Hotpoint 95360 damage from overloaded wash

[inisfad]

Hello gurus. I’ve been searching through the forum, but figure I might as well post my issue, to get some suggestions.
The girl that helps me with housecleaning decided to shove a 6 foot floor mat into my washer, while I was out. Ugh. When I came home (during the spin cycle) the washer was leaking underneath the machine, at the front. Aside from having to bite my tongue, I figured it was the tub seal. Fortunately, I had a spare one, and went through the horror of those ridiculous tub clips that fasten the ‘drum front plate’ to the plastic drum. Yes, I know you guys find this job ‘easy’, but it was torturous and I could only get those clips back on by using a pliers. Anyway…..the drum stopped leaking…..BUT:
Now my machine appears to be off balance, and bangs during the spin cycle. I also noticed that, during the wash, while the drum rotates properly when going clockwise, it appeared to go slower when rotating anti clockwise. So, possibly two separate problems??
It appears to be (almost) level on the floor. I’ve been looking through the forum here for suggestions, and most of the suggestions are of things I have already replaced (and hope not to do again, or probably won’t do again). I’ve already replaced the shock absorbers (and cannot do this alone), spider, drum pulley, bearings, brushes, hot and cold valves, …..I’ve never replaced the tops springs (one thread here suggested that), checked the concrete weights (another suggestion).
Is it possible (ugh) that the overloaded wash would have broken any of the replacements parts I’ve already done?
And if not (please say no), are there other things that I should check??
As always, thank you for your assistance (and patience with me). I suppose it may be time to stop beating this dead horse, but just in case……

[andyjawa]

check top springs as they break – very common but easy to sort out. check position location of the bottom suspension legs AND for any chassis cracks under / near suspension legs. Drum going slower one direction than t`other: when the machine threw a wobbler the motor whacked the side and loosened the belt so check all that and retighten belt and nut and bolt
You`ve had this thing of your in bits so many times so you know the score.
Try the above

[inisfad]

Will do. Thank you. The springs on the top have never been replaced, and after the overloaded mat wash, when investigating where this new leak was from, I noticed that the rear spring had disengaged. It was not all that difficult to re-engage it, just with my hands, so perhaps the springs, after 40 years, aren’t as tense as they should be. Are they very important when it comes to the drum movement?? Anyway, I’ll check that, as well as check around the suspension legs. When I replaced the suspension rods, the one under the big inlet hose had actually broken in bits, due to rust. When we replaced that rod, the metal around it looked ok, but I’ll check around there again. I’ll also check and tighten the belt.
What about those concrete blocks, particularly the one under the drum? I’ve never done anything with them. I’m assuming that the bolts need to be tight, etc., correct?
As you can tell from the myriad of threads I’ve had hear, replacing just about everything (forgot to mention that I’ve also replaced the pump), I’m trying to keep this machine going for as long as I can…..it’s a matter of principle. The new machines only have a cold intake and force you to heat the water that you use, which I disagree with, particularly as I have excellent hot water in my cylinder to use. This machine has an ‘economy wash’, which brings the hot water in from my cylinder….Anyway, thank you for your suggestions.

[andyjawa]

Are they very important when it comes to the drum movement?? Well despite appearing fairly inconsequential they are important. Usually the U shaped end that engages with the chassis top hole/s shears off. Both springs for future ref you can still get both i.e. the back one and front one they are NOT the same springs!
What about those concrete blocks, particularly the one under the drum? I’ve never done anything with them. I’m assuming that the bolts need to be tight, etc., correct? Of course they need to be tight BUT unless the weight is loose leave the bolts to the concrete weight alone no point in tempting a problem you presently do not have. It is usually the top weight screws that usually need checking BUT FOR GODS SAKE do be careful weilding your 13mm socket and ratchet you do not want to shear anything.
As you can tell from the myriad of threads I’ve had here, replacing just about everything (forgot to mention that I’ve also replaced the pump), I’m trying to keep this machine going for as long as I can…..it’s a matter of principle. The new machines only have a cold intake and force you to heat the water that you use, which I disagree with, particularly as I have excellent hot water in my cylinder to use. This machine has an ‘economy wash’, which brings the hot water in from my cylinder….Anyway, thank you for your suggestions.
Very true about hot and cold fill when you do get fed up with the thing and want to buy a new machine the only hot and cold fill machine/s I have heard about are Ebac made in England so you might want to google them; about 650 quid with a 7 years parts and labour = is an awful lot of money = but also buys an awful lot of repairs to your Hotpoint which I would be inclined to carry on fixing it for as long as you can get the parts. Luckily it is Hotpoint though they have whacked up the cost of some spares to stupid levels especially for old bangers, strange mentallity in the appliance game that is for sure!!!
I admire you for keeping this machine going. Well done to you.

[inisfad]

Thanks (again) for your response. So, a couple of more ‘technical’ questions…..what kind of tension should be on the belt? I can push it in about 3/8”. Should it be less, or is this ok?
Thanks for the info about the front and back springs….I was wondering if they were the same. As I’ve never replaced them, and assume that they are 40 years old, I’ll look for them to replace.
LOL about the concrete blocks. The bolts on them are 10mm on my machine (wrong size? Original? Changed?) I didn’t touch them.
With the machine off, and top panel off, just how much side to side movement is that drum supposed to have, before you suspect there is something wrong? When my suspension rod broke, I could easily tell that the drum was listing to one side. Now the drum is upright and centered, and I can move it about the same ‘distance’ left to right and front to back.
And thank you for your last sentence. I kind of got the impression that you might have thought I was some kind of whack job, putting all this effort into this old machine. I have hit a number of ‘snags’ in my repairs in the past….the drum pump wasn’t ‘plug and play’, I wasn’t strong enough to do the bearings or suspension rod by myself (but the guy who helped me actually told his wife how my efforts to repair was amazing and admirable…lol), those tub clips are almost beyond my capacity to clip on, etc.
But I couldn’t have done any of this without the amazing help from this forum……

[inisfad]

I’ve just looked up the springs. In my parts catalog, I get #168205 (pair) and #168446 (pair). When googling them, it appears that each of these are sold as a pair. How do I know which I need? And does ‘pair’ mean that both in each part number are the same thing??

[inisfad]

OK, despite every video I have ever seen about washing machines says ‘NEVER DO THIS….We are only doing this is a controlled environment’…..I took the top off of my machine and watched it (actually video taped it) while it was washing, slow spin and fast spin. The noise is not as bad during the fast spin, but when the tub slows down, it bangs. When I had to do the suspension rod, only one of them was broken, so, while I had received two rods, I only put the one new rod in. The banging is coming from the side with the new rod, but the tub is shaking from one side to the other. Any ideas??

[electrofix]

did you grease the rods?

put your hand on th top concrete weight and push down. the drum should go straight down. if it tries to go to one side then one shock is too loose or tight

Dave

[inisfad]

Thank you. I’ll try that. If that’s what’s wrong, they would have to be replaced, right? They can’t be adjusted…????
I’ve been scouring through the web pages here on the forum, and seeing suggestions like bearing, spider, etc. Ugh. I’ve also made a video. I’ll try to upload it to you tube in the morning, and post it here. It’s banging on slow and fast spin, and as it slows down from the spin, the tub moves all over the cabinet. I watch this in total despair……:(

[inisfad]

If nothing else, I’m amusing myself. I’m now a film maker. My first youtube video. Sadly.
https://youtu.be/aJCsCUHMYyc

[electrofix]

that does not sound good at all and its not dampers the drum is not moving enough

I think it may be the tube the bearings are housed in, in the tub rear..
have had a few of them come loose over the years and if it is that its terminal without a new drum

is there any play in the spider / drum within the bearings ?

Dave

[iadom]

Looks like there may be a weakened suspension unit on the motor side. Press down one each side and see if the resistance is the same on both sides.

[inisfad]

Thanks for the input. The resistance on the drum appears to be the same on both sides. Nor does it ‘bounce’, although maybe I’m not pressing hard enough to effect that……Is there a way to check the spider/drum play in the bearings without taking this apart? You’re talking about the tube that the bearings sit in, in the outer drum?? Just by hand, the inner drum does not seem to have any ‘separate’ movement in relation to the outer drum. If one of the legs of the spider broke, would it be like this? I replaced the spider some years ago, when doing the bearings. I might have the ‘fortitude’ to do the spider again…maybe even the bearings. But if it’s the tube, I guess my adventure with this machine is over……

[inisfad]

If I remove the 30mm bolt in the back (without taking everything else apart) would I be able to see play between the inner and outer tub, looking at the ‘screw’ that the bolt attaches to??

[iadom]

Just remove the small round access panel at the rear and shine a torch onto the back of the drum. If it was just bearing failure there would be rusty brown marks running down from the bearing area. If the alloy tube has come loose the marks down the back will be a dirty grey colour.

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