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I found this: https://www.ebay.ie/itm/293078863108 Are they universal for all Hotpoint machines??
That’s the correct part, there was only ever one standard bracket. The base is a one piece alloy part with a hole in the middle. It cannot rust but cracks around the base of either suspension unit was a very common fault. The rust on your original fault was due to a leak from the water inlet hose directly above it. Bad news is that the lower suspension unit slots through the hole in either end of that bracket so a very physical wrestling match is unavoidable. It should have emptied the bulk of the water long before it goes into spin. Any excess water still in the drum will have a dragging effect on the drum but won’t in itself cause OOB.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hotpoint-BRACKET/dp/B000W3U8QG Bracket is cheaper here, or search for the original part number which is C00168442.
An OOB????? What’s that?
So putting the bracket on is more than just unbolting the bottom bolt of the suspension rod, threading the bottom of the rod through the support bracket hole and then replacing the bolt? The support bracket is attached inside the base, rather than on the outside of it apparently. Not good news, if that’s the case…..OOB= out of balance. The bracket sits on the top of the base with the securing stud going through both the bracket and what’s left of the base. To achieve this the suspension unit has to be lifted up to clear the bracket. This is a physically demanding job, I always did this from the front with the machine leant back against a wall or kitchen unit.
Ugh. Even the guy who was putting the suspension rods in had an extremely difficult time squeezing the rod to make it small enough to fit. I’m not going to be able to do this myself.
Tomorrow I’ll (struggle to) lean the machine on its back to check the base thoroughly and see if I can find cracks or fatigue. I’ll upload some photos so you can give your opinion on what I find.
(Meanwhile, I was looking at Andyjawa’s Ebac machine. Expensive, but nice! No welded tub, parts I can identify, 7 year warranty. I just don’t understand the difference between ‘cold’ and ‘hot’ fill. What do you think of them???)inisfad wrote:
(Meanwhile, I was looking at Andyjawa’s Ebac machine. Expensive, but nice! No welded tub, parts I can identify, 7 year warranty. I just don’t understand the difference between ‘cold’ and ‘hot’ fill. What do you think of them???)It’s all about energy efficiency and achieving A +++ rated machines this article is a good start. There is more here in our washing machine advice section.
Don
Thank you for the links regarding machines and advice. I was especially interested in reading the advice regarding the hot and cold fill machines. I’m American…none of our machines in the US are ‘cold fill’….they do not heat the water and all use the temperature of the hot water from the water heater/cylinder. The article would seem to indicate that all Americans are therefore washing their clothes in lukewarm water, and not getting them clean. Interesting!!
We have the same style machines over here in the 15kg Whirpool and Maytag brands, because of the physical size of them most UK kitchens are not big enough to take them. They are usually installed into some medium bed and breakfasts, hotels and pubs etc.
What people like is the quick 20 min cycle wash, which is achieved as they have no heater, also the waste needs to be bigger as it’s a large volume pumped out.
Don
Hmmmm….I may be misunderstanding, but I don’t see how the 20 minute unheated wash cycle affects the argument in the hot vs cold fill article, with regard to water becoming lukewarm while traveling through the pipes, by the time it gets to the machine, etc. Sadly, as you say, I don’t have the room for a 15kg washing machine……
Getting back to my dilemma, I just wanted to advise that I’m unable to get to this project until Friday. Some things have come up, so I won’t have the time….which may be just as well, as NOTHING is going right today. I hope the stars are more favorable on Friday, and will post photos of what I find then.
Well, here we go. I’m doing this the ‘lazy’ way, with the bottom panel removed and the machine tipped forward. For some reason Imgur won’t accept all the photos, so I have to do this one by one. I do not see any crack of problem with the bottom ‘chassis’ of the machine:
https://imgur.com/a/1KG8Qs3
https://imgur.com/a/iChAUJR
https://imgur.com/a/IK7ahuE
https://imgur.com/a/prWHycO
https://imgur.com/a/OScasnA
You’ll notice that the original shock (the black one) is different that the replacement (the silver one), in the way it attaches, etc. The original had the square metal piece on the bottom, while the replacement has it on the top (hidden from view).
Any suggestions? Should I try tightening the bottom bolts? Is there anywhere else that I need to look?
By the way, Electrofix asked above whether I had ‘greased’ the new suspension rod. There were no instructions to do that, so, IIRC, I didn’t.The bolt at the bottom of the original rod is tight. It’s impossible to check the replacement rod the way I currently have the machine, as I would need to put a wrench on the top bolt to check. As it is, when I go to tighten the new rod, the entire rod turns.
No need to grease the rods when fitting. Nothing immediately obvious, possibly the top of the original rod may be a problem. Looks like the thin metal shim is cracked and as they are original the plastic domes could be badly worn .
If you still have all the other parts from the suspension kit then replacing the original one with all of the new kit might be a good idea.
Sorry that this photo is a bit out of focus….I’m lying on the floor, trying to do this. This is a photo of the thin metal shim on the original suspension rod. If you look at about ‘5:00’ on the shim, you’ll see what appears to be a crack in the metal. It is. So, would this crack in the metal shim stop the suspension rod from working as it should? I do have the other new rod that was never installed. I will say that it breaks my heart to have to do this rod….you have no idea what I had to go through to find someone who would push the new rod in enough so that it would fit between the brackets.
https://imgur.com/a/xWqtsW5
However, if this is what you think is the cause of my new ‘adventure’, (and perhaps the end of the video that I posted indicates that the problem is on the side of the original rod???), then I’ll bit the bullet and try to get this done.
I imagine you will also advise that I shouldn’t use the machine until this is done; that using the machine with the bad rod could cause even more damage???
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