OK We all have a washing machine in our homes. Well nearly all of us, but at some point in our lives and not the washing machines, we may have to attempt to replace the bearings in our washing machine.
As an engineer I often get asked ‘How do I fit a Bearing in a Washing Machine?‘ by friends and family. So I figured and should show all you guys how I do it by writing this small article right here.
First things first. You have got to pick a good day on which you are going to attempt this. If you are new to this, you will have to give your self approximately 8 hours. In real time this is 2 days of anyones time. Hotpoint engineers can do this job in about 2 hours or so but this is not a race as we only want to do this the once.
I’m assuming you already have a decent tool kit otherwise you wouldn’t be attempting this washing machine bearing change. A decent screwdriver set, a few open ended spanners – 10mm, 13mm, 17mm, 19mm – and a decent hammer, a big one, no lets make that a really big one. As an apprentice engineer, brute force and ignorance was my biggest asset and it still carries to this day so don’t be afraid to use a big hammer.
We mentioned time didn’t we. We need to pick a day of the week and since most peoples free time is a weekend, lets pick a Saturday. That’s best because I work a Saturday and if you get stuck you can always give me a ring. The next thing to do is research the type of bearings you will need, so establish what the model number of your washing machine is by identifying the rating plate. Its on the inside of the door.
Once we know this either send me an email and I will identify the bearings for you or look them up in our spare parts catalog. Either way we need to know we can get the bearings and the drum seal before we attempt the repair.
Below I have included a drawing of a typical washing machine drum. This will help you identify the parts and aid your attempt and dismantling the washing machine.
Washing Machine Bearings
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi I am a electrician, but don’t do much of that these days, but I have a Zanussi Jetsystem1600 washing machine with worn drum bearings, I have the back off and have been trying to get the bearings out, have not used brute force yet, but its getting close! the bearing or bearings are SKF 6306-2Z T223, there seems to be a collar that holds the bearing in place? does this unscrew, or do have to split the case, and remove it out that way? hope you can help
Regards
Roger Eade
Zanussi Aquacycle 1000,Is this spindle too corroded?
FLA1001W (91478058900) I’ve finally taken it apart and found the front bearing in pieces but i’m concerned about the spindle.
http://www.hallowpark.co.uk/imgp3554.jpg
Can any one help
Thanks
Jon
@Jon
Interesting thought, fault diagnosis is a tricky one but a picture can paint a thousand words. We’ll leave this open for the community to decide.
I need to change the bearings on the drum of my Zanussi washer/dryer but am having problems loosening the fly wheel (part 320 on your drawing) Do you have any tips how I might be able to accomplish this? Your help would be greatly appreciated. I was afraid I might break the fly wheel.
Sorry but Kleenmaid is not one I am familiar with. As you are in aus I think there is an aussie (can i say aussie is that pc, we just don’t know these days) version of ukwhitegoods. Try searching the ukwhitegoods.co.uk web site.
The lock nut on the pulley is held on with lock tight so brute force and ignorance is the order of the day. Use a ring spanner to grip the nut. This cuts back on spanner rash. Use a hefty wump a lood and give it a good skelp.
how to split the casing for a 7kg load drum for a Service
washing machine to put in new bearings
Jean.
I think you refer to Servis. In my experinece, the drum is split by removing the back plate. This is held on with a big steel band that grips around the periphery of the drum. Similar to a lid on an oil drum. Once dine and the outer drum front removed it will leave behind the inner drum mounted on the bearings housed inside the rear plate.
Hi,
I have a Zanussi WJD 1257W Washer dryer. It has recently started to making a horrendous rattling noise on the spin cycle . We have checked the drum and cannot find any items trapped anywhere and nothing obvious is loose inside, we have drained the filter to make sure nothing there and taken the top off to see if there was anything trapped anywhere visible. I am suspicious the bearing have gone but am not sure and trying to decide if I call a service engineer and deal with the ensuing bill..eeek ..most people advise me it would be cheaper o replace it.Or attempt further investigations myself. We relly like this machine ..it’s approx 2.5 years old and have had no problems till now. We prob do a laundry load every other day. Any help and advice appreciated
Try checking the drum with the belt removed. Assuming you have disconnected it from the supply, take the drive belt off of the pulley wheel.
Now place your hand in the drum and trun it slowly. You may be able to feel the drum bearings rumble.
You can also check for wear in the bearings by putting you hand at the inside top front of the drum and lifting slightly. You feel notice the excessive clearance from the worn bearings.
Ok my first attempt at changing drum bearings.. Meile Washing Machine..(not your standard type of washer) model No.W842. I would normally just go and replace the machine but at £700 approx I think I will have a go. Quite mechanically minded good range of tools in the shed…..Any advice will be much appriciated
Drum bearing changes are time consuming. Seasoned service engineers are allowed 90 mins to do such a repair by the service contracts. Be a little more concervative and allow 2 days. I gaurentee you will hit a snag. Give yourself plenty of room and make sure you have the correct bearing kit before you start. Make a note of wire connection points. Most will only fit in one position. Tubes and hoses are self explanitory. Once your drum is out and you have completed your bearing change, make sure there is no bra wire caught around the heater element or snagged in the sump hose outlet. Unfortunately, Miele are not very accomodating when it comes to providing information. I can’t even tell you what the bearing and seal kit part number is as your model number does not bring back many references to available spares. I suggest you head on over to ukwhitegoods. There is a great resource there for find out stuff like this. Let us all know how it went for you.
i have succesfully removed the drum from my machine…wiring etc. But now i am well and truly stuck. I cannot get the outer back plastic casing off the drum itself, huge nut and bolt type thing dead in the centre, yet an ordinary spanner just wont fit as it is sunk in… help needed plz!!!! (its an LG washer)
Hi
I have an AEG Lavamat 6050.
I’m not too sure whether the bearing is about to go or not.
During normal loads it works fine with only the normal amount of noise audible, however if I put anything heavy like towels in, the machine makes a load knocking noise as not a scraping noise associated with a bearing. Could this be a mounting spring and not a bearing?
Many thanks
Michael
Hi,
I have a Candy CIW100t which has started to spin out of true?? I have removed rear pulley and spun drum, shaft at rear looks as though it is spinning ok but drum is off centre. Any advice or suggestions would be great.
Thanks
Place your hand inside the drum at the front top. How much lift is there in the drum. More than 3mm lift then the bearings have collapsed.
I bought a used hotpoint WF540 in Ghana and realized that the 2 bearings were gone and seals were torn which resulted in noises and the machine leaking. I managed to dismantle it and took the bearings and seal out. the problem is that the bearing numbers and seal numbers are not visible and so don’t know how to buy a replacement in Ghana. I would be glad if you could help me with the bearing numbers as well as the seal numbers. Thanks.
This appliance was fitted with two different bearing sets depending on the shaft diameter. They came fitted with either 30mm or 35mm shaft. The bearing kit for the 35mm shaft is Hotpoint Bearing kit number 1604473. If you have the 30mm shaft then it is very unlikely you will be able to repair it. Although the bearings are available off the shelf the shaft seal may not be readily available. Get the OD and ID dimensions of the bearings and I can let you know what the bearing numbers are.
iv taken the drum case off my hotpoint wf340g to get the bearings out as anybody got a method of getting the bearing out as i have been at it for 3 hours and still wont move
Im trying to repair an AEG oko lavamat 88730 update – replacing the bearings. Thought it was going to be simple – cast iron spider inside the back cover, but the bearings are housed in the outer drum – anyone talk me through how these are removed / changed? does the whole drum need to come out?
Thanks