Making a banging noise, now won't rotate: (Whirlpool top loader). Advice appreciated!

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

Whirlpool AWE compact top loader belt repeatedly coming off, then drum shifted and would barely turn

The problem

The Whirlpool AWE compact top loader stopped spinning and the drive belt was found off the machine. After refitting the belt, it would not stay on when the large drive wheel was turned manually. The machine then briefly ran, but on spin it made a loud banging noise, after which the inner drum had shifted several centimetres towards the belt side, the drum door became difficult to open, and the drum was almost impossible to turn.

Likely cause

The strongest diagnosis in the discussion is collapsed or badly worn drum bearings. A forum reply stated worn drum bearings are one possible cause of a belt repeatedly coming off, and the later symptoms of banging on spin and the drum shifting support that diagnosis. However, the repair was not confirmed.

What fixed it

No confirmed repair was documented. The accepted guidance was that the belt issue can be caused by the same faults as on other washing machines, and the later advice was that the drum bearings could have collapsed. Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.

Checks to try

• Drive belt found on the floor
• Side panel removed and drive belt refitted
• Manual rotation of the large drive wheel caused the belt to snap off the rim
• Machine ran briefly after belt refit
• Banging noise occurred on spin
• Drum shifted several centimetres towards the drive belt side
• Drum door became difficult to open
• Drum was almost impossible to turn

Parts or tools mentioned

• Drive belt