Hoover DYN8164DI-80 drum problem.

Hoover DYN8164DI-80 9KG washer. 3100383410485506.

This machine is less than a year old and it has already had three heaters. This is a long standing customer and she was desperate to get the machine running as the manufacturer was quoting after Christmas to call.
E16 fault – heater short to earth. On removal of the heater I found damage to the top surface similar to the damage caused in old Hoover washers when the heater bracket rusted off and the heater flapped between the drum and tub. The underside of the drum holes have ground the heater away; eventually holing it. All the lugs on the drum paddles are missing. I also noticed that the stainless steel drum weld either side of the paddle that partially covered it was almost razor sharp. The drum is slightly out of round when spun by hand.
Firstly, is the exploding drum issue still going on; could this machine be about to fail? Secondly, the heater was definately secured by the wire bracket; so it wasn’t installed incorrectly. Thirdly, there were no foreign bodies in the tub, sump hose or filter.(apart from plastic paddle bits).
Which seems to suggest the drum is somehow hitting the heater.

Any ideas? I think it’ll need a whole new (sealed) tub assembly. Anyone had this problem with this series? Any known issues?

Thanks,

Steve.