Mind the Gap

Any suggestions anyone?

HI Andy,

Thank you for your reply. Ok, we shall see how this goes then but I was pretty thorough with the repair. Apart from two left over panel screws, no idea where they were meant to go. 🤪

Thank again.

Hi Washing_MC_Chicken, did you buy the washer new and after just two years you had to replace the bearings?

Hi Mikael,

Yes, I brought the machine 2 years ago from AO and now the inner bearing needed replacing. On inspection of the seal and inner bearing it appears something had hit the them, causing a dent.

The washing machine had a 1 year warranty and there after Haier offered a parts and labour service for a fee which I declined. The motor itself has a lifetime warranty.

Initially, I was annoyed that the bearing only gave me 2 years life but having realised possibly something collided with it, I put it down to unusual damage.

Please see images below....

Hello there. To be honest I don't think that's possible. Once the bearing is in place and the seal is over the top of it and then the drum shaft is inserted through it then the other seal at the base of the drum shaft fits tightly over the seal and prevents water getting into the bearings. I would say it's impossible for anything to get in there to damage the bearing. The damage looks just like the damage I myself have done many times when trying to knock in the drum bearing with a large punch and the punch slips and puts a dent into the bearing.

But even after having said that, that thin metal plate is only a cover to cover up the ball bearings and keep the grease inside. So unless the dent actually caught on the ball bearings it shouldn't really cause a problem although to be fair it does look a little deep.

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the reply. The only reason I think something had hit it, is because the dent is also on the rubber seal. So it appears the dent has accrued from the rubber seal side and travelled down to the bearing. However, you could be right maybe this has happened along the assembly line and ignored or went unnoticed. Then 2 years later has caused a failure.

The old seal and bearings were NSK which I have replaced with SKF equivalent.

This must be a rare case. But your washer is up and running now.

Aye it’s impossible for something to hit the seal as the drum is pressed tightly against it. So tight that it’s watertight.

Yes Mikeal, at least it is fixed and working now. 👍

Andy, any ideas or explanation on how this may have happened? 🤷‍♂️

All I know is, there was a load of towelings running at top spin, when the noise began. It is a heavy load and at times puts the machine in unbalanced mode.

Hi. To me I would suspect that the bearing got damaged while it was being put in, or before it was fitted during manufacture. As I said when the bearing is not in place there is a seal that goes over the top of it and then the drum shaft goes through it and at the base of the drum shaft then presses tightly against the drum seal so it is watertight.

I can't see how it is remotely possible for the bearing which is underneath the seal to receive any damage once fitted.

HI Andy,

You most likely right as to how it got damaged. I guess whatever it was, contributed to the failure.

Thanks for all your help guys.