Bearings gone on washing machine

RachelAnz

HI everyone


I'm at a friend's who's washing machine has broke, the bearings have gone. He's wondering if it's worth getting it repaired or buying a new one. has anyone got any experience of this, he needs to save as much money as possible.


thanks

HappyMJ

RachelAnz wrote: »

HI everyone


I'm at a friend's who's washing machine has broke, the bearings have gone. He's wondering if it's worth getting it repaired or buying a new one. has anyone got any experience of this, he needs to save as much money as possible.


thanks

Depends on what make and model any other minor problems and what the repair estimate has come back as.

I always prefer to repair but it's got to be economical. There no point paying £200 fixing a 20 year old machine when £250 will buy you a new one....but if the repair is going to be around £80 then I'd repair it as long as it looks like it will last for another few years.

RachelAnz

Good places to buy a new one?


He's in Dorset

martinthebandit

http://www.espares.co.uk/product/es546635/washing-machine-drum-bearing-and-seal-kit

If you know the make and model replacing the bearings yourself is fairly simple.

HappyMJ

RachelAnz wrote: »

Good places to buy a new one?


He's in Dorset

Figure out your needs. Capacity in Kg is probably the most important.

Anything you find online will be fine. Tesco, Sainsbury's, Appliances Online just to name a couple. Shop around and find a make and model you like. Read the reviews including all the bad ones. Figure out if it's worth it and then shop around for the best price. I would never consider the cheapest machine on the market. I'd go mid-range but it's hard to tell what is mid-range or not. Lots of web searching is needed.

You'll have a delivery charge and I'm quite sure most places deliver to Dorset. You'll have a disposal charge if you want the old one taken away. You'll have a connection charge if you want them to unpack it and connect it for you. With all those charges you can see why I'd rather repair if required but sometimes it just can't be justified.

Mistral001

I replaced the bearing in my mother's machine, quite a few years ago. It was a bit of a tough job as the bearing nut was fairly well rusted in. Since the nut was very large, I had to buy a very large socket for my socket wrench which added to the cost, but even with that it would probably all be less £30 in today's money.

ess0two

Some bearings are pressed into the drum and non renewable.

zaax

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaFF2-Rl8Nc

shows how to do it

EssexExile

That's how to change the bearings on a new Bosch, it's a bit different on an old machine & just about any other make!

martinthebandit

EssexExile wrote: »

That's how to change the bearings on a new Bosch, it's a bit different on an old machine & just about any other make!

Without knowing the exact make and model of the machine the OP is referring to its difficult to point to the exact relevant guidance that's out there.

However the principle that fubared bearings is not a reason to throw away most washing machines is sound.

macman

Almost all modern budget machines, and many midrange ones, now have sealed drums, in which case you have to replace the whole unit, as the drum can't be split. This applies to all Beko, Hotpoint, etc and all but top-end Bosch w/m's. Miele are about the only manufacturer who don't use welded drums.
So unless you tell us the make and model it's not possible to advise. But unless you can do it yourself, it's not worth it on a budget model as the labour cost will be more than the value of the machine. And, unless it's a few years old, it probably is a budget model, as these tend to use undersized bearings that are only designed to last a few hundred cycles.