Bosch WFR2868GB/05 bearing replacement

[OldManCoyote]

Hello,

The inner bearing on my 6 year-old (and much travelled) WFR2868 is almost gone. There is a nice (?) rumble when the drum spins, but as yet no vertical play on the shaft.

I have the correct bearings and seal, have opened the machine, removed the motor suspension bolts, the top concrete weight, all the self-tapping screws around the tub, and am now totally stuck as to how to open the tub – which I guess is the next step to get to the spider and remove the bearing.

I have tried levering with a couple of large screwdrivers – one pushing on a tab, and the other prising the two halves open, but so far all I have managed is a couple of dents and chips in the reinforced plastic. The exploded drawing on the Bosch site shows and lists two tub parts, as well as bearings, seals and shafts, so it should be possible to dismantle it.

Any help with the task – starting from how to split the tub, and following with any tips for the rest – would be most welcome.

I realise it is not the easiest of tasks; I used to take apart and rebuild motocross bike engines, including replacing crankshaft bearings, so I have a fairly complete kit of tools and reasonable familiarity with them… but this seems to require some trick which I miss!

Many thanks in advance.

[Phidom]

Re: Bosch WFR2868GB/05 bearing replacement

You have to break off all the locking tabs. There are probably unused screw holes. These will need extra screws when you put it back together.

[OldManCoyote]

Re: Bosch WFR2868GB/05 bearing replacement

Thanks a lot! (so much for my attention in marking the holes with screws in, then…)

Does the seal between the two tub halves need to be replaced, or is it re-usable?

[Phidom]

Re: Bosch WFR2868GB/05 bearing replacement

I always re-use the joint seal but I run a bead of silicone sealer round it just to make sure it seals properly.

[OldManCoyote]

Re: Bosch WFR2868GB/05 bearing replacement

Thanks very much for the help. The seal had gone, and the inner bearing was nicely rusting up. Everything now sorted, and machine running fine.

For anyone who wants to try this on their own – a few pointers in semi-random order:

0. Unplug the machine before you do anything else – there’s exposed live wiring right next to the top cover!

1. You’ll practically need to strip the whole machine down. The only things left in place by the time I had the bearings out were the pump, the inlet valves, the drain pipe and a few electrical bits. Everything else has to come off.

2. When removing the control panel, unclip all the wiring but don’t remove the module from its casing – you only need to unclip a couple of fasteners to remove the brown wires on the bottom. On the other hand, there’s static electricity-sensitive parts inside, and you run the risk of breaking them if you open the thing.

3. Before undoing the steel strap that retains the concrete weight at the front, use a felt-tip pen to mark how tight the strap is – it’s a lot tighter than you think once you put it back!

4. Removing the tub will probably need the help of someone else to unclip the suspension springs (the same for putting it back). Apart from that, everything else can be managed by one (swearing) person.

5. The motor comes off once you have removed the two bolts at the back, the wiring (including the cable tie!) and the drive belt. It’s very stiff, but it comes off just by pulling it towards you through the back.

6. Instead of snapping the tabs, I ground them off with a Dremel. This meant I avoided breaking them in odd ways (the only one I snapped did not break cleanly). It was also quite quick.

7. To replace the bearings quickly and cleanly a hydraulic press is best. Ask your local engine rebuild if they can help you. Doing it manually is downright a pain in the neck (guess what I did…). Don’t even THINK of doing this if you have never replaced a large, tightly fitted bearing before and you don’t have the right tools.

8. The drum/shaft was a tight fit when coming off, because the failed bearing grease had created a sticky layer on the contact areas. Removing that with a little very fine sandpaper and some lubrication at refit meant the shaft slid in and out the new bearings without any problem whatsoever; so much so that I had to fix it in place using the wheel and bolt when putting the drum back together.

9. When putting things back, if you have removed the detergent inlet and sump drain rubber connectors, it’s easier if you secure those while the tub is out of the casing, leaving only the connection to the pump and that to the detergent drawer for later.

10. Careful when tightening the screws holding the lock. One of mine snapped, and it was a bit of a palaver to take the snapped bit off, rebuild the mangled plastic with epoxy and find a suitable replacement screw.

11. It took me a day and a half (not counting bearing removal and the screw mishap). Some of this was because I took the opportunity to clean thoroughly most of the insides, some because I was finding my way around, but I doubt even someone proficient in the job and with all the right tools would take much less than a full day.

12. Tools needed: Torx bits/screwdrivers (10, 15, 20, 25, 30); hex sockets/keys (8, 10, 13); grips or pliers; flat blade screwdrivers; something to cut/grind the tabs with, mallet (ideally rubber, or joined to a hard wood/rubber block if using metal), bearing puller/extractor (for the brave – bearing external diameters are 60 and 72mm).

13. Consumables/materials: new seal and bearings; silicone grease; cable ties; 6 screws 6×40 with flat head and 12 mm washers, silicone sealant, loads of clean rags (especially if the bearing has failed and there’s grease mixed with rust all over the place).

Good luck!

[iadom]

Re: Bosch WFR2868GB/05 bearing replacement

OldManCoyote wrote:I doubt even someone proficient in the job and with all the right tools would take much less than a full day.

One (proficient ) man or woman, hour and a half to two hours max, 😉

[odom]

Re: Bosch WFR2868GB/05 bearing replacement

iadom wrote:

OldManCoyote wrote:
I doubt even someone proficient in the job and with all the right tools would take much less than a full day.

One (proficient ) man or woman, hour and a half to two hours max, 😉
Shame you don’t see many of the Hotpoint WMs around any more, on a good run I can do one of them in under 30 mins 😆

But for Bosch as iadom says a couple of hours tops.

[superfix]

Re: Bosch WFR2868GB/05 bearing replacement

Agree with Iadom, hour and a half 😉

[OldManCoyote]

Re: Bosch WFR2868GB/05 bearing replacement

That’s interesting. Gives me a good base with which to challenge quotes from now on… 😉

[nomadPaul]

Re: Bosch WFR2868GB/05 bearing replacement

OldManCoyote wrote:That’s interesting. Gives me a good base with which to challenge quotes from now on… 😉

We tend to fit a whole new rear tub which cuts down the time considerably although is more expensive !

[superfix]

Re: Bosch WFR2868GB/05 bearing replacement

OldManCoyote wrote:That’s interesting. Gives me a good base with which to challenge quotes from now on… 😉

But it’s the experience and know how that means it can be done in that time… that costs 😉

[OldManCoyote]

Re: Bosch WFR2868GB/05 bearing replacement

Don’t disagree in the least. In fact, if I could find a competent person here in Milan I would not mind paying them to get my weekend back. I called a few, and none of them would touch a UK-numbered machine…

Thanks for the insights. It did occur to me that buying and fitting a whole new rear tub might be the way to go, but carrying it as hand baggage was bound to raise a few questions at Heathrow.

[Author]

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