What's Wrong With Sealed Tubs?

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

Sealed washing machine tubs are difficult and costly to repair

The problem

The discussion was about what sealed tubs are and why they are considered bad on washing machines, rather than a fault on one specific appliance. The concern raised was whether AEG machines use sealed tubs and the implications if a machine develops a problem.

Likely cause

Accepted advice stated that sealed or welded tubs are designed so they cannot be stripped down. This means common internal faults such as failed drum bearings, tub leaks or obstructions trapped inside cannot usually be repaired in the normal way, leading to major assembly replacement. It was also stated that the design is used to reduce production costs.

What fixed it

No repair was carried out because this was a general advice thread. The accepted answer explained that with a sealed tub, the usual remedy for internal tub, drum or bearing problems is replacement of the complete outer tub, inner tub and drum assembly, which was described as expensive. Exact repair on any specific machine was not confirmed.

Checks to try

• Accepted reply stated sealed tubs cannot be stripped down to remove obstructions
• Accepted reply stated failed drum bearings, tub leaks or jammed items would require complete tub and drum assembly replacement
• Forum replies stated all E/lux, Zanussi and the AEG Protex series have welded tubs

Parts or tools mentioned

• complete outer tub
• inner tub
• drum assembly