Indesit Wg1034tg Drum Bearings

[Curious]

I was trying to replace the drum bearings in my Indesit washing machine. I managed to take the drum pulley off. I then tried to take the bearing out but I could not. So I tried to take the spider (triangle shaped) out but again it just simply would not come out. It comes a quarter of the way out but it would not come any more. Is there any specific way to take it out? My washing machine is an Indesit WG1034TG model. Please advise. Thanks.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Often, when drum bearings have gone, they have collapsed or partially rusted in. With the drum pulley off, you usually have to knock the drum out with a heavy mallet. A heavy hammer will damage the drum shaft and the thread where the drum pulley bolt goes.

If you have knocked the drum shat all the way flat to the back bearing and the drum still wont come out, you may be able to knock it out by screwing the drum pulley bolt back in (without the drum pulley) about three quarters of the way in to get a little bit more to hit. Be careful not to damage the thread on the drum pulley bolt though.

[Curious]

How difficult is it to take the drum out? My back cover of the machine seems to be solidly fitted and there are no sign of any screws. I have not tried the front cover yet. I have been talking with a local washing machine repairer and he disappointed me by telling that it is not worth trying to repair it. It is better to buy a new washing machine. But being an engineer I feel that I should be able to open the part!! So I am going to try one more time before I give up. Any further advice would be appreciated. Once again thank you very much for your reply.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

You should be able to replace the drum bearings on that model without difficulty. It sounds like the bearings have collapsed quite badly though, and this is why you are having difficulty removing the drum spider. You've nothing much to lose by stripping it down because even if you abandon the idea and buy a new one, the old one is worthless anyway. The risk you take is wasting money on spares if the repair is unsuccessfull.

These days, because you can buy busget new washing machines so cheaply, having drum bearings fitted is often no longer worth it. If your washing machine is pretty expensive then it should be worth doing though. however, doing the repair yourself of course is different because you are only paying for the spare parts and no labour.

If you want to have a final bash at it (excuse pun) then try putting a block of wood under the spider, between the bottom of the spider and the tub. Then when you knock the drum shaft to try and release the spider it should be more effective. The main thing to remember is that with the pulley off, the spider should just lift off the shaft and the only thing stopping it from doing so is the rust and collapsed bearings.

Andy

PS

You can order Indesit drum bearings (or most washing machine drum bearings in fact) here - appliance and washing machine spares