Washing machine won't drain

[MN Shutterbug]

The machine is about 15 years old and still washes and agitates but will not drain. It sounds like it's trying, but to no avail. As soon as I pulled the hose off the back of the washer, water came pouring out. The hose is totally clear as is the drain. It seems like there are no obstructions anywhere. My wife wants to rush out and buy a new one right away, and of course she needs a matching dryer too. Help me save some money, please.

[highlife4me]

Probably the pump, either its blocked up (if you have little kids there socks can get stuck there) or it is shot. I was in the same boat last year, fix or replace. I decided to replace the washer because there are a lot of expensive parts that will need replacing. I stayed with my old dryer though. The old dryers are much cheaper to maintain than the newer ones and the newer wash machines take more water out of the clothes and the dryer does not need to run as long. My washer and dryer are in the basement so I didn't care if they matched are not either.

[MN Shutterbug]

Thanks for the reply. After googling, I came to the same conclusion. However, I read that they'll usually make noise or leak water before they go completely out. Ours has done neither. Then again, it is quite old (my wife says 20 years), but then she loves replacing things. I'm going to show her your reply and maybe that will help convince her that it would be idiocy to replace the dryer at the same time.

[delcecchi]

Way back, we had a washer that the pump went out. When I removed it and looked there was a good sized nail that must have been one of my pockets that had gone through the holes in the side of the tub and worked its way down the hose to the pump where it ground all the vanes off the impeller.

Look on you tube to see how hard it might be to replace the pump on your washer. Sure makes things easier than it was in the old "I can figure this out how hard can it be" days.

[BoxMN]

While probably not what you have, I had similar situation, except mine would not agitate I found a small screw fell out of my pocket while i was doing a little project and got the basket stuck, thus it would not let it drain. Easy cheap fix for me. Good luck.

[MN Shutterbug]

Well, I wasn't so lucky. I figured out that it wasn't the pump. It just wasn't getting to the rinse/spin cycle. Even setting the dial for spin, it wouldn't go unless I hammered my fist on the top of the control. I pulled all the wires loose and reconnected them hoping it was just a bad connection. It then worked for a few cycles but then failed again unless I gave it a beating. Also, parts are longer available for this machine so I had to bite the dust. My wife is sure in a better mood now. Anytime she can get something new, she is a happy gal for awhile.

[CAMAN]

I think this means you get a new boat!

[MN Shutterbug]

I think this means you get a new boat!

Should work that way, shouldn't it?

[Cicada]

For every problem with an appliance there is usually three things that can cause the symptoms. Have you tried using a different cycle? If it does the same thing on all cycles, that should eliminate the timer. Pump is the easy guess and it may very well be that. The other thing that comes to mind in the lid switch. It is a safety switch that will not let the machine proceed because it thinks the lid is open. Some lid switches will stop the machine after the agitation, some after it pumps out.