Excessive vibration during spin cycle in Frigidaire Front load washer

My spider (3 spokes on the back of the drum) was cracked and caused the drum to bounce around in the tub during the spin cycle. I bought a new drum on-line at Sears Direct Parts for $150 plus $15 shipping. The drum comes with spider and with the three paddles in the drum. If you are moderately handy, you can do this repair in 4-6 hours (if you know what you're doing, and you are not a pro).

A few tips, if you've done any prior maintenance on your washer (I had previously replaced my door switch and emptied the filter twice plus pulled a bobby pin from the front of the pump impeller), you'll be ahead of the game.

If not, a few high level items.

First, remove everything from the washer, close your water valves and run the machine to get as much water out as possible. It does not need to go through the spin cycle to do this. When done, unplug the washer.

The top of the washer comes off by removing the screws that secure the top on the backside of the washer. The top then slides back away from the control panel. The control panel is held on by several screws, a couple on the top at the sides, and then 2 or 3 where the soap drawer slides in. Remove these and set control panel on top of the washer.

Remove the two screws that hold in the door switch, and remove the spring loaded ring that holds the front of the tub boot to the front panel.

The front panel comes off with 4-6 screws on the top and bottom of the panel. You'll need to be careful to not pull the door switch wires as they are still attached to the front panel with a white clip. When everything is disconnected set the front panel aside.

Disconnect the small white hose that goes into the top of the gray boot.

Next in the innards of the washer, you'll need to disconnect the drain boot (big black flexible rubber "boot" on the right front bottom of the tub). It is held in with a clamp that is loosened and removed with a Phillips head screwdriver. You'll also have to disconnect the small black tube that runs down to the boot into the white cylinder on the right-hand-side of the machine. While you're there, you might as well remove the boot from the front of the water pump and clean the filer of any grime, bobby pins, loose change, etc.

Now, the hard parts . . . On the front of the tub is the large black counterweight. It is held in by 5 nuts and bolts spaced somewhat evenly around the perimeter. The counterweight is heavy (it's filled with cement), and it will be a lot easier to get the tub and drum out of the machine if it's lighter. To that end, also remove the electric motor on the back of the drum by removing the large access panel on the back of the washer. You can pull the belt off the motor and drum pulley before or after removing the motor. The motor is held on by 3 or 4 large screws. Don't forget to disconnect the motor electrical connectors including the separate ground. Again, getting as much weight off of the tub /drum assembly will make the next steps easier.

On the top back-right of the drum there is one more rubber boot that connects the soap dispenser to the drum. Loosen this by loosening the clamp, also with a Phillips head screwdriver. Be a little careful here because the clamp is tough to get to and the sheet metal rear panel is sharp. I would suggest doing this with a thick long-sleeve shirt on so you don't cut your wrist (like I did).

Remove the plastic pins that hold the shock absorbers to the bottom of the tub. These are at the 5 and 8 o'clock positions. Stand the shock absorbers upright against the side of the washer enclosure to get them out of the way.

Now, the really hard part . . . Removing the drum / tub assembly. The drum / tub assembly is held in place with two rather short and stiff springs. There are a couple of covers that need to be removed to get access to the springs. I removed the covers, but reinstalled the two screws as these screws also hold the center support on the top of the machine and the plastic soap dispenser and water valves.

When I took the machine apart, I had to lay the machine first on its left side to release the left spring. With that said, it was still not at all easy. When the spring released, the whole washer enclosure started to buckle. I thought I had ruined it. I stood the machine upright, and got the right side spring off and the enclosure almost returned to normal. I would not recommend doing it this way. Here's what I figured out and used to put the drum back in.

This was just a great idea and it worked really well. I bought a 12 inch long (or you can get two 6 inch long hooks), and hooked one end onto the end of the spring. I then placed a board on top of the washer cabinet on the cross members and one on top of the drum so the drum would not run into the soap assembly and water valves. I place another board under the drum do I would not damage the water pump on the enclosure bottom. Then (and only then) I hooked the other end of my 12 inch hook to my small hydraulic floor jack that I use when I rotate my car tires. (This will work, as will a small bottle jack. If you don't have one, then get one from a friend.) and "jacked" the spring out of the side of the cabinet, moved the jack over a half-an-inch and released the pressure in the jack to lower the tub /drum assembly onto the board I had placed in the bottom of the enclosure. Then I did the same on the other side. Genius! I know, I should've taken pictures!

Slide the tub / drum assembly out of the machine. I removed the drum pulley first with an Allen key (You'll need a breaker bar, and it is right hand-threaded like normal). The tub is split by removing the 30 or 40 large screws. When split, the drum simply slides out as the bearings are in the tub. The new drum simple slides in, and you might want to add some grease to the new drum shaft and seal.

Now, just do everything above in reverse, and you're done. I saved $, plus I got to spend quality time with my tools.