I spent hours trying to find out how to service my MC350 and here it is. Different product same insides. Thanks a million as that white part with a spring I found on the floor after putting everything back together and wondered what it was. Now I know. Thanks a million
Very good video. I had to replace my seals and rotor disk. The figure 8 rubber o ring was destroyed. Here a good tip, while everything is apart, and the system is not under pressure. Check, and clean the turban. This will save you time and headache later. Small pieces of the figure 8 o ring made its way to the turban and jammed it up causing it to not spin, and thus not regenerate.
My Tapworks AD11 looks very similar to this. The motor housing the series of cogs had cracked and the cogs had become misaligned. I tried turning the cam by hand. Boy was it stiff. Useful video thanks.
Did you replace everything or just the seals? I have the same problem with mine, cogs are completely gone. I tried turning it by hand and it was extremely hard but I could get it to turn. I wasn't sure if they cracked because they were old and brittle or if the "cam" was seized up.
Going to give this a try myself. Very similar to my BWT Softner. BWT charge £198 for valve service in the UK. Bought service kit off eBay for £38. Thanks for helpful video
Thanks ,it worked perfect. Everyone should also change the 2 very small O-rings on the fill and vacuum diaframe or you will not get any vacuum to pull out brine water
Thank you, I took mine apart and wanted to make sure it was put back correctly. On a side note, don't over tighten down screws. You will CRACK THE HOUSING. If you do, all is not lost. You can plastic weld the cracks from the screws. Some people prefer JB Weld or silicone but to each his own. If you are not sure how to plastic weld its done with a soldering tool. Takes a little practice but can save you a lot of time and money. If you have cracked the outer part of the screw housing, that area does not seem to be where the water is (so to speak). Plastic welding takes a little practice but is super easy once you get the hang of it. I was really bummed when I saw that I cracked 3 of the screw housings. Glad I didn't throw the thing across the room. At this point, what have you go to loose so might as well give it a try. Just my 2 cents.
Andrew, thank you for sharing this video with everyone! Instruction on rebuilding the water softener are excellent! Although the replacement parts aren't cheap I still saved a lot of money by doing the work myself. After restoring the water and the electrical to the unit recharge went off as scheduled. No issue!
Did you have high chlorine levels? I talked to a tech recently who told me that chlorine will swell up plastic parts and such and really can mess things up (even cause the resin pellets to swell up and degrade) so chlorine levels have to be watched carefully.
Great video. I hope you are still answering questions. As soon as I press the regeneration switch, the motor starts to spin and water begins to flow into the brine tank. It stops when the switch is activated, as it should. The problem is, the hose remains pressurized for the entire regeneration cycle. It pushes the switch upward and it never releases it. I have to release the pressure manually for the switch to go down. I have replaced the Venturi assembly with no luck. I have dissembled the rotor valve and I don’t see any obstructions or debris. I’m tempted to replace the entire valve assembly! Any ideas?
What holds on the head unit to the water softener? Mine just sits in there. Seems like it should have a clip or a locking deal. Just picked it up at a garage sale. Any help would be awesome.
Great video. When you manually turned the rotor to the correct position did you use a lot of force? When I tried turning my rotor clockwise it needed a little force. My motor makes a loud noise when in cycle because I think it's having trouble turning the rotor? I'm assuming this is what is causing an error1 message?
Ean Tizon got the lid screws too tight maybe. also could use more lube on disc. yes there is force to turn that disc if u got all the screws tight. (don't turn the disc the wrong way if microswitch is still in place) sometimes have to unlug the unit to reset the code, in order for computer to find the disc's location/position. (it uses the microswitch clickingon/off as a locater)
My rotor is stuck and I even replaced the seal kit. Very hard to turn and I had to replace the motor. I got the motor with metal teeth but it’s still jamming up. Have you found any solutions? Thanks!
So today I cut the metal spring down to shorten it and that appears to be allowing my rotor to turn since I’ve taken some tension off of it. We’ll see how it goes the next few days.
I have a 1" model and was wondering if the positioning of the cam gear is the same? It seems that the indicator mark is not on the outlet, but maybe on one of the mounting points for the motor support plate? I can't find any information anywhere
Excellent video. I replaced the kit as described and the water softener worked great for about two months but now it is leaking again. The brine tank is filled With water and overflowing. Do you have any suggestions or should I just buy new water softener
There are several possible causes for brine overflow. We have a complete troubleshooting list on our website. Reference for your model : www.softenerparts.com/kb_results.asp?ID=36 Brine Draw Failure in Sears, GE Smart Water, North Star Systems, Whirlpool, Morton, and others
The seal kit worked great! I now have brine/venture. the drain hose still dribbles constantly (it did before) could this also be the rotor disk? I did change the drain seal.
Yes, it can be the Rotor Disc if scratched or worn at the contact point. It can be the drain plunger it's self, or the spring underneath the drain plunger.
"turn on power the motor spins/ cycles around w/o ever finding a steady or normal position." ** That is a problem with the micro switch. Either broken, or not properly re-installed after you change the Seal Kit. It is not the ROTOR DISC ( although you still might benefit from replacing it ) causing the problem you have described. see: our knowledge base ( FAQ ) Article # ID=45 and Switch_7030713
Great video. Thanks. However, it is hard to see the video In reverse, in order to take it apart. Wish you had the removal as the 1st part of your video
Thank you for the video, Andrew. Very helpful. However, I can not locate a single video of someone *removing* the CAM. Your video shows how to install it but is limited to how to line it up properly. It seemed like you edited out actually getting the part fully seated in position. I've tried everything to remove the cam and it won't budge. Anyone have any suggestions?
Mine was stuck as well. Didn't want to use too much force for fear of cracking the plastic housing. Sprayed some penetrator oil on the top and let it work for 30 minutes. It tapped right out with help from a hammer. Everything went well after that....
My softener was draining constantly. I closed the bypass and opened the valve assembly. All the Orings that you are replacing are present and accounted for - the figure 8, the one on the drain plunger, the 2 on the rotor, the large on in the cap. The problem is that I found a 1" Oring broken into 5 separate sections. 2 were under the drain plunger, and 3 were on top of the drain plunger. Where did this 1" Oring come from? It is not part of the seal kit. I wonder if it is out of the bypass valve, but that is working fine with no leaks when open or closed. Any ideas? I will replace all the ones from the kit, but I fear that the machine will not be functional if I don't figure out where the broken 1" Oring came from and replace that one too!
Update. I remove the large plastic ring clamp and lifted up the valve body. The basket below has a 1" oring and 2 larger 2" orings. These 3 are also available in a kit which i ordered. This 1" oring is the one that broke and the pieces made their way up.
I have a whirlpool water softener that had a cracked valve cover. I replaced it as well as the seals and am still getting an error 3. I don't know what to do next without buying a new water softener. Any suggestions? the motor clicks- should I replace it and the cam?
I did this to my , thank you, I do have a ? Should it be hard to turn cam gear by hand once’s tie down , does it loosen up once its under water pressure, its seen hard to turn or did I do something wrong
It is not meant to be turned by hand. It's a very tight fit, as the Rotor against the Seals must block off / restrict water flow. So it will always be hard to turn "by hand".
Thank you so much for getting back to me , I have been trying to fix my that doesn’t want to regenerate, I changed the motor , the position switch and wire harness and still doing same , the wire harness had the black cable broken So I was sure it was that , now it try regenerate now and all it does is blink but doesn’t do anything, I did all the seals thinking it was too hard to turn by small motor and nothing
Evening. I bought a second hand (Used) ge water softener gxsh40v. I have never owned one and know NOTHING about softeners at all. When I plugged it up, all it does is blink the clock. No other buttons work when pushed. Any ideas??? Thanks
All motors used metal gears, but manufacturer try substituting plastic gears, and that failed. All replacement motors have metal gears, and can be purchase with New Matching metal Cam Gear. You will find them listed on our website for 3/4" and 1" valve models. www.softenerparts.com/sears_northstar
I am not able to get vaccum to suck the brine water at the Nozzle and Venturi. I cleaned everything the valve body, venturi, float valve. What should I do now ?
Failure to draw ( suck ) the brine ( salt ) water has many possible causes. And when cleaning is not enough, replacement of the Venturi Gasket ( 7204362 ) or the Seal Kit is required. For more see this Article on the Subject - www.softenerparts.com/category_s/7132.htm - Causes of suction failure in order of importance and frequency:
If your ByPass is in good working order, it will stop all flow to the valve and allow you to disconnect, and work on the valve. If the ByPass is "leaking" ( not shutting off the water to the valve 100% ) THEN you'd need to turn of the Water source. But Normally the ByPass will work for shutting off the flow to the Valve Head. That is its function.
Andrew, thanks for making this video. I have a Kenmore 300 softener, I replaced the seal kit but my unit isn't working properly. I set the cam gear to the 's' position, turn on power and the motor spins around w/o ever finding a steady position. Worse, as it cycles around it spews water (assume from the water supply as tank is empty) out of the drain. Looking at the bottom of my rotar there are two pimpled / bubbled spots, is that normal? or could that be the problem? because it's not sealing?
I followed your video (thanks, BTW) and replaced the seals and o-rings on my Kenmore softener. Once finished, when I plugged the unit back in it just ran & ran and showed the E1 error. (The gear goes round and round, never stopping.) I let it do this two or three times to see if it would 'fix itself' but it didn't. So I took it all apart again and reassembled it with the same results. Except now, the motor is making terrible noises. Is it time for a new unit?
threeof hardts The problem sounds like the micro switch. Either remounted incorrectly, or the "arm" on the Switch - 7030713, WS21X10003 has broken off.
Andrew Cross Thanks for the reply. I checked the switch and it has been replaced properly. (Took pictures of everything before I started just to be on the safe side.) The arm is also still attached. I tried reassembling it 3 times and each time I had the same results. After the third time the motor started making terrible noises, like it was straining very hard to run. I've pretty much given up at this point. The softener is very old. I installed it myself in 1986 and have maintained it myself over the years. It's been a good one but I think it's tired. I will have to wait until I can afford a new unit, I guess. Thanks again!
@@threeofhardts265 I know it's been 4 years ago but I am new to this and am about to replace my resin in my softener as recommended by Andrew. But, I wanted to ask if you bought a new softener or did you attempt repair again and maybe find the switch was installed upside down to cause the terrible motor noises?
The video was a "dry" valve that had been long removed from a tank ( system ). It would be normal for the inside of your valve body to have water inside.
Hi I've got a whirlpool whes40 and just replace the gaskets and the rotor and cam gear. The previous cam gear had a couple of teeth chewed off where the system obviously jammed. We put all new parts in and as soon as I tightened the eight long screws on the top cap you could no longer turn the rotor without great force, finished putting it back together and of course it is still jammed, any advice? Thanks for a great video!
This is a great question to email to "support@softenerparts.com" for details and links to products and information. And we can "discuss" your situation in better detail via direct email to our website.
@@howardbryant372 in our case there was a little Delrin washer that they refer to as a bearing that goes on top of the cam gear and allows the cam gear to slide against the metal plate that you bolt down on top. If this isn't clear let me know and I can try to word it differently LOL. I didn't have it in there the first time I put it back together and then noticed it on the drawing and found it in the old chewed up cam gear
That and more is covered on the Website, under the Seal Kit, product description. As stated there, and referencing the "common" parts numbers, it say, Rebuilding Valve: A scratched, worn, or warped Rotor Disc must be replaced. Seal Kit ( 7129716 ) should always be replaced at the same time. And may be needed more often than any other part. If motor ( 7133008 now 7285944 ) has been clicking, or getting stuck, it too should be replaced at the same time to restore valve to proper operation. Check Gasket ( 7204362 ) under Venturi Disc when ever you have a problem with brine suction, as this Gasket can get brittle with age.
I check the link you told me to go to and that does not apply to my situation I replaced all the o rings in my resin tank 6 months ago and the length of the pipe is ok
I followed all instruction and replaced all seals but at the end when I put everything together the rotor is very hard to rotate like it has too much friction. what could it be? maybe need to replace the cap also?? Thanks!
@@FoleyRuss Yes, as I suspected the plastic cap did worn out so the plastic disc inside has way more friction therefore the motor has a hard time to move it and it even starts making metal dust because of the grinding. I bought a new cap and I will install this weekend. I will let you know my findings.
@@conversation_exchange I''m having a similar issue. The motor case is cracked and raised up from trying to turn the rotor. Don't want to replace the motor just to have it break again if the root cause is the excessive force required to turn the rotor. Did replacing the rotor disc solve your issue?
I've got a Kenmore water softener looks identical to the one you're you working on here. That being said I'm getting an error code 1. I have to replace the same gasket kit as it's leaking on top of the assembly for about a month now. Yeah I know I'm procrastinating. But now today it's started showing an error code 1. The motor turns the gear turns the switch seems to click and it goes part way through at routine for its cycling and then after quite a while I get an error code so I am at a complete loss error code 1. The troubleshooting guy doesn't help because it almost seems as though it's not doing anything in the description of this error. Like I said the motor does turn it does stop it does start up again when it's supposed to and then eventually I think it's when it's backflushing I get an error code 1. So now I don't know what to do oh I guess one's a little different my head is in the rectangular black and red plastic motor and a metal plate that goes on under the motor no pin for the micro switch
I replaced the resin and put it all back together but it leaks greatly around the clamps where the head is fastened down to the tank. I have reexamined o-rings and refastened 6 times with the same result. The one thing I thought was the problem was that the one clamp was cracked because when I first disassembled it the pressure caused it to fly off. I replaced that but it doesn't get as tight as it was when I disassembled. Is there another issue? Should I be replacing something in the head.
I know it's been 8 years ago but I want to reply with how I figured this same thing out. Gasket. It took me about three or four times to get it right. These gaskets will move on you if you don't carefully put things back together. I rebuilt a Sears unit two years ago replacing all gaskets and resin. It was a great learning experience. Last week the display finally gave out and there is none available so I saved the resin and parts but took the brine container and fiberglass resin tank to the dump. I'm hoping I won't miss those parts but now that I'm thinking about maybe I could have used them with some other newer and better brand parts to build a new spare softener. Who knows. I don't work on these full time, only when the one at home breaks. The old Sears softener worked from 2008 to 2022 with one rebuild. I think I saved some money in the long run. Now, I've installed a unit from a rental that I sold that was manufactured in 2012 and has 532 regenerations on it. I replaced the gaskets on it but not the resin as it still looked to be good. After about three regenerations on a jig on the back patio it was producing perfect soft water once again. Only problem now I got a leak around the drain plug but I think it's the seal to the tank. I'm going to give it one more try and then, I don't know. I miss the soft water like you don't know.
My softener is not working, it is using salt, check all of o rings, venturi valve is clean, goes through cycle like it should, unit is 3 yrs old, any suggestions??, I have GE model, looks just like urs, please help
Right on! My dad (retired sears repairman) showed me how to do this- a long time ago and never having tried it I was wondering if I would remember all of it (I was thinking it was worse). Sure beats a $200 house call on a $300 softener! Thanks! Now if my venturi / fill tube is ok Im good to go I hope! Our unit had been slowly leaking into the drain. Not an issue for the softener but it sure wastes a lot of water. Would this problem be from the gasket system too? Thanks again!
Hey chefsb420sb. through all my searches and reading and trouble shooting and work performed on my kenmore unit, your situation sounds exactly like mine. at least in this last posting 7 months ago. Did you figure out the problem? If so, I would love to know! Thanks!
My softener is leaking right out of the top where the rotor shaft comes out, I really don't think an entire seal kit is necessary maybe just the top two O-rings? Thought?
Mine is doing the same thing, what did you end up doing? I cant find a replacement kit for under $90 for a bunch of o-rings, seems excessive but i guess cheaper than replacing the softener.
@@nikifitzgerald5579 search Kenmore water softener seal kit 7185487 on amazon. Its $42. I ordered one and I actually ended up going to the hardware store and matching up o rings for just the top two O-rings because that's all I really needed and I ended up returning this and it worked great but this is fairly cheap compared to $90 if you don't want to go through all that trouble. I was trying to post a link but it will not let me do it for some reason
@@nikifitzgerald5579 also that kit on Amazon doesn't list all models but i found most take the same kit. And some hardware stores have oring making kits if you can't find one that looks as thick as original.
The "seal" for the valve to tank is the o-rings, and not the clamps. You may need the Valve to Tank o-ring kit, PN 7112963, and some silicone lubricant. And these can be found on our website for purchase.
Hi, I just replaced the cam gear, rotor disk, seals, and gaskets using the Seal Kit on my Kenmore Model 625.388400. It seems to be working fine with the cam gear turning now. Unfortunately, now when it recharges it leaks from the top of the rotor and cam gear. Does anyone have any solutions or ideas on what may be causing this? Thank you!
leaks from the top of the rotor -- o-ring in the Seal Kit should be "sealing" the top of the valve cover. Check Valve Cover for any cracks near this top opening. Valve Cover Large Version 7171161
I lost the small o-ring that is on the rotor, and had the same problem. Be sure you have both o-rings on the rotor. I've also dropped the 'wave spring' several times without knowing it. Maybe you don't have that in place?
Yes, the Rotor Disc 7199232 and Seal Kit 7129716 are used in the Whirlpool model WHELJ1. Reference: www.softenerparts.com/7129716.htm And you can see that in the WHELJ1 Service Manual, Pages 22 and 23, www.whirlpoolwatersolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/7345493-WHELJ1-Eng_F-Sm.pdf
Rebuilding Valve: If motor ( 7133008, 7285944 ) has been clicking, or getting stuck, it should be replaced and the internal parts replaced at the same time to restore valve to proper operation. A scratched, worn, or warped Rotor Disc must be replaced. Seal Kit ( 7129716 ) should always be replaced at the same time. And may be needed more often than any other part.
Thank YOU! That's the exact problem I have but no one actually seems to specifically address the "clicking" motor problem I'm having on my GE Smartwater system. I assumed I would have to remove/replace the motor and replace the guts of the valve head to fix it but it's always nice to get confirmation before spending $100+ on parts! LOL! Thanks again.
@@markgonzales9560 If you have new Rotor Disc and Seals Kit installed, and it's still "jamming up", then you might need to replace the MOTOR and / or the Cam Gear ( check for visible damage to Gear Teeth on the Cam ).
See possible answer to this problem in our FAQ Knowledge Base section of our website. Article is titled: Sears and GE Smartwater - Water Not Soft - Distributor Oring problem and solution
I cleaned my brine tank, found like 6in of salt mush on bottom, the venturi valve is clean, I do get suction, put I have like 7in of water in brine tank after cycling, is this normal, does the float valve have to close after BR cycle, with 7 inches of water mine doesn't, I inspected the rotor disc and it looks fine just like the o rings inside of the valve cover, should I just get the seal kit from your website and hope this is the problem or can it be something else, please help, thanks
