Bosch Wet 2820 Bearings/seal Squeak
My Bosch WET 2820 washer-dryer started putting dark grease marks on the washing - with the help of the site I diagnosed this as grease from the bearings entering the drum.
This machine has a metal "spider" that holds the bearings and seal against the tub so they can be removed without splitting the tub. The seal had failed and the bearing grease was contaminated with water, although the bearings were still running smooth. I had to split the tub to clean the grease (and other accumulated gunge) out - cue much cursing and cuts to hands and wrists!
I fitted a genuine Bosch bearing and seal kit, along with a new tub seal - not sure if the latter was really required, but for the sake of £8 or so I thought it was better than finding out it leaked later on and having to take it all apart again.
Got it all back together and the machine is washing perfectly, but the drum is squeaking each time it starts moving at low speed during the wash cycle and the anti-crease when it's finished. I thought it was the belt slipping initially, but it's definitely the drum because I've taken the belt off and moved the drum by hand and it makes the noise. It's more of an annoyance than anything, but the machine is in my kitchen and I can hear it in the living room.
A look around suggests the most likely cause is the drum shaft against the seal is causing the squeak. I tapped the drum out of the bearings and reseated it carefully ensuring it went in square, but the squeak returned after a couple of minutes washing.
Is the noise likely to reduce as the seal beds in, or would I be better putting some sort of lubricant on the seal and/or shaft? Someone suggested putting a little silicone grease on the seal? Should I have greased the bearings too? Thinking about it there was grease around the bearings when I took the machine apart because it had blocked the drain hole in the spider - there was no evidence of water on the bottom panel of the machine.
Any advice would be appreciated.
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.
Bosch WET 2820 drum squeak after bearing and seal replacement
- The problem
- After replacing the bearings, bearing seal and tub seal on a Bosch WET 2820 to cure dark grease marks on washing, the machine washed correctly but developed a squeak when the drum first moved at low speed during wash and anti-crease. The noise was still present with the belt removed and when the drum was turned by hand.
- Likely cause
- Most strongly supported diagnosis was contact causing a squeak either from the drum catching the door seal, particularly at the top, or from the new drum bearing seal if it was not yet bedded in or not fitted fully flush. Exact cause was not confirmed.
- What fixed it
- Recommended checks were to confirm the drum was not rubbing on the door seal. If the noise was definitely from the drum bearing seal and did not disappear after several washes, the advised action was to strip it back down, apply a little grease to the seal, and ensure it was fitted flush. The new tub seal replacement was supported as a sensible precaution, but it was not linked to the squeak.
- Checks to try
- Belt removed and drum turned by hand to confirm the noise came from the drum rather than the belt
- Check whether the drum is catching on the door seal, especially at the top
- Monitor whether the squeak disappears after several washes
- If necessary, recheck that the bearing seal is fitted flush
- Parts or tools mentioned
- Genuine Bosch bearing and seal kit
- New tub seal
- A little grease for the seal
Safety: Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
1 Answer
Good call. It's just not worth the risk of having a leak and either not noticing because it's small but does damage over a period of time or noticing and having to strip it back down again.
Make sure it isn't catching on the door seal, maybe at the top. If it's definitely the drum bearing seal and it doesn't disappear after several washes you may have to strip it back down and put a little grease on it and make sure it's definitely fitted flush.
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