Did older washers ever get seal and bearing issues?

[whirlpool862]

What I’ve noticed recently is that I’ve NEVER heard an older washer roar during spin cycle, while I hear about newer ones roaring all the time. I’ve never heard a top load washer made BEFORE the 1990s that was roaring. Usually when I hear that it’s loud it’s a vibration, a drain pump sound, or it’s off balance, but NEVER a roaring noise.

I’ve never heard a Maytag Dependable Care, a Whirlpool Direct Drive, or a GE Filter Flo with noisy bearings even if it’s over 30 years old. The seals and bearings MUST have been very good on those if they rarely failed. When I was younger and they were made (I didn’t care about washers then) but I never heard a vintage washer roar. Bearing issues seem to be extremely rare on washers made before 1990.

You likely haven’t seen it either, I mean, come on, what was last time you saw a thread titled “My 1985 Maytag Dependable Care Washer Sounds like a Jet Engine” or “My 1975 GE Filter Flo washer sounds like it’s about to take flight”. Probably never.

 

[qsd-dan]

They all eventually roared as the decades stacked up unless very lightly used. Nothing anywhere as bad as today though, that's for sure!

 

[DADoES]

Classic belt-drive Whirlpool and Kenmore absolutely suffered bad centerpost bearings. My family's 1962 Whirlpool had bearing replacement done, then they went bad again. It was replaced with a 1976 belt-drive, which in turn was replaced with a 1994 KitchenAid direct-drive. I wasn't living with the parents by that time so am not clear what triggered the replacement, other than dad said "it was worn out."

 

[thatwasherguy]

Yes, vintage machines can and do experience seal and bearing failures.

About 2 years ago, I restored a 1988 Kenmore direct drive for a customer that had a completely shot set of seals, to the point that the transmission was full of water, and the oil was all over the clutch, preventing it from spinning, even when empty. I don’t know if the bearings were roaring, as it wouldn’t spin more than maybe 30 rpm, but I imagine they would have about had to have been. I also have a video on my YouTube channel of a 1989 WCI Kenmore laundry center that has a set of bearings that sound like a jet taking off. Another example is a GE filter Flo that I was given about 6 months ago due to a massive leak. The main leak was coming from the pump, which is now fixed. However, there’s still a small trail of water coming from underneath the machine, and I’m suspecting either the transmission boot or the center seal. While this example isn’t related to washers, I also have a 1985 KitchenAid KDS-21 in the collection with noisy motor bearings.

Hope this helps,
Thatwasherguy.