Give it to me straight: how long have I got?

[3beltwesty]

Mine went 6 years after being noiser in the SPIN cycle.

In ball bearings once they start to make noise they can still often run along time before a complete failure.

What is called a failure is sometimes when the races have 10 percent in area in pitting.

In a front load washer typically the water seal fails/leaks they the closest ball bearing starts to rust like mad, then one gets surface finish pits and noise.

With the 1976 Westinghhouse FL washer here it got "noisy" in the spin cycle about 1999 and had its front ball bearing cage broke the summer of 2005; ie it went 6 YEARS.

****When a FL washer has a failed water seal and 1 or 2 rusty ball bearings; one has the chances of the white clothes getting tainted by rust.

How long a bearing goes after getting noisy varies all over the place. With a washer the seal after leaking rusts the bearings which are 52100 ball bearing steel.

In some consumer products they "go" often 0.3 to 10 times the "time" after they get noisy.

 

[superelectronic]

Oh Pierre, your suggestion for a new washer is a real hoot! That's a Hotpoint Aqualtis - the premium range in the brand's lineup. NOT to be confused with or any way related to the "Made in Great Britain" clasic machine in need of repair: Hotpoint were taken over by the Indesit group a few years ago and to a Hotpoint fan it's an unforgivable travesty! They look pretty, I'll give you that...and some say they're not too badly made (not that that's saying much by current standards). Sadly, I just couldn't bring myself part with any cash for a new Hotpoint. It would be like a diehard US classic Maytag fan buying one of the new Whirlpool rebadges, I suppose.

Mike - good to know parts are indeed cheap! And if the twinnie option were viable I'd take it - I rather enjoyed my time with the Hoovermatic. Then I could maybe put a dishwasher in place of the autowasher and generally make my day-to-day living somewhat less of a drudge! Sadly, not sure the housemates would share my joy on the twin-tub front. Ho hum.

Rob - were it not for the lack of transport and driving skills, I'd be sure to pop the WM12 up your way for some prearranged engineering masterclass with the usual suspects. We could even swap mine for your near-identical machine in the shed! It may well lack programme 8 for swilling out the lingerie ready for the morning but I'm sure Quick Wash is good enough. Plus it does have the HIGH GLOSS fascia which I'm sure you'll agree in rich chocolate brown adds a touch of class few current machines can offer!

I'll consider the B&Q shed but the Queen Vic does only has a small patio area; extensive grouds with swimming pool and room for a pony a la South Fork Shavington are strictly the preserve of those on a 6-figure salary around these parts.

Washerlover24 - well, that white machine is the Proline W850 and if it didn't belong to the landlords believe me, you'd be welcome to it! 6 years I put up with that old thing...6 very long years! To give it its due, the machine is very robust having survived from 1995 with just a couple of heating elements being replaced. It was made by a company called Brandt (Fagor Brandt of Spain I think these days) and distributed through Comet as an exclusive. As a washer it's fine if all you wash is towles and jeans but the programmes aren't well suited to giving good clothes care - either full on action or hardly any at all. I've done a couple of threads before - I think if you click on the "Posts" icon next to my name it will do the necessary...alternatively, search the Deluxe forum archives from January 2010 - the pic thread is there somewhere.

Now...back to work I think!

Alex

 

[washerlover24]

haha would love it i am in need of a washer soon wont be long til i move out of the parents house !!

 

[superelectronic]

Prices....

Well, 1st enquiry down: dropped a line to Hotpoint service earlier.

The response doesn't inspire confidence - it starts "thank you for your enquiry about your dishwasher..."!

Looks like a stock response. Working in Customer Services I know the drill and feel for the staff but you'd think they'd actually tailor the response to the enquiry, no?

Anyway, machines over 8 years old get a fixed price repair for £134.99. Not too bad, methinks. I have, however, replied to ask if it's more for a washer!

I'll consider further.

Must be the season for problems - now the phone's on the blink too. Apparently written in the stars for those who follow them...Mercury is about to go retrograde *LOL*!!! Easily dismissed as bunkum but the woman I've been reading has been scarily on the money of late. But enough on that!

Drum still sounds rough so the perceived reprive from 2 nights ago was a fluke.

The search continues...

 

[3beltwesty]

If it is really the ball bearings then it a major rebuild. If you pay a service guy often it really may not make sense. It is a like if one's engine and transmission blow on the car do you have them fixed or buy another car?

The spider and bearings and seal typically cost 70 to 200 bucks on a FL washer; the rest is labor, gobs of it. A pro might do it in 4 hours and an amateur in 8 hours.

 

[3beltwesty]

About the entire cost is labor.

Replacing a slider, 2 bearings and seal is probably 3/4 labor and 1/4 parts cost,

Thus here in the USA the labor might be as a rough crude guess 70 to 120 dollars per hour for 4 hours at least.

There are folks whose quotes are here with parts in the 500 to 800 buck range; thus the old washer goes into a landfill.

One has to take the entire machine apart to replace those two bearings; whose cost might be only 25 bucks on ebay. The seal has to be replaced too; the spider probably too since it is probably corroded or has its seal surface scored.

Many folks repair these by themselves, it is not rocket science, but often the old bearings have to be beat out and new ones pressed back in without ruining them.

About the entire cost is labor.

 

[hoover1100]

A bearing change

Is a very common repair over here, and while not cheap, is rarely so expensive as to warrant purchasing a new machine (unless it's an LG or a low end machine with the bearings pressed into the tub).

A bearing change on a machine of this era and brand would be particularly worthwhile, I know of many machines of this age and older which have gone through more than one bearing change in their lives, perfectly economically viable and a common repair!

Even on modern machines of better quality, a bearing change would not be ruled out by cost.

It seems in the U.S. worn out bearings or a damaged spider are seen as a front loading machine's death, here it's really not a problem.

I'd definitely try and get some quote's off independent repairers, my local shop charges £40 call out and parts on top of that, very reasonable if you ask me and certainly worth the expense on this particular machine!

Matt

 

[aegokocarat]

i would say

install the proline untill you fix ye olde faithful hottie
Tom

 

[electron1100]

Hotpoint Bearings

Piece of Pi** job 4 hours! more like 2 on one these easy to work on machines (that goes for 90% of old UK machines aswell), get it done, dont even consider replacing it with a modern machine, you only have to look through all the threads on modern mainstream machines on this forum to see why not.

Go For It!

My mate had one of those Prolines came with job when he was a manager at Comet

 

[3beltwesty]

Get actual written quotes in writting

If one is paying another then getting a firm quote is all that matters.

The end user really should not care if the quoted labor is 300 in both cases; ie 2 hours at 150 or 4 hours at 75.

Unless one has a firm defined cost of Labor plus parts; there is no rational way to say if paying another makes any sense.

Thus get several actual written quotes to see if it makes any sense.

Sometimes the labor can vary a lot between similar models, ie one has to have a different tool or some other issue like another part breaks during the rebuild.

Here in the USA many of us get actual written quotes for consumer items; so there is a basis on making a repair versus scrapping decision and no miss understandings.

Here is somebody says it is an easy job of 2 hours and the repair shop charges 4, it is the estimate that matters, not some others comment.

Here if there is risk with repair or the shop has less experience the quote often is higher; to absorb risks.

 

[electron1100]

"not some others comment"

Just speaking from experience matey which is extensive with older British washers

oh and by the way we here also get quotes aswell if we are unable to do the work ourselves, and any business that does not stick to its quote gets the bums rush

 

[pierreandreply4]

its nice to have it repair But its important to check if the part in question is still avalable for that era 's model as after sometime you can get as a message that the part is discontinued or no longer avalable

 

[3beltwesty]

Just let the guys quoting the repairs hunt down the parts and have then include the parts in the actual quote.

Parts are often available decades after offically gone; it is like fishing; it takes time to find them.

 

[3beltwesty]

If you but the parts for the repair guy; often the labor charge will go up. You reduced a way he makes money. Often parts are inflated to make the labor seem less. This is because the average person thinks the labor time and cost is too much.

 

[chestermikeuk]

What Part Of....

"It Can Easily Be Fixed" here in the UK are some of you NOT getting???

See post 13, complete kit is easily available, as Gary (whoes swapped bearings & spiders MANY times) has said so nicely!!!

Front Loaders - Excellence In Motion - World Domination - coming To A Home near You - SOON!!!

p.s Good To See You Back Gary!!! Oovah Oovah!!![this post was last edited: 3/24/2011-15:43]

 

[chestermikeuk]

Here We are

Getting to grips with Johns Oovah A3260 - now wheres that bitumen Morrag!!!

 

[chestermikeuk]

Tub Gasket.....

Being re-sealed and Backplate positioned

 

[pierreandreply4]

repair cost

repair cost might differ depending on the contry like i know that for me here in canada repairs cost more and may cost the price of a new washer and thats not counting the price of the service call witch cost close to 100$.

 

[chestermikeuk]

Spit & Polish

and eventually chasing the nuts round the magnetic dish!!! Push To Start...!!!

 

[ronhic]

Repair costs...

Vary quite markedly from country to country and can also vary from region to region within a given country.

 

2yrs ago I had the left hand suspension replaced on the Zanussi/Westinghouse for after 3yrs of doing up to 20 loads a week (that's the equivalent of 9yrs usage for a normal machine), it had decided it had had enough. I was quite happy with the AUD$200 it cost which included the first call to assess the issue, parts and fitting on another visit. Even when weighed up against the $500 purchase price of the machine, it was cheap....

 

...the big question is, would I do it again? Probably. I like the programming flexibility that this particular machine has.