the drum turns smooth and quiet with the belt off, the bearings are probly fine. You still have to check the spider for corrosion while you're in there, but a salvage part is not some sealed mystery box you buy blind.

One thing that might soften the blow for her is that dead washers go fast on the curb. I've put out two over the years and both were gone before the garbage truck even showed up. Scrap folks grab 'em for the metal, and sometimes a tinkerer wants the motor and pump. So she's not really 'hauling a working-looking machine away,' it'll find a second life one way or another. That always made me feel less guilty about calling it quits on one.