My wife used the machine today and called me at work to tell me to come home quickly; the washer was leaking and flooding the 2nd floor. Fortunately it was not a bit leak, just a cup or two of water.

Inspection of the machine showed that the cap on the filter was not tight enough (or so I thought) and I removed it, cleaned it again and put it back on, tightening it more than I think two plastic parts should be tightened. This stopped the leak in the filter pump. In the process I found a number of gray plastic shards that had clearly come from the edge of the drum. I inspected the edge of the drum and there were more shards in the rubber gasket and I could see areas that were ground away.

Having read more about my problem, it seems that drum bearings are my #1 suspect, but the drum shows no looseness and spins freely. It does not feel to me as if it has bad bearings.

After getting the machine back together, I ran a small load. (The rags I used to clean the 'flood'.) The thumping was greatly diminished, almost gone, but of course this was a very small load. I also noticed that the drum is dripping from the front counter weight - not a lot - just a drip every minute or so, except in certain wash cycles where it seems to drip about once very ten seconds. I don't think this was the true cause of the flood and probably has been happening for months.

At this point, I'm not sure what to repair. We're going to use the machine for a while; cautiously and with the lower panel off so we can see what is going on. The machine is seven years old and probably will need to be replaced, which is a shame. It was expensive and does an excellent job. Our last machine, a top loader, lasted over twenty years. Any recommendations for a good replacement?