The people who designed this machine worked with the correct assumption that no design is perfect and every machine has to fail at some point. With that in mind, they created a weak link (like a structural fuse of sorts) that was both cheap and simple: the whirlpool washer coupling. The idea was that before the motor or transmission could be damaged by an overloaded washer or something else preventing free movement of the tub, this little coupling would break. And break it did! Within a few years parts distributors were ordering these little couplers by the bag. Though it did break early and often, I believe this little weak link did also do what it was designed to do: fail before the motor & transmission got damaged.

Those in the design flaw camp also have some ammunition on their side. Namely, that while the coupler did protect the more expensive functional parts in the washer, it’s cheap, plastic design failed too quickly. The motor shaft would strip out the plastic center of the coupler or the soft rubber middle would grind into a telltale black powder on the floor beneath the washer. Because of this (after quite a few years of complaints actually), the washer coupler got a redesign- a center reinforced with metal and a more substantial rubber section. Here’s a link to the upgraded Whirlpool washer coupler.

Now that the washer coupler design has been corrected, can you guess what Whirlpool is doing this year? Bingo! Going back to a belt driven washer design with washer belt # 8540101!

Click this link for more Whirlpool washer parts from A-1 Appliance Parts.