Hotpoint TDL34P – Squealing when starting to turn

[pacuk01]

Good morning,

I know my tumble dryer is very old. I have had very little problems with it. I keep it outside in a shed. It has been squealing for a while when I first go to use it, until it warms up. Today however I put clothes in to dry as normal shut the door it started rotating as normal but squealing. I forgot an item and opened the door, put the item in closed the door and it failed to rotate. I opened the door took everything out and closed the door and it started to rotate a very tiny amount but stopped. I tried rotating it by hand in both directions and it moved freely. I closed the door and this time it rotated very slowly squealing as per normal then got up to normal speed. I refilled it and it was fine squealing for a while until it got warm then squealing stopped. There is no free play in the drum.
i am not sure if fault lies with the bearing, belt or motor or anything else it might be.

[iadom]

The jockey pulleys used to be a common cause of this fault but I think this machine has a direct belt drive without jockey pulleys. A stretched or worn belt could give these symptoms. Worn drum front bearing pads, rear earthing strip, failed rear bearing/ drum shaft can all cause noise.

[pacuk01]

Are they all easy for me to replace? Should I do one item at a time?

[andyjawa]

More likely to be the rear bearing has worn completely out so you have the metal drum shaft grinding away the rear back panel – very common and if that is the case the drum drops = the belt does not grip the drum properly too. If so you will need a new spindel kit and you`ll need a rivet gun too and an electric drill to drill off the rivet heads. Your model should be fitted with the square bearing rather than the tear drop one. I should have a look before you order anything to make sure. I looked this up on Ransom spares site so the kit is RS4853 (that is their part code) @ £10.55. the Hotpoint part number is C00095655. Make sure if this is the problem that you use all the parts in the kit. They usually have a piece of paper included with instructions. Not difficult to do just a bit time consuming.

[andyjawa]

PS whist you have the machine in bits you might also want to replace the belt whilst you are at it. You can get those from the same supplier:Hutchinson or Contitech brands are just fine – made in Europe. The size of the belt will be on the old belt together with the rib guage which from memory will be H and the number of ribs which could be 7 to 9. 7 rib belt is easier to fit to the motor spindel than a 9. In the trade we use a special lever fitting tool and without the tool the belt can be a bitch to fit so take note esp the 9 rib.

[pacuk01]

Do I also need to replace any of the following if my machine has them

Front bearing pad or pads if there are multiple.
Rear drum foam seal
Outer cover seal
Drum earth contact strip

[andyjawa]

Only you will know what you need to get but the idea is to do the job all in one session so you do not need to keep taking the contraption to bits all the time.
Front bearings and front felt strip is part of this bearing kit C00307120 BUT that kit does not come with the square bearings bracket (typical domestic appliance trade!) which if ground down you will need. My last post suggested part number of that kit with the bracket but without the front felt seal nor the 4 front plastic bearing pads has already been given as C00095655.. If you want to buy the 4 plastic bearing pads part C00095534 these are around £9.35 EACH (a rip off) but you might be able to find those cheaper so have a look at C00255284 4 front bearing pads at £4.95 and see if they are correct
The rear spongy foam seal: well this gets complcated: they fitted 2 different types because there were two different drums used at various production times. Best thing is to measure how deep the old one is – there was a 16mm part number C00258640 and the earlier 26mm one C00113823 although UK whitegoods are not flogging parts anymore you can still type in your model number and you get a measly 8 or so parts come up of which it goes into more detail based on serial numbers, to be frank measuring what you have is easier but that is up to you.
Belt is a 7 rib 1860mm length phe part number C00095658 or use Quatlex part POL74. Should cost you circ £5 to 10 quid. If or when you fit the belt it will droop under the drum by about 1″ to 2″ but it will stretch and that is how it is. Your mission, if indeed you accept it, is to pull that belt down to get it under the motor shaft. Since it is the 7 rip jobby it`ll be a bit easier to do, a long screwdriver helps as a lever just do not bugger up the new belt!

Anti static piece of copper contact strip part number C00199479 either use all powers of Cuban Marxist training (as I do) and so make one or buy one, there is one on e-bay uk at 12 quid.
The outer cover seal – God knows what they are refering to. Could be the felt seal that is for the front drum support part number ?

Best places to buy stuff from will be via Ebay because the stuff is free delivery. E-bay Qualtex spares outlet is LM Electrical or A Spares so have a look there. General Note all the parts beginning with a C or a J are the genuine parts, other suppliers like Ransoms use their own part number system as do most other part suppliers making for exciting times. Compatible means it is a pattern part of which quality can be variable. Suggest you work out what you want and go to search mode. I`ve done my best here so it is up to you to check everything. For all I know I could be completely wrong and you might even have a tear drop bearing set up though it all points to being the square bearing kit. Best of luck.

[pacuk01]

Many thanks for all your advice and help. I will give it a bash.

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