Hotpoint Washing Machine spins but rubs
Hotpoint Washing Machine WMFUG742G spins however it rubs at two particular points. Does this both while running on cycle or when turned by hand. Machine seems level however have leaned it back and forward to no change in case it was due to the washing machine being at an odd angle.
When rotating the drum by hand can see gap appearing at the top as the uneven side gets to it as if drum is no longer circular. If I push the drum up and to the right, the drum evens out and goes round without rubbing.
No other noises.
Pictures show gap at top and the drum rolled round for same spot at the bottom to show difference. Drum rubs bottom right as it turns up, enough to make a noise, and slight rubs the tab top left but only enough to feel it hinder movement but not make noise when rotating by hand.
Solution Summary
AI-generated from this discussion
This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.
Hotpoint WMFUG742G drum rubs at fixed points and later develops loud knocking
- The problem
- Hotpoint washing machine WMFUG742G would spin but the inner drum rubbed at two consistent points, both during a cycle and when turned by hand. The drum rim showed an uneven gap at the top, and the drum could be pushed up on one section so it ran more evenly. After further use, an empty spin/drain was quieter for rubbing but a loud clanking/knocking noise appeared on acceleration and deceleration, with severe rocking under load.
- Likely cause
- Most strongly supported diagnosis was internal drum movement, possibly a cracked drum spider/shaft assembly at the rear of the drum. A softer or distorted door seal was also suggested early on, but the later loud rear-origin knocking made an internal drum support fault more likely. The exact fault was not confirmed.
- What fixed it
- Checks were advised for abnormal drum movement around the full circumference and for the door seal catching or going soft. The owner also changed the struts, which reduced shaking but did not stop the knocking noise. No confirmed repair was achieved. Because the fault could not be pinned down and the machine was 8 years old, the owner replaced the washing machine.
- Checks to try
- Checked drum for looseness/movement at multiple positions using the drum lifters
- Checked whether the door seal was catching or had become soft/flabby
- Ran empty spin and drain cycle
- Tried a loaded wash cycle with bed clothes
- Checked for knocking by moving/shaking the tub
- Turned the drum by hand
- Replaced the struts to see if shaking improved
- Parts or tools mentioned
- Struts
Safety: Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
4 Answers
Hello there. Place one of the plastic drum lifters in the 6 o'clock position, and pull and lift the drum towards you to see if anything is loose, or if there is any movement that clearly shouldn't be there. Then turn the drum to halfway between that drum lifter and the next, and repeat. Then move the second drum lifter to the 6 o'clock position and repeat etc. until you have checked all around the drum.
What you are looking for is any signs of a crack in the drum spider and shaft that is fixed to the back of the drum that is allowing the drum to move forward. If everything appears okay, and there is no movement (apart from obviously the movement that would be expected when you bear in mind that it is all suspended on suspension with two top springs holding it central).
If it all seems okay, then check the door seal where it is catching to see whether it has become unduly soft and flabby.
Washing machine drums are rarely nicely circular. There is usually some mis-shaping at the rim. The problem is, when something like this just suddenly starts to happen, there must be some explanation. It could be that a new door seal would fix the problem if it's gone soft and flabby, or the drum could have had something hit it like a coin that affected its shape.
If you can't find anything and it is not too bad, I would just see how it goes. Watch out for if the door seal gets badly damaged as if chunks break away they will go down into the machine and block the filter or the pump. Often this noise disappears once the washing machine has water and detergent inside.
Need Professional Help or Spare Parts?
Gone round the drum and it feels solid. It's only when I'm lifting the section which seems to have deformed to leave a gap at the top, there I'm able to push it up (feels more like I'm bending it up).
I've had it on it's front and back up numerous times as it has a leak in the back of the drum casing. Tested it with a spin and drain cycle empty. It was fine then stuck in some bed clothes for a proper cycle, only then after a bit did it start rocking loudly. Not run right since.
Just tried it again empty on spin and dump, not making rubbing noise but I have now noticed a clanking sort of noise when it accelerates/decelerate seemingly.
Attached video of bottom of drum as it goes round and of the back demonstrating the clanking sound. Would this push it towards the spider/crank issue taking both issues into account?
I'm assuming this is one those issues where its only going to get worse.
20230719_204455_001.mp4
20230719_204709_001.mp4
Hi there. Normally, a knocking noise that stops once the motor is up to speed is often related to the drum moving about.
With the washing machine disconnected from the mains, can you reproduce this knocking noise by shaking and bouncing the tub around? Bear in mind that one of the sources of knocking noises like this can be the concrete drum weights, so don't hold the drum weight when bouncing it and shaking it around, although you may be able to detect if it is loose or not quite easily.
Need Professional Help or Spare Parts?
Decided to let go of this machine.
I couldn't detect any sort of noticeable noise when moving the tub around. Couldn't hear the knocking by turning the drum either. Couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from other than it seemed to originate from the rear of the tub where the spider/shaft would be when the it was running.
I did swap the struts on it to see if that would help and it did help the shaking but the noise was still there. It was knocking so loud could barely hear myself talk.
With it being 8 years old and not being able to track the problem down other than possibly something internal, decided to give up on it and got a new machine in. Not worth getting someone who 'knows' what their doing to look at it.
Thanks for the help on this, I've learned a few new things on washing machines which will help in future. Hopefully not the too near future given I've just got a new machine though.
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