Anyone know about changing washing machine drum bearings?

[Rockingit]

Poorly Candy/Hoover washing machine at home, just trying to work out how feasible it is to change drum bearings or just forget it and buy a new one.

Can anyone advise?

 

[Marvo]

I spent several hours dismantling my washing machine a while ago also for bearings. It wasn't an easy proceedure and it turned out that the star shaped supporting arm assembly inside the outer drum was corroded and broken beyond repair

 

[Rockingit]

See that's what I'm thinking - spending hours and a few quid on spares and not actually getting anywhere!

 

[GLENNSPARK]

yep....did my mothers washer a couple of years ago..
how do you know its the bearing?

is it just squeeling..or rumbling....or is it like the drum is scraping against the side?

may not be the bearing see...it could be the cast ally spider...and if thats gone...then just bin it....

 

[Rockingit]

The drum is able to wobble up/down and has caused the drive belt to throw

 

[Marvo]

Does the drum and the shaft wobble up and down in sync? If the shaft has movement without the drum or vice versa then it's probably that spider/star shaped mounting that's broken. The only good thing about dismantling it in that case is you're guaranteed to find at least one underwire from a bra in there so you can blame the failure on the wife

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Does the drum and the shaft wobble up and down in sync? If the shaft has movement without the drum or vice versa then it's probably that spider/star shaped mounting that's broken.

if it is then its dead....
throw it in the bin & get another...
i mean i had to replace the bearing, spider & seal on that washer of my mothers...but i wouldn`t go to that effort again....balls to that....

 

[Rockingit]

No, they seem fairly solidly linked, and I can't make the drive wheel turn independently of the drum, hence thinking it's the bearing, but it's a good few mm's of play on it.

 

[Marvo]

The spider thing on mine was fitted with very large press-fitted rivets so I dumped it.

 

[markc123]

Is it the missus making you try fix it rather than 'buy a new one' we all know how tight women can be lol....if so, break it beyond repair so a new one has to be bought.

E.g. turn on and throw a brick in (harlem shake soundtrack sold seperatley)

Harlem Shake (washing machine edition) - YouTube

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Is it the missus making you try fix it rather than 'buy a new one' we all know how tight women can be lol....if so, break it beyond repair so a new one has to be bought.

E.g. turn on and throw a brick in (harlem shake soundtrack sold seperatley)

Harlem Shake (washing machine edition) - YouTube

no...what it`l be is she will have seen a winter coat & some shoes when in town...and realised its either the washing machine or the winter fashion..

i guess now we know what won that dilemma...

 

[Marvo]

No, they seem fairly solidly linked, and I can't make the drive wheel turn independently of the drum, hence thinking it's the bearing, but it's a good few mm's of play on it.

I guess it's down to cost / benefit analysis, same as most business decisions. It's going to take several hours of your valuable time so negotiate with wifey what's in it for you.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

No, they seem fairly solidly linked, and I can't make the drive wheel turn independently of the drum, hence thinking it's the bearing, but it's a good few mm's of play on it.

what you have on the outer drum will be a large lockring...with a rubber seal around it...you will need to get this off in order to extract the drum....there will be a large bolt that holds the large pulley on the drum shaft....check it isn`t a left hand thread before attempting to unscrew...
you will need to get the concrete blocks out from the top of the machine in order to gain access...there will be springs supporting these to the frame...and watch it with them as well as their under tension...
underneath there will be a rubber hose that links the outer drum to the water pump...these will have spring clips either end...a decent set of pliers sees to these...

 

[Marvo]

With mine I had to remove the entire inner and outer drum as a full assembly. The front of the outer drum had to be detached by undoing a massive pipe clamp / jubilee clip that was about 500mm in diameter. Only after this could I remove the inner drum with the shaft on it. The whole job was a real pain in the rear, it took about half an hour to label all the wiring that had to be removed from the programmer and it was a fight to get the drum assembly out without distorting the frame beyond the point of damaging it. It's a job I wouldn't do again in a hurry.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

With mine I had to remove the entire inner and outer drum as a full assembly. The front of the outer drum had to be detached by undoing a massive pipe clamp / jubilee clip that was about 500mm in diameter. Only after this could I remove the inner drum with the shaft on it. The whole job was a real pain in the rear, it took about half an hour to label all the wiring that had to be removed from the programmer and it was a fight to get the drum assembly out without distorting the frame beyond the point of damaging it. It's a job I wouldn't do again in a hurry.

yeah Marvo...thats what it is...thats the general construction of em...
you remove the module....then split it...the front comes off and theres a rubber gasket that makes the seal..its a pig to relocate correctly...
as i said you need to disconnect the pump motor from the rubber waste hose...its just a spring clip that you can get some pliers on...
once you have withdrawn the module and taken the front off the outer drum you then remove the large pulley from the shaft at the back...
the inner drum wont just come out...you need to drift it out with a decent hammer and a bit of plywood (to protect the threaded end of the shaft)...but a couple of sharp raps will see it start to go...
the bearing will drift out in the same fashion together with the dowty seal...