Washing machine spin cycle - not reaching full speed

GaseousAgley

My washing machine is a Hotpoint Electronic 1050 De luxe (toploader) and is about 25-30 years old. For some time it was making a rattling noise when it reached full speed in the spin cycle. I've been assuming the rattle was coming from inside(?) the gearbox as I can't find anything obviously loose after removing the back of the machine and the rattle only seemed to happen when the gearbox was spinning (at full speed).
The machine is still spinning but is not now reaching full speed. With the back off the machine when it's running I can't see any obvious cause. Could this problem be the result of something inside the gearbox being at or close to failure?
As the machine's obsolete I haven't been able to find a replacement gearbox but I'm thinking about trying to take the gearbox apart now to see if it can be fixed.

EssexExile

If it's in the gearbox then it's all over, but when it's spinning the gearbox isn't doing anything, other than flying around very fast, so I doubt the problem is in there.  I left Hotpoint 20 years ago and they'd stopped making those before that. My advice would be to get some clutch shoes, about £10 to £20, and fit those. That may cure the slow spin. Check all the bolts on the motor and counterweight are tight, check the friction dampers are clean (don't oil or grease them!). Is there a pool of oil on the floor under the machine?

grumbler

I've never seen a washing machine with a gearbox, but that's may be just me.

My first thought would be the bearing.

EssexExile

grumbler said:

I've never seen a washing machine with a gearbox, but that's may be just me.

My first thought would be the bearing.

It's a top loader, they don't have "bearings" as such. They have a "power unit" that consists of a gearbox and lots of other bits. The gearbox turns the continuous rotation of the motor into a back and forth motion for the agitator.

GaseousAgley

Thanks for the replies and apologies for not responding sooner - I've only just been able to get into the back of (and underneath) the  machine again.

I've checked for anything loose that might cause the rattling sound but still cannot find anything. The bolts still seem to be tight.

As for the clutch shoes they were replaced recently so they're not yet worn. Having said that, the machine does often still struggle to start spinning just as it did before the old worn shoes were replaced (though it's not as bad now).

Sounds like there's nothing much more I can do unless there's any form of testing to try to track down the problem?

EssexExile

Sorry, I can't do much more from here! Pump blocked maybe, is the water pumping out fast enough? Getting to the filter isn't easy though.

GaseousAgley

EssexExile said:

Sorry, I can't do much more from here! Pump blocked maybe, is the water pumping out fast enough? Getting to the filter isn't easy though.

Think the drainage pump is OK. That's another thing I replaced a while back and haven't noticed any problems with it but I'll look for signs of trouble next time I use the machine. Also (looking at your original post) don't think there's any sign of oil on the floor beneath the machine.

EssexExile

Oil is a sign of the gearbox being on the way out but, as I said in a reply to someone else earlier, the gearbox isn't actually doing anything during a spin, other than flying round very fast!

The reason I ask about pumping out is because if there is still a lot of water about there is too much drag for the drum to get up to full speed and it can make a noise. It's over 20 years since I worked on these so it's not exactly fresh in my mind, but I'd expect the drum to more or less empty before the spin gets going. So there should be a good flow of water out at first, this should drop off to almost nothing as the drum empties then pick up again once the spin gets going.