I have a GE washer model wksr2100t8ww. It works fine but made a rattling nose during agitation. I opened the front to discover what looks like a piece of weed whacker string stuck and wrapped around the bottom clip of the motor below the belt. It was covered in oil and as the motor spun, the end of this object would hit the side of the metal washer front panel making a rattling noise. There's also oil all spattered about on the bottom of the inside of the washer. Perhaps from the stuck object flinging it everywhere as it spun. 1) that can't be good 2)what could the stuck object be (which I pulled off-it had just wrapped itself around the motor clip, much like a piece of string does on a fan) 3)is it a piece of belt? (i do recall smelling burning rubber a few days ago while doing laundry but assumed it was the dryer) 4)should I replace the belt? Or is the presence of oil a bad sign of something bigger-washer is 12 years old. Like I said, washer works and belt spins motor. Can this belt tread like a truck tire and that piece get stuck in the motor and then just spin itself around when it should just be removed like I did? thanks!  p.s.  I just replaced all 4 damper straps b/c 3 of them were torn.  Don't know how long that was going on.

SUMMARY: TO replace a washer belt on this model, remove the 4 motor hex bolts and slide motor in order to get belt on. NO other disassembling needed. Only need to remove front panel of washer to do this. I found this site incredibly helpful to get names of parts and what attached to what
http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partse...

Dissertation version:) A week later, here's what I've learned (and mind you, this is on a GE wksr2100t8ww washer model). 4 damper straps at sears ($4.99/piece)-on ebay: ($7.80 for 4 + free ship). Washer belt I removed was a wh1x2026 ($4.95 w/ free ship on ebay-got in 2 days!) So, for less than $20 in parts, I fixed the rattling noise and feel my agitator is more sturdy since 3 of the 4 damping straps were actually torn. Having the right tools is always helpful as there were about 3 different sized screws/bolts that I removed. Google is my friend and I was able to learn how to remove the front panel and the top panel to get to damping straps. My belt was so stretched that I was able to easily remove it. Figuring out how to put it back on was more difficult and I didn't find much help for my model online. This washer model's pump is separate from the motor and there's no belt attaching the two. You do NOT need to undo the bottom of the washer to get to belt. One end of belt goes on transmission pulley and other end goes on clutch. The clip of the clutch is where I removed the foreign, oil-covered object that was causing the noise and splattering of oil. I THINK it was a torn piece of belt, though my belt was in tact just was frayed on edges (after comparing the looks of the old belt to the new one). So, I attached the new belt to the bigger transmission pulley and pulled with all my might to get it around the clutch. I knew there was no way. There are 4 bolts attaching the motor to the plate right above the pulley. I tried to loosen with wrench, but just started to scratch up nut. So, i found a tool (have no idea what it's called) that has the hexagon shape the same size of the nut and can encompass the entire nut. This gave me enough leverage to loosen them. Once the 4 bolts were out, I could move the motor, which was attached to the clutch, towards the transmission pulley which shortened the distance so the belt could go around both pulley and clutch. Then I moved the motor back towards me to original tension and replaced the nuts. Viola. My washer always worked fine, but I think the belt replacement was a good choice. I'll monitor it through a few cycles to make sure oil is not collecting or excessively leaking from somewhere. I just saved myself $1000 for a new washer....for now. SUMMARY: TO replace a washer belt on this model, remove the 4 motor hex bolts and slide motor in order to get belt on. NO other disassembling needed. Only need to remove front panel of washer to do this. I found this site incredibly helpful to get names of parts and what attached to what http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/model.aspx?model_id=230202 Dissertation version:) A week later, here's what I've learned (and mind you, this is on a GE wksr2100t8ww washer model). 4 damper straps at sears ($4.99/piece)-on ebay: ($7.80 for 4 + free ship). Washer belt I removed was a wh1x2026 ($4.95 w/ free ship on ebay-got in 2 days!) So, for less than $20 in parts, I fixed the rattling noise and feel my agitator is more sturdy since 3 of the 4 damping straps were actually torn. Having the right tools is always helpful as there were about 3 different sized screws/bolts that I removed. Google is my friend and I was able to learn how to remove the front panel and the top panel to get to damping straps. My belt was so stretched that I was able to easily remove it. Figuring out how to put it back on was more difficult and I didn't find much help for my model online. This washer model's pump is separate from the motor and there's no belt attaching the two. You do NOT need to undo the bottom of the washer to get to belt. One end of belt goes on transmission pulley and other end goes on clutch. The clip of the clutch is where I removed the foreign, oil-covered object that was causing the noise and splattering of oil. I THINK it was a torn piece of belt, though my belt was in tact just was frayed on edges (after comparing the looks of the old belt to the new one). So, I attached the new belt to the bigger transmission pulley and pulled with all my might to get it around the clutch. I knew there was no way. There are 4 bolts attaching the motor to the plate right above the pulley. I tried to loosen with wrench, but just started to scratch up nut. So, i found a tool (have no idea what it's called) that has the hexagon shape the same size of the nut and can encompass the entire nut. This gave me enough leverage to loosen them. Once the 4 bolts were out, I could move the motor, which was attached to the clutch, towards the transmission pulley which shortened the distance so the belt could go around both pulley and clutch. Then I moved the motor back towards me to original tension and replaced the nuts. Viola. My washer always worked fine, but I think the belt replacement was a good choice. I'll monitor it through a few cycles to make sure oil is not collecting or excessively leaking from somewhere. I just saved myself $1000 for a new washer....for now.

my last comment got all rammed together. The website I found helpful was:
http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partse... my last comment got all rammed together. The website I found helpful was: http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/model.aspx?model_id=230202