Speed Queen Service Call

[mrb627]

My Speed Queen dryer has begun making a grinding hum that has gradually gotten louder over the past month or so. So, I placed a service call with my local service master. Beforehand, I tore the dryer down to the baseplate and ran it in air fluff mode and diagnosed that there was a bad bearing in the motor.

Placed service call Friday afternoon. Technician was here on Monday. He agreed with my diagnosis and placed an order for a replacement motor. Should be received in a couple of days.

Will keep you posted on the outcome.

Malcolm

 

[wayupnorth]

Thats pretty good and quick service I would say. Since you did the hard part for him in finding out what was wrong. When I bought my Maytags in 1984, the only dealer in this area was fine to sell you something at a tidy profit, but when it came for service, forget it. They ended up going out of business and several other appliance dealers took the franchises on. The old fool is still selling appliances at Home Depot last time I knew. I wonder how he likes Maytag now?

 

[mrb627]

Posted...

I'll keep you posted of the progress.

Malcolm

( I should have taken pictures during teardown )

 

[qualin]

Wow.. That's kind of odd that the motor in your dryer failed so soon. you've only had that set for what.. about a year or so?

 

[mrb627]

2.5 years (almost)

The service tech that was here said that it is rare, but he has seen more than a handful of motors with bad bearings. Trust me. You'll know if it starts happening. And it should happen within your warranty period.

Malcolm

 

[k1rod]

Is Speed Queen outsourcing their motors? I'm guessing they are because there is very little motor manufacturing going on in this country now.

 

[countryguy]

Did you tell the service man of your diagnosis before or after he made his diagnosis?

 

Gary

 

[combo52]

Bad SQ Dryer motor

SQ uses Emerson motors assembled in Mexico like WP and some Frigidaire products. They are generally very good motors, but there are always some failures of anything and a motor can fail at any age and the older it is and the more use it has received the more likely it is to fail. The only usage factor that we see over and over again when it comes to dryer motor failures is dryers that have a poor vent system diffidently have a much higher motor failure rate. This seems to be because the motor runs hotter and the dryer and motor also accumulate more lint buildup inside and around the motor.

 

The good thing about SQ is the motor is covered parts and labor for 3 years and you get a no charge motor for five years, with WP, MT, KM, GE, Frigidaire you get just one year period, so you end up with a two to three hundred dollar repair bill.

 

[mrb627]

Diagnosis

I gave him my diagnosis before he looked at it.

Malcolm

True, the motor alone can run just under $200.

 

[countryguy]

I wouldn't have told him my diagnosis until after he provided his....just to see how honest he was or if he would try to replace more parts than needed.  That's the skeptic in me

 

Gary

 

[combo52]

skeptic

Hi Gary, the dryer is under full warranty for parts and labor, so it probably doesn't matter. I do agree however that unless the technician is having problems figuring out what the problem is it is often better to let them figure out what is wrong before you offer your diagnoses and then discuss the possible  solutions.

 

[mrb627]

True

But my main concern was being told that the noise was normal. Some techs like to do that if they think you are clueless.

Malcolm

 

[k1rod]

I hate that Malcolm! In my business I manage a team of engineers that design motor drive systems for a living. So when I am face to face with a tech that is telling me something that is as pure bs as the sky is blue (and trying to do it with authority), I have to restrain myself from kicking their a**es right out my front door.

 

[qualin]

Glad to hear that you got your motor replaced quickly.

I'm sure other people with your problem would have just kept using it until either the motor was squealing or locked up from bearing failure.

 

[mrb627]

Not Yet

It hasn't been replaced yet. He ordered it Tuesday morning. I told him next week for the replacement would be fine.

Malcolm

 

[pierreandreply4]

if it was me

if it was me with that kind of defect i would of replace it a long time ago and i know what motor problems are as i had a similiar problem around 1996 with my old inglis topload washer but lucky for me the next day the tech came and install a replacement motor.

 

[timborow]

AWN412 Tub

I bought this Speed Queen washer in February and we really do love it. It washes and rinses great. However, I watched a You Tube video of a similar washer and noticed the tub actually agitates during the wash. So I used a clothespin to override the lid switch to see if mine does and it doesn't. The tub moves a little back and forth during agitation, but it doesn't move all the way around. Should I be concerned? Should it move? I thought about contacting SQ to ask, but I figured they would say something about me overriding the switch to watch it agitate..

Thanks,

Tim

 

[DirectDriveDave]

From what I have heard, that only happens when the machine is brand new, after some uses the tub should stop moving.

 

[mrb627]

Tim

If you can reference a link to the youtube video that you are referring to, we might be able to explain the behavior of the machine in the clip.

Malcolm