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Samsung Master
12,061 Answers
- Posted on Apr 11, 2010
Re: UBNORMAL SOUND DURING DRY SPIN
Washing machine is noisyIt's very difficult to advise on a noisy washing machine because you often can't describe noises accurately enough. People can describe the same noises quite differently.
Here's a general guide though -
- If a washing machine is rumbling, and very noisy on spin, the main suspect is the drum bearings. Drum bearing failure is common on many washing machines due to water getting into them if the drum bearing seal fails. (Hotpoint and Zanussi in particular in my experience) To check for drum bearing failure you can take the belt off and spin the drum by hand. If the drum rumbles when spun then the bearings may have gone. There should be a constant rumble all the time the drum is revolving.
- Another drum bearing failure symptom is excessive up and down play in the drum which can be checked for by lifting the drum up and down from the drum lip behind the door seal. A further symptom of drum bearing failure can be a brown rust patch underneath the washing machine and down the back of the outer drum, underneath the drum pulley (where the belt goes) although this patch is not always present. There are usually two small holes at the back of the drum bearings where water that has got past the drum bearing seal trickles out, and it's usually stained with grease and rust if water has got into the bearings.
- Loud noises when turning the drum by hand can also be caused if the drum itself splits, or the spider at the back of the drum has come away from the drum, is corroded or even broken. This would normally be a loud noise on each revolution of the drum whereas the noise when drum bearings have gone is constant all the time the drum is turning. Lifting the drum checking for excessive play can often reveal a broken or loose drum spider which sometimes only occurs at certain points round the drum (the spider has three arms and is bolted to the drum at three points)
- Coins or other obstructions trapped inside the tub under the drum can make horrendous noises as they get tossed about on spin. They often don't make the noise unless laundry is in though. Look out for obvious dints and creases in the drum itself as evidence of a coin or similar stuck inside although be aware that it only shows there's been an obstruction in at some point and the coin could have fallen into the sump hose or filter and not actually be the cause of the noise at this time
- Other causes of a noisy washing machine are coins and other obstructions inside the water pump. This will cause noise when the washing machine is emptying the water. Coins or other obstructions can get trapped between the outer tub and the inner drum. This would produce a lot of noise on spin as the coins get tossed around inside. Often, spinning the drum by hand will not reproduce the noise in the case of coins because the coins drop to the bottom of the tub and lay flat when the washing machine isn't spinning
- A light scraping or ratchety noise when the drum is turned by hand is commonly a bra wire trapped between the tub and drum. They can often be removed from underneath with the sump hose taken off. It's always worth checking that the wire isn't poking through one of the holes in the drum which can be pulled back out from inside the door. It's rare, but I've retrieved 3 or 4 this way over the years.
- A high pitched squealing or harsh noise can be motor bearing wear. This can also be checked for by taking the belt off and running the motor alone.
- A knocking noise can be a loose tub weight. This would normally be worse with heavy loads and would not be present on spin with no washing in. This is because the knocking noise is caused when the tub (or outer drum) shakes about on spin. Without washing inside the drum the tub doesn't move. Another symptom of a loose tub weight is grey concrete dust under the washing machine. Warning: These days most washing machines have plastic tubs and over tightening a tub weight bolt can easily shear the bracket resulting in a new tub being required. Try loctite. Often, once a tub weight has come loose the plastic tub is damaged anyway especially if it isn't caught early enough
- Sometimes a badly worn drive belt can cause a surprising amount of noise. I've even come across some where i was convinced the drum bearings were gone until I took off the belt and spun the drum by hand to find no noise.
It's very tempting to ignore noises while the washing machine is still otherwise working. Some noises can be ignored as they will not develop into serious faults. Other noises, if left, will cause extensive damage and can end up costing considerably more than if tackled early or these days writing the washing machine off. Of course the problem is that you can't tell which of the categories a noise falls into - so ignore them at your own risk. If you have a specific noise you are concerned about, either call an engineer
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