Hotpoint Wm52 Drum Bearings
The bearings are getting a little noisey when spinning at full speed. I've replaced bearings before on a previous Hotpoint machine and seem to remember having difficulty in removing the old bearings etc. Are there any instructions available on replacing the bearings and also are any special tools required to carry out the job?
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 WM52 noisy spin likely due to worn drum bearings
- The problem
- A Hotpoint WM52 washing machine had drum bearings becoming noisy during full-speed spin. The owner asked whether special tools or instructions were needed to replace them.
- Likely cause
- Most strongly supported diagnosis is worn drum bearings. The accepted reply notes a possible complication if the front bearing has collapsed, and says excessive drum play could also indicate a cracked or corroded drum shaft rather than bearings alone.
- What fixed it
- The accepted advice was that bearing replacement is possible without the dedicated Hotpoint bearing tools if the front bearing has not collapsed, using a large flat punch to remove and refit bearings carefully. However, it was described as a very large job and not a routine DIY repair. The reply also recommended replacing the drum spider at the same time, ideally using a kit containing the spider, fixing bolts, both bearings and the bearing seal. Exact repair on this machine was not confirmed.
- Checks to try
- Noise occurs at full-speed spin
- Check for a lot of play in the drum
- Assess whether the front drum bearing has collapsed
- Parts or tools mentioned
- Large flat punch
- Drum bearing kit
- Drum spider
- Fixing bolts
- 2 drum bearings
- Bearing seal
Safety: This repair was described as a major job with risk of damage if carried out carelessly. Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
1 Answer
There are special tools for removig the drum bearings in the Hotpoint 95*, 99* and WM* (not WMA) washing machines. However they are way too expensive to buy for a DIY bearing replacement. These tools make it easier, and in the case of a collapsed front drum bearing they can make the difference between being able to remove the outer race from the tub and not but many washing machine engineers don't even bother using them.
If the front drum bearing hasn't collapsed, you can do the job using brute force by knocking the bearings out (and the new ones in) with a large flat punch. If your punch isn't good and flat, or you are careless, it could slip and damage the new bearings so be careful when knocking them in)
Replacing drum bearings in a Hotpoint washing machine is a very big job. It's not a normal DIY job unless you are experienced, willing to chance it or just like a challenge.
My honest opinion is that you should think carefully before trying to do this job because there are things that can go wrong and you could waste a lot of time and money. However, some keen DIYers seem to manage it without too much trouble.
You should also replace the drum spider as Hotpoint recommend (I've tried replacing only the drum bearings and they didn't seem to last very long). Drum bearing kits can be bought that come with the drum spider and fixing bolts as well as the 2 drum bearings and the bearing seal. They are relatively inexpensive.
Pitfalls
The main pitfall is if the front drum bearing has collapsed. If it has (and if there's a lot of play in the drum it may have - but the play could be caused by the drum shaft cracking or being corroded) then it could be extremely hard to get the front bearing out.
This is because without the rest of the front bearing present, you only have the outer race pressed into the tub which needs knocking out but due to it being recessed, there's only a mm or so to get a punch behind and the punch keeps riding over when you hit it. I've had a few over the years that I simply gave up on when they were so badly collapsed and rusted. This usually happens when the drum bearings have been noisy for a long time and ignored or the seal protecting them has gone so badly that water has flooded into the drum bearings.
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