Ariston washing machine very noisy, ideas?

[Phil]

Hello,

We have an Ariston washing machine that makes a lot of noise that 'sounds' like it could be bearing related. The amount noise is relative to the drum rotation, so when it's on full spin it sounds like a very loud constant sandy rumble. I can't think of another way to describe it. There don't seem to be any obstructions, but without looking between the drum and the outer skin I can't tell.

I've taken the back off the machine and removed the belt. The motor turns smoothly by hand, the bearing on the back of the drum doesn't seem to have any play in it. By turning the drum by hand I notice the rumble is more towards the front of the machine.

Is there a bearing that supports the front of the drum? Is that the likely cause?

I'm wanting to repair this myself, but I don't know what order I need to do a strip down and rebuild. It looks fairly involved, but I'm willing to put the Anyone know of some good online resources for service manuals, and spares?

Finally I don't have the model number handy (I'll find that tonight), but it was made in 2002.

Thanks in advance,

Phil

[Guy King]

The message from "Phil" contains these words:

No.

No! But what can happen is that the bearing can allow the inner drum to touch the outer drum - but by then it's usually so far gone you can tell by waggling it.

It does sound a lot like it's the bearing, but don't rule out something silly like a bra-wire stuck round the heater rubbing on the inner drum.

[Phil]

Thanks Guy for the quick response. You're daring using your real email address, as many of the spam robots collect email addresses from usenet. See my response inline below...

"Guy King" a écrit dans le message de news: [e-mail]...

So the whole rotating part of the drum is supported only by the bearing at the back of the machine?

I did manage to stop the noise for a second by moving the drum around a bit by hand, but I'm not sure how much movement is normal inside the drum.

It certainly could be something rubbing, but how do you get in there to have a look?

If it does turn out to be just the bearing then I'm guessing I just need to :

• undo the bolt that goes in to it. Left or right hand threaded? (it uses a star shaped head. Luckily I have the right size in my too kit)

• Pop out the old bearing

• Pop in the new one

• Tighten the bolt and apply a bit of liquid thread lock.

If there's a web page or document with step by step points on replacing the bearing then I'd appreciate that, rather than guessing.

Thanks again,

Phil

[Ian_m]

[Guy King]

The message from "Phil" contains these words:

Been doing it for ten years. The vast bulk of what falls into my killfile is from Mike Corley. The rest is banking spam and is easily stripped out.

[Guy King]

The message from "Phil" contains these words:

There's a generic Haynes manual if that'd help.

As for looking for something rubbing, you might manage by pulling the heater element out, but generally it's a "drum out and split it in half" job. Not difficult, but tedious and unless you're meaty there's bits that are easier with two people.