10 year old Speed Queen Spin Noise - Ideas???

[angus]

OK, so now as we are exactly at the 10 year anniversary of my Speed Queen top loader "in service" date (purchased in 2006), the machine began squealing intermittently during spin. That can't be anything good- I am concerned that this will be similar to the experience I had back in 2002 with a "Goodman built" Amana washer that ended up being the spin hub bearing failing as a result of a leaking main tub seal - a repair that no one would do and the washer was only two years old at that time.

Any possibility that this could be something less serious? On the whole I have been happy with the machine but I must say that three timers, two pumps, two belts and a split drain hose in 10 years have added up. And it isn't like I am washing anything more than regular clothes, towels and sheets- generally six loads per week.

Anyway , I can't even get the repairman here until Friday afternoon so by the time we diagnose, order parts (if even possible depending on what the issue is) and wait for another appointment, I am looking at two - three weeks without a washer. All the more reason for an extra washer!!!

 

[cfz2882]

probably idler

probably just the idler pulley bushing needs some oil-my '82 marathon does this,makes an intermittent "chirr"at times-both during agitate or spin.

 

[psych101]

Chirring or howling?

Speed Queen machines do make some odd noises at times. Pretty much my whole fleet of Queens (15 coin op machines and my personal home washer) make the 'chirring' noise as described above and that can be easily corrected by lubricating the idler pulley. Some of my older machines also make a faint howling on spin, like a wooo-wooo-wooo sound, and this I'd say was more like wear on the tub bearings. These machines are around 10 years old and have had quite heavy use so it would not surprise me. I'm just going to let the machines run that way until they next go out of service. Squealing would lead me to believe the belt is slipping or worn (I'm thinking of a car fanbelt squealing on start-up)

 

[henene4]

Bearings that are actually heavily damaged usually don't squeel rather then rumble in a verry strange noise, pretty low loud grumbling, almost like thunder.

 

[brucelucenta]

Wow, that many problems and now this in 10 years?!!! Maybe my opinion of these machines is correct. I have certainly second guessed myself a lot lately with all the defense of how terrific they are. After working on so many through the 80's and 90's, I never thought so. Sounds like I may have been right in my thinking all along. Certainly shoots down the thought of one lasting easily 25 years. I suppose it could at GREAT expense and trouble to the owner. Seems like this one has already cost him a bundle to maintain. Why not just call it what it is. The ONLY top loading washer that does it's job much like the conventional automatic washers of the past. Not a terrific design, but adequate for what it does. It is NOT anything close to what the old style Maytag top loaders were and most machines will NEVER last as long as most of them did with as few problems. A shame he didn't just get a Maytag built machine in 2006. He certainly wouldn't be going through this now providing he got one of the last real Maytag machines. My old Maytag set is still running just fine since I gave it to someone else. It is over 20 years old now and I NEVER had to replace anything or oil anything at all. [this post was last edited: 5/24/2016-04:48]

 

[henene4]

In my opinion with as little knowledge about economics I have, no manufacturer today can afford to build a machine that last well more then 10 years. It would result in to little sold machines. 8 years seems the sweetspot most manufacturers aim at, its long enough to make a customer satisfied about a product. Its the moment a customer checks his bill of buying a machine and saying "Oh, it has already been 8 years. Well, I guess thats ok."

 

[combo52]

Squealing 10 YO SQ TL Washer

It is most likley a noisy idler pulley bearing, if so don't waste your time oiling it, REPLACE the pulley and bracket and shaft, oiling something that has gotten noisy is seldom a long lasting repair, when something has gotten very noisy there is metal damage in the bearing area.

 

Squealing as mentioned in reply #3 is NOT the main bearings.

 

Current SQ TL washers are decent performing reliable machines, much more reliable in fact than MT DC TL washers from the 80s through the end in 2006. That said they are crude old school machines that are difficult to repair, the real deal from SQ is their Front Load washers, their FLWs should last twice as long as their TLWs and will save enough water, detergent and energy over their lifetime to completely pay for the washer easily.

 

Even though we have now sold over 500 SQ TLWs over the last ten years [ and probably have not run much more than 20-25 service calls on the ones we sold ] I would never have one in my personal laundry room. I would also never have a MT DC washer in my laundry room, they simply are not great performers in too may respects and of these too I would take the SQ TL over the MT DC because it at least agitates better, spins faster and does not constantly go out of balance and has self-leveling rear feet.

 

John L.

 

 

 

[mtn1584]

On the other hand..............

Speed Queen did have a batch of bad timers for a while.....

My mother, brother and I all have the AWN 542 TL washer, mine is 7 years old, my mother's is six and my brother's four, and none thankfully have needed a mechanical repair.

Mike

Good luck with your washer ANGUS.

 

[frigilux]

Henrik-- I've said it a dozen times: Corporations keep their profile on Wall Street by selling new goods, not by maintaining warehouses of parts for repairs. It's a good business model from the bean-counting corporate viewpoint, if not the budget-conscious consumer.

Everything was repaired when I was a little kid in the early 1960's: Toasters, irons and other small appliances, lamps, clothing, shoes, etc. Every small town had a fix-it shop and a seamstress or two. Very few people would darn socks or repair a toaster these days.

I do my part to keep the local handyman busy as I have zero skills in areas like carpentry or mechanicals of any sort. People quickly find a reason to leave the area whenever I wield a hammer or power drill, LOL.

 

[mtn1584]

When and if I ever need a replacement I will buy the SQ front loader.
Mike

 

[brucelucenta]

combo52

speed queen is better than Maytag built machines? What planet you living on? According to who? speed queen machines from the 80's till not long ago were junk, who are you kidding? The machine this guy had that was Amana, was typical. I saw more of those machines at the dump and junked when they were less than 5 years old, than any machine EVER!

 

[mtn1584]

Ironically those Amana machines were highly rated at one time by CU, but were infamous for failed seals and early deaths.

 

[combo52]

Alliance Built SQ TL Washers from the last 10Years +

Are far more reliable than the last 30 years of MT DC TL washers and they perform far better in every major respect as well.

 

The early 80s SQ TL washers and the Amana and Amana tags had some serious issues, but Alliance has worked hard on working our any bugs.

 

As I mentioned before with over 500 SQ TL Washers sold by us over the last eight years or so there have been less than 25 service calls. Remember I used to work for MT in the 70s and we did a lot of warranty calls on those machines.

 

John L.

 

[glomain]

brucelucenta

glad you got to stand on yer soap box against SPEED QUEEN again! praise the lord! LMAO

 

[angus]

Stay tuned folks - thanks for the reassurance that it probably isn't the result of a failed tub seal. While I have had a few repairs, I still think that other than my dearly departed GE Filter Flo (that machine ran for 20 years with no more than a replacement belt and one repair resulting from my sister's (see my comments about her in my dishwasher post) attempt to change the speed while the machine was washing, this machine is the best toploader I have owned. I particularly like the fact that it still has a warm rinse option given the frigid Connecticut tap water we have.

Not widely known, but after my Amana fiasco, County TV and Appliance in Stamford CT replaced that unit with a Maytag, which was OK, but the porcelain tub started to develop rust spots at the edges of the perforations within 2 years. They tried to replace that tub three times, but each time the technician arrived with the replacement and uncrated it, it was either chipped, dented or creased. Again, County TV took pity on me and replaced it with a top of line Whirlpool which I used until the SQs were available. Then one of my friends needed a washer so I gave her the Whirlpool. Maybe I should have kept that as an extra...

Anyway more to come after Friday's diagnostic visit. If I can ever get my contractor to finish the other things that need to be done, I can finish converting my former office into the laundry and have room for that extra washer.

 

[stricklybojack]

.
Is it 9 out of 10 buy SQ TL machines over SQ FL machines or they just have 9 times the problems than their front load counterparts?
I say this because i never recall seeing this story on the FL version and i have on more than a few occasions have read about problems with the "tried and true" TL version.

 

[repair-man]

I think that the current SQ top load is a excellent machine both in quality and performance. I wouldn't even consider anything else from today's market. But, I don't think it compares in quality to the Maytag DC. I agree that in the later years the quality diminished. The revised stem seal had a much higher failure rate than the original design leading many machines to an earlier replacement. Very rarely did you see these fail in the machines from the 60's to the 90's. I couldn't put a number on it but very many of the machines I sold in the 90's through the end of the line are still out there. Many are over twenty years old now. Today my experience is more in the commercial (laundromat) market. I find that the 10K life cycle that Alliance estimates on both the top and front load is pretty accurate. Most Maytags outlived that. Alliance has greatly improved the stem seal but I still see a lot of failures on machines less than ten. I also agree that the Maytag was only a marginal performer. You only had to be a dealer to know how many performance complaints had to be handled with very little that could be done.

 

[brucelucenta]

glomain

Nothing to do with getting on a soapbox against speed queen. Just has to do with them NOT being the ONLY choice and the BEST of the BEST. Maybe they are decent machines now, I really don't know. What I do know is all the problems they have had in the past 30-40 years, which have been abundant. IF they are the greatest thing since sliced bread now, it has ONLY been in the last few years, much too early to tell. And it seems from some of the posts on here about problems with them, that they still have some of the same old problems the machines of the 80's and 90's had, which were numerous. Regardless of what is said about top load Maytag machines from the sixties through the early 2000's, they held up quite well and many are still running just fine, my old set included in that. So maybe in another 20-30 years I might agree with speed queen being the best machines, but not now. All I have said and continue to say is that they have had severe problems with their machines in the past and seem to continue with at least some of the same problems. Back in the day, the solid tub solenoid machines were workhorses that seemed to last nearly forever. You didn't see speed queen machines in laundromats where many were broken or sounded like freight trains when they went into spin. Back in the 60's and 70's the only two machines you did see frequently in laundromats were speed queen and may tag. And to give speed queen their due, I think they wash, rinse and spin quite well actually. If I were ever going to buy a top load washing machine, speed queen would be the ONLY choice.
I also actually bought a brand new speed queen set for my parents back the very tail end of the solid tub machines. They dryers had already been revamped and were of the newer design, but the washer was the reversing motor, larger solid tub version of washer. Right before the perforated tub machines. They were TOL machines, with lighted panels and the washer had a variable level control. That machine lasted about a year before needing repairs on it and continued to be the biggest pain in the ass I have ever seen. When they moved into a new house they built in '82, the set couldn't have been more than 3 years old and I had already had to replace the transmission on it along with a few other parts. They bought new Maytag machines and had those until about 3 years ago when my father died and mother came to live with me. I used the speed queen set for a while myself, had numerous problems with it and finally sold the set to someone else. I did happen to see the washer later at a junkyard about 2 years later. I knew it was the same machine because I had etched a number on the back of it. So I have had some experience with speed queen machines throughout the years. I hope the ones made now are better than those of the past. Time will tell.[this post was last edited: 5/25/2016-04:56]

 

[mtn1584]

Bruce

Angus asked about a noise, not your life story.
Mike