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Because I didn’t have the confidence to fit a new seal to my Hotpoint WM76 washing machine I called in bonafide service engineer to do the job. This repair was only carried out on 25th May
After the very first wash, the door seal started to bulge out of shape and recently has been shedding pieces of rubber from its surface which is sticking to the clothes and is getting worse with each successsive wash. In fact there is quite a lot of rubber lying in the bottom of the seal which obviously has ben shredded off the surface of the seal
The seal itself now has grooves cut into its surface.
I am wondering if he hasn’t fitted the door seal the wrong way up, as the two holes on the seal which I would have thought should have engaged the circlip retainer are at the bottom of the drum at 6 o’clock whereas the retainer clip is at the top of the drum.
Could anybody tell me what has happened so that I will have an idea of what to say if the geezer tries to fob me off or blame it on something else.
Re: Wads this door seal fitted the wrong way?
Suspension could be worn/low pulling the seal down. Also if the drum support is fractured the drum may run off ctre biting into the seal with a load in. The two holes are drain holes at 6 o clock. Power off if you are going in.
Why did the first seal fail?Regards
SimonRe: Wads this door seal fitted the wrong way?
Simon
I thank you for your prompt reply to my post.In answer to your first observation.
The drum support (spider) was renewed 18 months ago after one of the legs sheared right through.Second observation.
I had the seal renewed in May due to there being a pin hole in it, nothing more than this. I live in a flat and didn’t want to risk flooding the flat below me.The machine was running perfectly before this engineer changed the seal. It is seven years old and has performed well apart from the spider breaking.
Re: Wads this door seal fitted the wrong way?
Excuse me for not answering sooner. I didn’t get notification that you had posted again!
I didn’t ring the engineer as I was hoping to be in a position where I would have enough information to know whether he was flannelling me or not.
I have had another look at it, and the damage is definitely being caused by the outer drum rubbing against the face of the door seal. It is actually shaving the surface of the seal
Is it possible that he has caused this problem and even if he has couldn’t he just say the same thing as you have told me?
Is there any point in taking the top off the machine to have a look at the suspension to see if there is a broken spring or something, and if so what should I look for.
The machine isn’t making any strange noises by the way.
Re: Wads this door seal fitted the wrong way?
Hi
The door seal is attached to the outer drum so if anything is rubbing it would have to be the inner drum that is out of alignment for some reason ie:suspension or broken drum spider. Its also posible that things you have been washing have caught in the seal and pulled the seal out of alignment.
Mike
Re: Wads this door seal fitted the wrong way?
Please disregard what I said about the outer drum of the machine rubbing against the seal. I have been talking absolute rubbish The outer drum does not revolve and therefore could not have caused this damage.
I believe now that this is happening not because of any friction between the seal and any other part of the machine but because the engineer has used a cheap seal not made by a reputable manufacturer. It stated on the packaging that it was a genuine Hotpoint part, but that goes for nothing! The manufacturer could easily have got the label made up himself.
I have again examined the seal thoroughly and am of the opinion that the seal might well be deteriorating due to its poor quality. As I said earlier it had started to go out of shape even after the first wash.
I would like your opinion as to whether this might well be the case!
You asked if I had spoken to him. I very foolishly did not demand a receipt after paying him. I am not implyiing he is a cowboy, he has been in business since 1972 and has a spare parts shop as well as doing repairs.
Thanks very much for your time and trouble!
Re: Was this door seal fitted the wrong way?
I am sorry I don’t know how to do this.
My wife has a digital camera and I have loaded photos on to the pc for her but it was a long time ago, and I have forgotten what to do.
Even if I could do that part of it, I have no idea how to put the photo or photos on here!
Re: Was this door seal fitted the wrong way?
Just email your photo’s to me and I will put them on the site for you. 😉
If the guy fitted a new door seal whether it be pattern or genuine would not show signs of deteriation after such a short period of time. Therefore either something else has gone wrong with your machine since or the seal wasn’t fitted correctly in the first instant 😕
Re: Was this door seal fitted the wrong way?
Thank you Martin.
Unfortunately my wife is out and doesn’t have her phone with her, and I can’t find her camera.
Without access to the camera which I wouldn’t be able to use properly as I would have to take the photos from inside the drum, I can best describe the damage to the seal on the curve nearest the drum as being scrape marks, and the rubber has come off in small particles like dust
If it isn’t the seal, what do you think may have caused this to happen that has nothing to do with the engineer, and if it was his fault what might he have done wrong?
As I have said before the only thing wrong with the last seal was a small pin hole. But to be fair might that have just been an indication of things to come?
Re: Was this door seal fitted the wrong way?
pappyon wrote:As I have said before the only thing wrong with the last seal was a small pin hole. But to be fair might that have just been an indication of things to come?
Possibly so and I will await your photos to be sure. One thing I can state is that the engineer (as you say) has been around since 1972 and he, sure as hell is hot, will know after all that time how to fit a door seal correctly… 😉
He’s almost been in the trade as long as me………blimey! 8)
Re: Was this door seal fitted the wrong way?
If the door seal is going out of shape so quickly then in my experience it means the suspension rubbers have worn. Easy to check too…just open the door and have a look at the tub and drum, they should sit square with the cabinet, i.e. if you were to hold an imaginary straight-edge across the front lip of the drum from one side to the other, then that should be parallel with the front of the cabinet. Not a big job to do, and not very expensive either.
The pinhole in the old seal is symptomatic of this too…door seals these days tend to fail when they are not being flexed in the direction they were designed to cope with, they end up ‘creasing’ at one particular point (usually at about the 4 o’clock or 8 o’clock position) which results in a hole at the point of highest stress 😉The drum rubbing the seal and wearing it is more of a problem though. Either the door seal is an incorrect one (seems unlikely), the seal is incorrectly fitted (extremely unlikely) or the drum is misaligned within the tub (highly likely). If it’s the latter then there is a more serious problem with the drum or it’s support 😕
Re: Was this door seal fitted the wrong way?
martin
I am sorry I cannot email the photographs asked for, as I cannot hold the camera properly inside the drum, and the abrasion marks are in such a position that the seal would have to be twisted round and held before the photo was taken. I don’t even know how to use the camera properlyclivejameson
I did the check you advised and find no misalignment of the tub or outer drum.I did a complete wash including a 1200rpm spin and there was no sign of friction between the seal and drum or of the drum hitting the seal. Neither were there any unusual noises.
In relation to whether the wrong part was fitted. I kept the packaging and the part number is 1603006 if that’s any help. The machine is a Hotpoint WM76
I am of the opinion that the fault has been caused by the failure of the door seal due to it being an imitation of the genuine article and of inferior material or possibly past its cure date. It now looks like a double hernia, or even a triple hernia.
The new seal is in worse shape than the original which I have kept, and the machine is seven years old. Maybe it was lying in the shop for over seven years! As I said before there was a bulge in it even after the first wash when the repair was carried out.
I cannot call the engineer out, as i did not get a receipt for the work, and he would probably blame it on something else and then charge me for the callout.
I will use the machine until it starts to leak and then come back here and ask for advice on how to refit the orignial seal which I have patched with a cycle patch and super glue, and tested in extremely hot water. If that fails I will buy a new machine, which probably I should have done in the first place.
My last Hotpoint lasted for 21 years and all I had to do was renew the motor brushes and the water pump. This one has been a binger.
I thank everybody who gave advice and assistance.
You good people are to be commended for giving up your time to us poor struggling amateurs
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