Noise During Spin - Motor Vs Drum Bearing
Hello, I'm trying to work out what is causing the rather alarming noise my washing machine started making the other week, at first i thought it was the drum bearing but i thought i'd try to be sure and investigate a bit.
After reading the DIY help tips and looking around on the forum i'm still not quite sure and wondered if anyone had any suggestions.
The drum doesn't grind when rotated by hand it makes it's usual whirring sound and there is no excess play up down or sideways. However when i took the back off to have a poke about there is evidence of staining casued my escaped water, so 50/50 on the drum bearing there! I ran the machine on spin while it was empty and it sounded fine until the motor sped up hence my confusion, i want to run the motor alone to see if that is the problem but i've fallen at the first hurdle - i have no idea how to take the belt off! I dont want to stretch the belt by sliding it off and i'm not sure whether to remove it from the motor or remove it from the wheel on the back of the drum.
My machine must be rather old as Tricity Bendix no longer exist and while there are threds relating to other models either this one is normally really reliable or it's so old no one else has one any more! Obviously I don't want to make things worse so any tips would be handy and if anyone thinks i've ruled out the drum bearing already other suggestions would be most welcome.
Thanks.
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.
Noisy spin traced to probable drum bearing wear
- The problem
- An older Tricity Bendix washing machine developed an alarming noise during spin. The drum initially felt normal by hand with no obvious side or vertical play, but there were water stains at the rear suggesting leakage.
- Likely cause
- Most strongly supported diagnosis was failed drum bearings. This was supported by staining from escaped water around the rear/drum pulley area and the drum sounding grumbly and grindy when turned by hand with the belt removed. The motor alone sounded high-pitched, but no fault was confirmed with the motor.
- What fixed it
- The belt was removed by turning the drum pulley and guiding the belt off. After isolating the motor from the drum, the discussion concluded the drum bearings were the likely cause. The exact repair was not confirmed; the owner planned to have a capable friend inspect it and to replace the machine if repair costs were too high.
- Checks to try
- Drum rotated by hand before belt removal with no excess up/down or sideways play
- Rear of machine inspected and water staining from leakage noted
- Machine run on empty spin cycle and noise increased as motor sped up
- Drive belt removed by rotating the drum pulley and easing the belt off
- Drum turned by hand with belt removed and found to sound grumbly/grindy
- Motor run alone and noted to sound high-pitched/whiny
Safety: Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
4 Answers
You just turn the belt off. Slowly rotate the drum pulley and put pressure on the belt to persuade it to run off the pulley so that it just winds off. You replace it the same way, fitting the belt over the motor pulley and feeding it as far over the drum pulley as possible then slowly turn the drum pulley and feed the belt back on.
Need Professional Help or Spare Parts?
Thank you! I was over complicating things, although it came off easier than it goes on
The motor sounded really high and whinny run alone but i suspect thats partly due to it being run without any resistance as it's always been a bit noisy. Now when i try turning the drum by hand without the belt restraining it it sounds rather grumbly and grindy so it probably it the bearing that's broken. I assume its possible to change the bearing on this machine? (not that i'll try doing it myself)
Thanks for your help.
Yes it sounds like the drum bearings have gone, especially if you've noticed stains from a leak round the back under the drum pulley. Tricity Bendix are a budget machine so you probably wouldn't want to spend much money on a repair. Drum bearings are usually an expensive repair, especially as most washing machines these days require a new outer tub (drum) back half or even a complete new tub.
Washing machine noisy - what could be wrong?
Need Professional Help or Spare Parts?
I've got a friend who is good at stuff like this and he's going to take a look, if the costs look like they'll mount up i may just replace the machine. In which case 'll be haunting the review section on your website!
Thank you.
Z
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