Small Amount Of Play In Drum

[BigBun]

Hi,

I just fitted a new drain pump in my Bosch Clasixx washer. The drum rotates smoothly and there is no excess noise but there is a small amount of play in the drum. Is this a candidate for new bearings?

Cheers,

Adam

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

If washing machine is noisy the drum bearings are a suspect but if they need replacing they should be noisy when you spin the drum by hand. Excessive play could be caused by a cracked drum spider arm, though it should only have this play on one part of the drum (as described in my link), and with a heavy load in I'd expect it to make some noise.

[BigBun]

Thanks. The bearing seems quiet and smooth when hand turning and no particular rumbling on spin. It's a slighty noisy machine with a loose fitting top and loose bits inside. I suppose it could be the stub axle to spider joint in which case I assume its a gonner. The spiders are riveted to the drum on these I think and I am sure a drum costs hundreds! Better dismantle before buying a bearing kit methinks.

Regards

A.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

How much play is there? And is the play the same all the way around the drum? A small amount of play isn't normally anything to worry about depending what "small" means.

[BigBun]

Yes, it's the same all the way round. It moves enough with a little metalic ding to be worth investigating. I assume they are caged ball races so their shouldn be any play like a taper-roller. Whats the best way of dealing with the plastic clips round the tub, please? I saw an espares video which said to just cut them off. Is that correct?

Cheers

Adam

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

If there's no noise, I wouldn't strip it down, it's far too much messing about for something so subtle as a bit of play. I've seen drums with play in that ran for years. If it starts to get noisy on spin maybe, it's unlikely the cost will be any different as long as you didn't leave it until it was very noisy.

[BigBun]

OK, thanks for the advice.

A.

[nicam49]

I've just stripped down  a Bosch Classixx after buying a new bearing kit, and guess what? The spider has cracks on all 3 arms! Nothing wrong with the bearings at all.  Unlike Hotpoints, which you can replace the spiders on, this one's riveted on. What on earth could have caused it.. and is it common  on these machines.. I've since viewed a YouTube vid of the same damage, so it must be a common failure. My own Hotpoint is 20 years old and I've only ever had to replace bearings. Oh, and the Bosch trashed the front half of the tub.. ouch!