After around 5 years of steady use and regular maintenance, I pulled the trigger and replaced the gasket. It seems that mold will stain these rubber boot seals no matter how well you try to prevent it. After removing it, I found quite a bit of mold around the metal tub itself (source of a minor smell) and this was the perfect opportunity to clean everything out. Do yourself a favor and get the outer seal removal pliers....I cringed spending that much $ on essentially a one job tool, but it you try it without, you would be willing to spend 3X as much just to get the clamp back on. Have an extra set of hands around to install (not necessary but certainly speeds things along). Fit of the new part was perfect - a bit tight to begin with but loosened up after a little encouragement. After installing and seeing how clean everything is, it is definitely a worthwhile purchase.......I chalked this up to regular maintenance on one of these front loaders that will need to be done again, in around 5 years or so.....