Duet spider failure?

[launderess]

To best of one's knowledge not a single factory repair service will replace bearings or spider on domestic front loaders as a rule. If one or both go during warranty period that is another matter, but otherwise they usually stick with "repair is too expensive" line.

Miele flat out will not replace a spider or bearing as routine service call in house. For in warranty repair washer must be crated and shipped to their New Jersey shops, work done, then shipped back to customer. Out of warranty they will at first often dig in their heels but if customer insists it is same as above, but customer is on hook for all that crating, shipping, etc... plus costs of parts and labor for repair.

A member IIRC had either bearings or spider go out on his rather new Miele 4XXX series washer. Miele sent a tech from New Jersey up to his home and advised yes, the problem was as suspected then offered to arrange shipping of appliance back to NJ for repair. Member stood his ground and stated as washer was brand new and bearings/spider shouldn't be going out he wanted a new washer. That is exactly what happened.

Across the pond in Europe people including hobbists swap out bearings on Miele and other washers all the time.

 

[henene4]

Cost effectiveness

They say it's to expensive because frankly it is.

Did that math several times on here and gave reason why welded tubs are generally not that big of a deal to 90% of the population.

No matter if it is a welded tub, splittable tub or separate bearing cross design, if you do not do it yourself, forget about bearing or spider replacements being worth it.

A whole tub assembly is significantly more expensive compared to just the bearings.

A good set of bearings plus seal will set you back 40-80$ approximately.
A spider can actually be had for certain Samsung or LG models at 80-120$.

A whole tub assembly (like Electrolux) is 200$ upwards, usually more like 300-400$ after shipping.

However, removing the bearings from most designs is quite a job.

There are a few newer exceptions.
Some second to last Gen Gorenje (EU brand) washers still had metal tubs with bearing crosses; Miele's W1 design isn't to dissimilar.
You can just take the back of, take of the belt and pulley, then undo the bearing cross with the drum and tub remaining in the machine.
That takes a skilled technician 10min tops, so a bearing change is a 30min thing.

However, on everything else, you have to remove the entirety of the tub assembly from the machine and then split the tub.
That means either removing the entire bottom (pump, piping, shocks etc.) plus all the counter weights.
Then slide the tub out, split the tub.
Change bearings and back.

On sealed tub designs you usually save the whole tub splitting thing.

Point is, any way, you are paying about 500$ AT LEAST to get it professionally done.

I say at least since usually, you need 2 tech visits (diagnosis and ordering parts plus return visit) and pricing is conservatively estimated.

800$ is not far from basically any new washer.

One interesting design over here are the AEG/ELux H-axis TLs.

They have bearing units conceptionally not unlike what you would find on those huge Milnor industrial washers.

The bearings sit in a plastic housing that is fitted to the tub as a separate piece.

There are points for a wrench to attach to.

A pair of bearings is 50€ or so.
You remove the side panels, remove belt and pulley on the one side plus the grounding lead.
Remove bearing, screw new one in.

Depending on if the tech has them handy that repair is done in like 20min.
200-300€ total.

But a very easy DIY repair since you don't have to handle bearings and parts are cheap.

Here a video that illustrates the simplicity of the operation:

 

[combo52]

Spider-bearing Failures and Replacement On FL Washers

I would guess that not even 5% of FL washers that have failures in this area will get fixed so it probably makes more sense  to weld the tub assembly together and eliminate another place where many washers start to leak.

 

On high quality washers like SQs FL machines bearing and seal replacement is quite easy because the trunnion assembly that contains the bearings and seal is bolted to the outside back of the SS outer tub and can be changed in about 1/2 hour in the home.

 

Keep in mind spider failures should be very rare in well built machines if the washer is used properly.  [ lots of detergent, hot water and LCB you will never have a problem with any FL washer ]

 

The FL machines we saw the most spider failures in the US are,

 

FD built small door models built from 1998-2011,

 

The early WP Duet Sport models,

 

Miele 27" full sized models, 

 

GE Little Swann 27" models

 

Lots of SS and LG machines.

 

That said we have seen spider failures in almost all FL machines at times if the machine was badly used as mentioned above, but if you can ruin a spider in a German WP Duet, Maytag Neptune, FD square door or Affinity machine or a SQ FL machine you have some seriously bad laundry habits.

 

John L.

 

 

 

[DADoES]

 
The aforementioned Samsung did not have bad bearings.

I replaced the spider, which was available as a separate part.  The front half of the outer tub.  The gasket between the outer tub halves.  The six bolts on the spider.  The seal on the bearings.

 143.01 tub front DC97-15596A
  83.52 spider DC97-15491A
  11.64 spider bolts DC60-40137A
   6.22 tub gasket DC69-00804A
   4.90 bearing seal DC62-00223A
   6.99 shipping
 ------
 259.21

 

[bradfordwhite]

If you have the bearing and your outter tub is good, you might be able to take both to an auto mechanic that has a bearing press. He/she could remove the old and install the new.

 

[henene4]

Bearing press

If the bearings aren't sealed in (yes, in some designs, the bearings are molded into the tub while they are formed), you don't even need a bearing press.

Usually you can knock out the old ones with a chisel and very gently knock in the new ones with a piece of wood of them and the last bit with the old bearing as a spacer.
A bit tideous but doable.

 

[combo52]

Bearing Removable and Instalation

We use an old agitator shaft and heavy hammer, for installation it is better to use an installer and pull them into place, it is much too easy to damage or ruin the new bearings any other way.

 

John L.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Yes, bearing installation needs to be done carefully so as not to damage it.

I had the defective bearings replaced on my low mileage car in 2018 when it was still under warranty. It was done by a Nissan dealer yet they screwed it up and less than a year later the bearings were bad again. I found an independent mechanic who did a great job. Even showed me the press they use and why it needs to press on only the edges of the bearing, never the center when installing.