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.

 

[whirlpool862]

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.

I’m not sure if the direct drive even has ball bearings. I think they do have sleeve bearings that can go bad. I just didn’t know enough about washers when I was younger. My parents had a vintage whirlpool belt drive and it never had a bearing roar to it.

 

[maytag85]

The bearings the direct drives and older belt drives used were bronze sleeve bearings. Believe they were sintered bronze bearings aka Oilite bearings.

 

[whirlpool862]

The bearings the direct drives and older belt drives used were bronze sleeve bearings. Believe they were sintered bronze bearings aka Oilite bearings.

So, that’s why they didn’t roar. So, bad bearings on those units would have kind of a squeal or other sound to it, they had different bearings. They just didn’t have ball bearings. So older belt drive and direct drive still had bearing issue, it just didn’t have the roar of a bad ball bearing.

I believe the GE Filter Flos and the Maytag Dependable Care had ball bearings in some place.

Pretty much all the modern machines are getting bearing failure sometimes, it is now happening all the time, and it varies significantly by the brand. For example, bearing issues happen all the time on Whirlpool VMW and VMAX top loaders, but they rarely occur on an LG top loader.

 

[whirlpool862]

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.

Also, can you provide a link to that YouTube video?

 

[thatwasherguy]

Also, can you provide a link to that YouTube video?

Certainly! Here you go.

 

[whirlpool862]

Certainly! Here you go.

That is indeed a bearing roar. I think these had the bearing in the transmission.

Older units can get bearing issues. I was mainly referring to direct drive and belt drive WP’s, the GE Filter Flos and Maytag dependable cares. These WCI Frigidaires sometimes got bearing issues, both the older and newer ones. The older Norge units also tended to get the issue over time. I’ve seen quite a few roaring magic chef machines online.

The washers from the “big-three” seemed to rarely get bearing issues. I think some of the 1980’s Speed Queens also got bearing problems over time.

Bad bearings was always an issue with Norge-made units. The Frigidaires were also more prone than other brands.

Nowadays, it seems that for American manufacturers, top loaders are more prone to bad bearings, and for non-American manufacturers, the front load models are more prone. Not sure why that is.

 

[DADoES]

Belt-drives with centerpost bearings worn badly enough may chatter/vibrate during spin. The spin tube could be jiggled within the centerpost by shaking the agitator.

 

[whirlpool862]

Belt-drives with centerpost bearings worn badly enough may chatter/vibrate during spin. The spin tube could be jiggled within the centerpost by shaking the agitator.

This might be true, same might apply to direct drives.

 

[whirlpool862]

Belt-drives with centerpost bearings worn badly enough may chatter/vibrate during spin. The spin tube could be jiggled within the centerpost by shaking the agitator.

Where were the center post bearings located anyway? Were they bearing sleeves or were they like a ball bearing?

 

[DADoES]

Old-style belt-drives have the centerpost bearings located, of course in the baseplate centerpost. Sleeve bearings, at the top and bottom of the centerpost. The agitator shaft bearings are the same in the spin tube. Same as direct-drives.