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It worked ok until now, and hopefully the issue is that (perhaps due to the fact that one was looser/one tighter) the tub is wobbling/banging like in the video. Hopefully the old shock is the problem. Of course I’m not appliance guru, but i cannot see anything that appears broken or untoward with this machine. I’ll post how the machine runs once I get the new shock in (pray for me!!). In the meantime, I actually sent Suspa an email to see if they have any old/new stock laying around. I’m sure they’ll get a laugh when they see the part number I’m looking for.
Thanks for confirming, however, that the universal shocks will work well, as long as they are the same. Sadly, I’ve seen videos of newer machines, like Arista, and all you need to do is remove the side and unbolt/bolt up. In a perfect world, they should all be like this (although perhaps those machines have the welded tub, so no bearing repair….there’s always a price to pay for everything).
Thanks again for your help. I hope to tackle this on Monday……LOL….I see on my old shock it’s made by Suspa Germany. I searched for “008 061” in their catalog. Guess what????? The don’t make it anymore…..
Sadly, the kit that I bought was the only kit that I could find for an older Hotpoint….I understand that the video I linked is for the Hotpoint model that came shortly after the 95360 (and that SelfixUK site was also the one that had the video for the bearings as well, which I followed). There appears to be nothing that is simply ‘plug and play’ for my machine….even the drain pump that I installed was entirely different, had different electrical connections, etc, even though it was considered ‘Hotpoint’.
By the way, my early machine had the square plate both on the bottom and on the top.
I still have the square pieces that were intact from the original suspension rod. If you look just above the square piece, which I moved down away from the original shock:
https://imgur.com/a/2BJuhxT
you’ll see an octagonal piece of rubber? (although it is very hard), that appears to be part of the black suspension rod itself. I can’t separate it from the shock. The new ones did not come with that. So if I remove the orange rubber piece from the universal one (in order to put the original block back on) there is nothing in between the original metal block and the new shock. If I add the original block, then the shock becomes too short to bolt back to the chassis.
I’m hoping that it’s ok to use the universal shock. I understand what you mean about both sides needing to be the same. I had GREAT difficulty trying to find someone to help me do this….I’m going to do it by myself tomorrow.
Aside from the question as to whether I can actually push the shock on to the rod enough, in order to get it to clear the chassis so I can bolt it, I’m also wondering as to how easy it’s going to be to remove 40 year old rusty bolts.Regarding the video I posted above, if you start at about 4:15, it shows my suspension rod and how it’s put together. That’s what I followed.
In looking at the photos that Electrofix posted, I suppose I could have been more ‘creative’, by taking the old square pieces that were on the original suspension rod and removing that orange piece on the bottom of the new one, and replacing it with the square piece. Should I have done that??
The old suspension rods had that square piece on both the top and the bottom of the suspension rod. The new replacement one only had one square piece, which was the same as this video, so we followed those instructions:
https://youtu.be/LGoVzfDp1CE
The new rod that I will (attempt to) put in will be the same as the replacement in your second photo….the square piece will be bolted at the tub.By the way, I thought it might be a good idea to at least clean the tub filter, while I’m under the machine. Sadly, it doesn’t ‘screw out’ like all the videos I’m seeing, but is in the rubber outlet hose. There is a kind of jubilee clip that appears to be holding the filter in, so that the water doesn’t drip out around the filter. While I was fiddling with this yesterday, I opened the screw on the jubilee clip, but the metal band is pretty much ‘welded’ to the rubber hose. Should I be trying to ‘unscrew’ this filter, or turn it, to get it to loosen from the rubber hose? I do not have a replacement outlet hose, nor a replacement filter (I thought maybe I could just rinse it out). I’ve never touched or cleaned the filter (and suspect that, due to its position, Hotpoint never anticipated that the washing machine owner would do this). Or should I just leave this alone? If the filter is filled with muck, does that just mean that whatever dirt or pet hair being rinsed off the clothing just washes out through the drain, or does a filled up filter impact the way the machine drains??
I was never able to actually see what the top of the original one looked like, as the suspension rod that initially broke, basically broke in 2 dislocated halves. By at least yo ave given me direction, and hope that the issue is the old suspension rod. Thank you for your keen eye in seeing the tear in the shim. If there is any ‘plus’ to this, at least I don’t have to deal with the clips on the outer tub with this. I’m going in (eventually, as soon as I can find a helper). Will let you know how I get on. As usual, thank you for your expertise and info. Wish me luck….:)
Here is a photo of the new suspension rod, along side the one that originally broke. You’ll see that the top and bottom of the original was the square piece, while the new one only has that on the top. Funnily enough, I can push the new one in, when I put my weight on it. I wonder if perhaps the first installation of the new rod was so difficult for the guy to push in, as we had never tried to push it in before the installation…..I’m wondering if I can actually do this myself…..
https://imgur.com/a/RFdNQepSorry 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???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.
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.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.
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!!
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???)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…..
