I have been trying to fix my dad's washing machine for more than a week--it originally got stuck last Thursday with an error message that came on the screen and the door locked (it's a front loading washing machine).
I read up about the error, which is E01 -> F09, which means generally something like "problem in the draining process"--
could be a clog or a busted pump, or apparently even too much soap can cause it.
I managed to break the handle of this drain plug cap because I was using the metal part of the pliers to turn it,
like I saw in some youtube video, and it cracked and started leaking, so I ordered a new piece for that, which came wednesday. Oops!
I got the new drain filter plug installed, and it was relatively painless once I figured out this technique of turning it
with the handle of the pliers--it was too awkward to turn with my fingers!
But it still didn't work. Got stuck with the same error. So I drained it again to reset it with it's error, and took off the two drain hoses (one from inside and one on the outside). The inside one was really gunked up, couldn't even get it to flow with the utility sink faucet--we ran a snake through it and got it working. I was certain that would solve the problem, since it was so clogged, so I put all the hoses and screws back in and started it up--told my dad to watch for leaking and came back home.
But nope, it didn't work--he called me an hour later saying there was no leak but it was stuck with the same error.
So today I managed to figure out how to get the pump completely off after peering down the outlet--was hoping I'd see
something obviously blocking it, or else we'd just order a new pump.
If you see in this picture there's a little tiny shiny black thing behind the pump blade. Turns out that was a finishing nail of some sort, jammed against the blade of the pump. I have no idea where the finishing nail came from--maybe the previous homeowner, since my dad hasn't been nailing anything since he moved in. I wish I'd gotten a picture of the pump while I held it in my hand, because it felt like quite a victory.
Anyway, it is currently almost through its full cycle, but I feel pretty confident that we figured out the problem.
So, 5 manual drains, 2 drain tube cleanouts, a pump filter cap replacement, and finally a finishing nail stuck in the pump later. It's working!
This was the most useful youtube video I found for pulling out the drain pump, slightly different model, but it was close enough to give me the confidence to attempt it: How To Replace a Washer Pump on a Front Load Washing Machine (Full Tutorial)
