Hotpoint Aquarius 8640 Washer/Dryer - clanking - knocking drum

This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.

Hotpoint Aquarius 8640 washer/dryer clanking or knocking during operation

The problem

A Hotpoint Aquarius 8640 washer/dryer was reported to make a clanking/knocking noise, worse on spin. The owner noted apparent excess movement at the rear of the drum and suspected worn bottom dampers or stretched suspension springs, but no broken or obviously distorted parts were seen on initial inspection.

Likely cause

The accepted reply did not confirm a specific failed part. The strongest supported diagnosis was that the noise was likely due to something loose or another mechanical source that needed locating by observation. The dampers were considered likely okay if they still held the drum centrally and the drum bounced back into place.

What fixed it

No definite repair was confirmed. Recommended action was to locate the source of the noise by manually bouncing and shaking the drum/cabinet to reproduce it, then observing the machine during a spin cycle to identify where the sound came from, and unplugging it before investigating any suspected loose component. The exact repair was not documented.

Checks to try

• Top and back covers removed for internal inspection
• Visual inspection found nothing broken or out of shape
• Rear of drum noted to have excess movement
• Check whether suspension dampers hold the drum centrally
• Bounce the drum up and down to see if it springs back into place
• Shake and move the casing to try to reproduce the noise
• Observe the machine during a spin cycle to locate the noise source