Zanussi washing machine smells like burning rubber

IvyFlood

Hello

I put a load on before we went to bed last night and was awoken to a very loud repeating thumbing sound. It sounded like something had got stuck and it was trying to work but couldn't.

Went down to investigate and was hit with the smell of burning rubber.

The machine had 1 minute left of the cycle but like I said, it was as though it had got stuck. 

I switched it off and pulled it out, nothing apparent and some googling suggests its an issue with the drive belt or motor?

There was no water left and my bedding also smells of burnt rubber!

We can't get someone out until Wednesday but in the meantime I was wondering if anyone knows if this sort of thing is costly to fix and are we better off just buying a new one?! The machine is approaching 5 years old.

Thanks

Section62

IvyFlood said:

Went down to investigate and was hit with the smell of burning rubber.

The machine had 1 minute left of the cycle but like I said, it was as though it had got stuck. 

.....

We can't get someone out until Wednesday but in the meantime I was wondering if anyone knows if this sort of thing is costly to fix and are we better off just buying a new one?! The machine is approaching 5 years old.

If you've emptied the washing out of the machine, can you easily turn the drum round by hand, or does it feel 'tight' or make grinding noises?  Try 'wobbling' the drum, does it feel floppy and move independently of the surrounding case (called the 'tub').

If so, it is likely the bearing has failed. The rotating drum can then make contact with the fixed tub and the friction prevents the motor turning the drum freely.  The rubber drive belt bears the brunt of the fight between the spinning motor and the stuck drum leading to that smell of burning rubber. The pump is unaffected, so that empties the water normally.

In the old days you could get replacement bearings, but these days many models have the tub welded up in the factory making it impossible to change the bearing, you have to replace the whole tub/drum assembly.... the cost of which is often more than the cost of a brand new machine.

It might be worth googling the make and model number to see if it is possible to replace the bearing, but by the time you add labour charges (if you can't DIY) then a repair is still likely to be disproportionately expensive compared to buying a new machine.