Speed Queen TC5 washer lasted 6 years before a failure started

[Mick90]

I got a Speed Queen TC5 top loader in 2019 thinking it’d be reliable, but after 6 years the machine started to get really loud on spin cycle which means the bearings are failing.

awn632sp116tw02 is my model number. The washing machine sounds like a jet engine anytime it spins now. It still functions but the noise level of it is ridiculous. Had no other issues with it. A 6 year old Speed Queen shouldn’t already need a bearing replacement. I didn’t overload it and I don’t think I’ve had it get off balance before.

 

[combo52]

Speed Queen TC five main bearing failure

Hi Mick, sorry to hear about your Speed Queen. We have seen this happen occasionally maybe four or five times over the last 15 years we’ve seen a Speed Queen top load washer with an early seal and bearing failure.

The life of the spin bearings has nothing to do with overloading or off-balance loads, the only thing we’ve been able to deduce is people who have hard water use too little detergent or double rinse things all the time you get more of a mineral buildup on the seal, which makes it leak a little bit and then the bearing fails, sometimes it just happens and has a little to do with how it was used probably.

You can try contacting your local Speed Queen dealer or Speed Queen directly. They may provide the parts to repair this machine They replace the entire outer tub with the bearing and seal already installed, if you have a Speed Queen dealer look at it and they decide that the outer tub is rusty then they have to do this anyway since it has a lifetime warranty on the outer tub. This will take the bite out of the repair, but it’s still not a simple job, but it is very repairable. If you like the washer otherwise.

We see a small number of top load in front load washers alike that have early bearing failures due to seal failures, the good news is it’s a lot less frequent than it was about 10 or 15 years ago. Things are much better now than they have been overall.

John L