It is easy enough to check. Take off the cabinet and check the pump and if it is alright go ahead and check the new coupling. It may have jammed.

I pulled the pump, and it seems to be fine (there is nothing stuck in it, and I can manually spin it freely). On the other hand, I cannot pry off either end of the coupler no matter how hard I try. The rubber part looks to be in good shape (it is only 2 months old), but both plastic parts on on too tight for me to remove. Could that be my problem? If so, any suggestions? I'm not sure if I'm just not strong enough, or if I really messed it up. If it's on so tight and that is the problem, how could it have been working fine for the past 2 months? Also, I don't see how it could jam, since I cannot move it at all.

Please help!!!!

Thanks!

Thank you very much for your very quick response!

The coupling attached to the transmission can be freely turned counterclockwise, but only turns clockwise about one full turn before stopping. Please tell me this is okay!!!

Next, please bear with me since I am teaching myself this as I go along -- how do I see if the motor will run when not attached? Also, I know I need to jump the lid switch to make anything happen with the cabinet off, but I do not know exactly what I need to accomplish that. When I tried 2 months ago, the wire I was using got hot and started to smell immediately, so I gave up and just reattached the cabinet.

Thanks again!!!

Once again, thank you very much for your kind assistance. Should I still try to see if the motor works when not attached, or should I go straight to the transmission? If I'm checking the motor, should I simply attached the electric connections and see if it spins on the floor, or is there another way to check it while not attached?

Also, the couplings are not exactly flush with the shaft on either the motor or the transmission, although the machine has run fine for 2 months. Could this possibly be the problem? If so, I cannot get them off; should I try to force them further onto the shafts?

Thanks again!!!

sidfink - Thanks for sticking with me :) Thanks to you, I now at least know how to bypass a lid switch and that I can safely run a motor while not attached to a washing machine!

I did everything you suggested other than removing the transmission, since that looked a little bit involved. Since I couldn't remove the couplings, I tapped them in a little further so that they are now precisely flush with the shafts. The motor ran fine out of the machine, and the tub spun fine with the pump both unattached and attached to the motor. So I then replaced the cabinet and tried to run a regular cycle with no clothes, but with detergent and bleach, to disinfect the unit since it was sitting for a week with water and detergent in it below the bottom of the tub.

It filled and agitated fine for about 5 minutes, then started buzzing/humming, stopped agitating and the burning smell returned, but the electronic timer continued to count down (which it was not doing when I had the original problem last week). I got nervous after a few minutes, so I stopped the cycle and successfully ran a manual drain/spin cycle to remove the water. I then tried to run a manual rinse/spin cycle to see what would happen. It ran fine for a few minutes, but at the end it was just sitting and humming with the burning smell. Since it had no clothes or water in it, I let it count down until the cycle ended. Now it just hums when I try to put it into the drain/spin, or try to run the drain/spin diagnostic test.

Any thoughts? For what it's worth, the machine is a top of the line Kenmore Elite circa 1999. I've been learning as I'm going, as I've been attempting to salvage it assuming the parts are relatively cheap, since my wife likes the machine. Assuming it's something expensive, like a timer, motor or transmission, is it worth fixing? Normally I wouldn't even consider putting hundreds of dollars into a 13 year-old appliance, but I now have so much emotionally invested in this that I hate to give up. What do you think?