Washing machine bearings - cost

Mumto2

I think the bearings may have gone on my Hotpoint washing machine (WT721) - approx. 4 years old.
Makes an enormous racket when spinning. We moved it at weekend to try and see what was wrong and there was a pile of black soot underneath machine.
Hotpoint are quoting £105 for one off repair or £14.99 for 12 months (if they can't fix they will replace).

Can anyone give me an approximate cost for this type of repair through a local repair person. Have rung 2 today and still waiting for them to come back. Have got Hotpoint coming on Thurs, but can cancel if I need to.

Thanks

ormus

about 50 quid plus parts. WM main bearings are approx 10/20 quid.

aboard_epsilon

if you leave it too long after the bearings start making a noise ..it can go on to ruin the bearing housing ..and wear through the outer drum...making machine un-economical to repair

they should be replaced at first instance of noise .

all the best.mark

ormus

as above. if it ruins the shaft, then the WM is pretty much scrap.
i remember the hoover ones , you had to replace the whole drum/shaft assembly.
cost a small fortune. crazy.

muckybutt

"Black soot" will have come from one of two things - either the belt is rubbing or its carbon soot from the brushes on the motor.

The way to see if its the drum bearings thats making the noise is -
With the washing machine empty and the belt disconnected from the back spin the drum see if that makes a grating sort of noise. Then with the door open on the front grab the drum just about where the door seal is and see if you can make it wobble, if it does then good chance main bearings have gone. Another tell tail sign of bugg er ed bearings is a rusty water mark from the back of the machine where the bearings/drum spindle is.

If the drum looks ok and is quiet then next step is to check the motor, now with you saying there was a load of soot that would lead me to look at the motor brushes being worn down, these can also get very noisey when nearing replacement and are a easy cheap repair so Id start there before you look at doing major repairs.

I used to work for service so I know my washers

johnjackson

If you do replace the bearing yourself you can save money by buying it from a bearing factors, rather than an appliance repair shop. They are often much cheaper!

When you remove the old bearing it will have a number on it for identification.