Hi Matty
The leaking is NOT caused by corrosion. It is a leaking rubber seal between the backing plate (alloy) and the stainless steel outer drum. The seal is sandwiched between the two components, held tight by the bolts all round the edge. Bolts may not be tight enough, or seal falling to bits.
The white stuff round the edge is detergent residue from the leaking.
There is likely to be leaking from the rubber hose that goes from the detergent drawer to the outer drum, too. This hose connects to the drum without clamps, it pushes into a hole in the side of the drum, with an inside lip and an outside lip. It gets glued into place, over time the glue dries out and loses its grip, leading to leaks. Perfectly normal on these old Hoovers.
If there is evidence of leaking from this drawer-to-drum hose, pull it out from the drum and clean off all dirt, glue residue and detergent residue. When it is all CLEAN, you can re-glue with contact adhesive. Leave to dry 48 hours before use.
To replace the bearings-
DISCONNECT FROM POWER AND WATER.
(sorry to state the obvious.)
1. Slip the belt off - turn the big pulley whilst pulling the belt towards you, so that the belt runs off the groove in the pulley and falls away. No need to remove the motor.
2. Disconnect the pressure switch tube - the clear plastic tube behind the belt in the photo - from the drum.
3. undo the earth wire from the tub - it's the green wire with yellow stripe you can see in the photo. DON'T FORGET TO RE-ATTACH THIS WIRE AT THE END OF THE PROCEEDINGS.
4. Undo all the other bolts around the edge of the drum, they hold the backing plate to the drum.
5. Yank on the pulley to get the backing plate to separate from the drum. You might need to pry them apart with a heavy screwdriver. Once they start to come apart it should happen easily, getting it started is the hard bit.
6. it takes a bit of manoevring to get the backing plate and inner drum assembly out of the machine. It does come out. You need to push the outer drum down to get the backing plate out under the top panel.
7. Once you have the backing plate and drum out together, first job is to see what condition the rubber seal is in. Usually they are OK but need cleaning up. Also the edges of the drum and backing plate will need to be cleaned up, where the seal touches them.
8. Place the drum on the ground (lawn is good, or on an old blanket on the floor) with the drum opening downwards. Look carefully at the bolt head in the centre of the pulley - it might have a locking washer to stop it coming un-done. You need to pry the folded part of the locking washer away from the bolt head before you can undo the bolt. (doesn't look like it in your photo but they normally do).
Then undo the bolt. Put the bolt aside, then lift off the pulley (will need a bit of a wriggle), then (important!) put the bolt back and screw it almost fully in.
9. The backing plate is wider than the inner drum, so a bit of it sticks out all the way round. You can support the backing plate in a saw horse each side of the drum, or otherwise improvise a method of holding the backing plate horizontal, with the drum up off the ground. The aim is to use a hard rubber mallet to whack on the bolt head, which will force the drum shaft down through the bearings and drop free. The bearings have been around this shaft for a few years, so it might need quite a few whacks. If you haven't got a rubber mallet, then place a piece of wood over the bolt head, and whack the wood with a hammer. DON'T hit the bolt head directly with the hammer, the head will get wrecked.
Don't stand with your feet under the drum, or when it drops it will land on your toes.
10. Now you have the drum out, you need to see what type of seal is used. You will have the stainless steel inner drum, with a three-legged alloy "spider" attaching it to the steel shaft. -SEALTYPE A: Some use a spring-loaded carbon face seal which presses into the inner hole of the backing plate. These bulge outwards, and you can press them in and out easily, the rubber bulges out and flexes to allow the shiny inner face, made of hard carbon, to move in and out a bit. Inside the rubber seal you should, along with rusty muck, see a spring, or remnants of a spring. Where the spider meets the steel shaft, there is a matching ceramic counterface - a ring around the shaft which mates to the seal on the backing plate.
OR you have TYPE B: The later, cheaper type of seal - just a standard oilseal, in this case used as a water seal. This is a flat disc of rubber with a hole in the middle the size of the shaft. The seal mounts in the inner hole of the backing plate (same as before) but is simple and flat, not spring loaded. It seals directly around the shaft, there is no ceramic counterface. [actually they aren't just a disc of rubber, they are a steel disc with a rubber coating and rubber inner seal lip, but they look like a black rubber disc with a hole in the centre.]
I like the early type better, these usually clean up OK to be reused.
The simple oilseal type always must be replaced.
11. To remove the bearings - they are still in the backing plate. Place the backing plate down on the ground, resting on two planks of wood with a gap between. Backing plate with the outer face upwards. (sort of volcano shape)
The top of the volcano is the outer bearing. Place a LONG and HEAVY bolt (eg a half inch by ten inch bolt) down through the centre of the top bearing. Place it on an angle so that it passes through the top bearing but is up against the back of the lower bearing. Now you bash on the top of the bolt with a hammer, to press down on the lower bearing and drive it out of the tube. After a few whacks, move the bolt to press down on a different part of the bearing and give a few more whacks. You need to keep changing where you are pressing on the bearing, so it moves down evenly. If you only press down on one side, the bearing will tilt over and grip the tube, becoming harder to get out.
Keep whacking your way around the lower bearing, till it is forced down and out. Don't just tap at it, really belt it or it won't move. But hammer it slowly and carefully, if you rain blows on it madly you won't be able to stop when the bearing suddenly gives way, and you'll bust something - maybe the machine, maybe your hand.
Forcing out the bearing will also drive out the seal.
Once the inner bearing and seal are removed, turn the backing plate over and knock out the outer bearing the same way. It is usually easier.
12. Collect the two bearings, and the seal if it is the simple oil seal type. Take them to a bearing supplier - look up Bearings in the yellow pages, SKF are the best quality brand. These will be MUCH cheaper than getting them from a washing machine spare parts shop, and probably better quality.
There are three types of ball bearing - open (you can see the steel balls inside); shielded (steel round face on each side, keeps dust out but isn't a seal); and sealed (black or red rubber seal each side. The originals are often shielded, but you should use sealed for longer life.
The bearing supplier will find some ID number on the bearings, or they will measure them and give you a match. They will probably also have the seal if it is the basic oil seal type. The better seal, the spring loaded carbon seal and counterface, is a special washing machine part and you will have to get the real thing. (or reuse the original if it survived.)
13. Clean out the bearing mount tube in the centre of the backing plate. It will probably have muck in it. Also the seal seating area, and clean up the spider and, if it has one, the counterface. Closely inspect the spider for cracks and corrosion. White powder is detergent residue and should clean off. If the spider arms are badly pitted, have holes eaten in them or are cracked, you need a new spider, or a good drum/spider assembly. Fitting a new spider is a mongrel job, as they rivet to the drum, the rivets need to be drilled out, and the rivets are stronger than any drill known to mankind. AVOID.
14. When fitting the new bearings, be GENTLE. You can bash out old bearings because they won't be re-used. But new bearings must be treated with care or you will be replacing them again soon. They are a tight fit to get back into the backing plate, the trick is to use a socket (spanner socket) of the same diameter as the OUTER of each bearing. You can then tap on the socket with the hammer, and it will press strictly on the outer steel edge of the bearing. The socket must be the right diameter so that it doesn't press on the rubber seal of each bearing, or the seal will be destroyed.
Once the bearings are in, you can fit the main seal to the inner of the backing plate.
15. From here, just "put it all back together."
16. When putting the drum and backing plate back to the outer drum, don't forget the drum seal. If the seal is in doubtful condition, you can use silicone sealant too.
17. If on reassembly you find an annoying leak weeing at the back, you have probably forgotten to refit the clear plastic pressure switch hose.
18. Don't forget to refit the green wire with the yellow stripe, it is the earth wire for the drum - protects you if there is an electrical fault in the motor.
Good luck.
