Update 12/12/20 As others have noted, there was a bit of free play in the shocks. The washer had a bit of vibration during spin after installing the new shocks; it may have been attributable to this. At least it allowed the machine to work for a number of months. In November, it would no longer spin with clothing; it was fine with an empty drum. I did not tear apart the machine or have a tech come in to determine if the shocks went bad or if there were other issues. I was tired of dealing with it, and I wasn't going to invest in a 10 year old, mediocre machine at the end of its average life expectancy. I bit the bullet and bought a new, compact front loader, which is the only size that will now fit into my basement. It's like night and day. The new washer performs much better than the Frigidaire Affinity ever did. Bottom line for the shocks: If you can do it yourself, it was worth it to eek out a bit more life from the machine. However, be prepared to do it again or start your search for a replacement washer. ************************************************************************************************************************** Let's face it, this purchase is on par with purchasing a new starter for one's vehicle. There is no excitement involved, but not having a working part leaves the car's operation sub par (or in this case the washer). You will know your suspension is weakening if the washer vibrates excessively during its spins. Also, it can be a root cause for the washer not being able to spin. During the balancing routine, if the tub is too wobbly, it will register as an unbalanced load, and the machine will not initiate a spin. It is easy to determine this; just put the washer on a spin cycle without anything in the drum. If it spins OK, then there is a good chance a weak suspension is behind it. I tell you this as that was my method for narrowing down the vibration issue. To be fair, I think the best thing to do would be to replace both the shocks and the suspension springs at the same time, as the springs are also a wear item. However, I could not find a set of reasonably priced springs for my particular Frigidaire Affinity model; I am only willing to put so much into a ten year old machine. I noticed from watching some repair videos that the spring replacement is, surprisingly, more involved than the shocks. This is due to the need to further disassemble the machine to move the dispenser system out of the way of the left side spring. Brilliant engineering! Having said that, the machine's vibration is much subdued compared to a spin prior to the new shocks. Also, I have noticed that it seems more willing to initiate spins. Only time will tell how the shocks fare. As far as installation, YouTube was a great help for that. I did the job myself, though I'd suggest two people. The most difficult part was getting at some of the pins that hold the shocks in place. To get them back in without having to hit them as one reviewed showed, I followed a different review that used a wrench to ease them back into place. I did not break any of the original pins, so I reused all of them.
