Hi
Been trying to undo the washing machine drum central nut, but the drum just goes round. We couldnt stop it turning, so couldnt undo the nut. How to stop the drum rotating??
I did think of jamming wood between a drum pulley rib and a rib of the outer tub (drum's outer casing), but the pressure on it would be enormous, many times the force put on the bar driving the nut, so i didnt want to smash the tub doing that.
How do you folks do it?
Regards, NT
First be certain that you are turning it the right way to undo it (left hand thread?). Instead of applying steady weight on the spanner, try giving it a sharp clout with a hammer or mallet. The drums intertia alone might be enough to allow you to loosen it.
Well, that's what I did both when removing and replacing the nut. It didn't seem to be a problem, and still isn't, 3 years on!
I once needed to get the chuck off a (Makita) drill. I had much the same problem...couldn't keep the drill from spinning while I turned the chuck.
The advice from the Makita service center was to chuck up a long allen wrench with the long side 'out' then set the drill on a bench with the chuck over the edge and (here's the good part, I know you've been wondering what this has to do with your washer) *whack the allen wrench with a hammer*! It worked great. One whack broke the threads free, and the chuck spun off easily.
I think it might work for you...take a box-end wrench (not a socket wrench), put it on the end of the spindle; and *whack it with a hammer.*
jak
That was how you were supposed to take the chuck off my old B&D drill. After ~15 years, it eventually took the splines off the drive shaft in the gearbox. It still looks perfectly functional, and you can hold it in the air and operate it and it looks fine. However with it running at full speed, you can stop the chuck by touching it with your little finger, although the motor carries on spinning at full speed. ;-)
Take the drum out.
SJW A.C.S. Ltd.
You may need to heat the nut with a torch to break it loose. Also, keep in mind that the shaft may have left-hand thread.
David, on the Illinois prairie.
Easiest I find is an impact wrench, but average mech. doesn't have one. Usual method otherwise is to chock web of wheel with wood block. Because the wood is placed at the outer edge of the wheel the forces are not as much as you might imagine because of the extra leverage. If you have a good fitting spanner then the whack with a piece of 4 by 2 on the spanner may work.
MrCheerful
Have you made sure that you've released the locking lug on the nut first. Most machines have a strap that fits under the nut and into a groove in the wheel. The metal strap is then wrapped up at the edge around the side of the nut and is there to stop vibration from shaking the nut loose. If you forget about, it makes removing the nut a real pain in the proverbial.
Bearings gone?
Been there done that - in the end the spare parts cost me about £50, took me about 4 hours and many cuts and bruises - in reality it would have been more sensible (for me) to buy a new or second hand washing machine ...
Rob
In the days when you regularly did this to use your circular saw attachment etc, B&D said to insert the chuck key and whack that with a hammer.
Be careful with a reversing screw driving drill, though, these have usually a left hand thread locking screw which needs to be removed first.
I thought all chucks had this LH threaded screw, or am I wrong?
SJW A.C.S. Ltd.
Hi!
If it's an old Maytag machine, you can simply block the transmission underneath the drum to stop it from turning. I had to do this when I replaced a tub seal in a 70s-something Maytag washer...
I suppose it might work for other machines as well where the transmission seems to "ride around" the power shaft.
William
I've got a couple of old non reversing ones and they don't. If you think of it, the chuck can't really come loose in use - it will tend to self tighten. Could be modern drills all now use it to standardise things.
My Atlas Copco cordless doesn't, and it's not through engineering down to a price or lack of torque.
Don't think that the mains AEG does either. however, as they're both the same manufacturer, it could be a manufacturer-specific thing.
-- Richard Sampson
email me at richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk
How is it locked to prevent the chuck unscrewing in reverse?
I obviously don't really remember that well then, my first drill that I bought when I was at school was a cordless reversible! I would have checked myself but all my drills are reversible, SDS, or both.
SJW A.C.S. Ltd.
Allen or phillips screw down in the bottom of the chuck, threaded into the shaft. Open the chuck up full wide and you can peer down and see it. Obviously you have to pull that first.
jak
Well, that's the 'standard' we're talking about. Or are you saying it's not a LH thread?
Hi William. I guess youre in America - the type of machines you have in America have all but disappeared here. We use front loaders, the clothes just dip into the water once per turn, and they use a fraction of the amount of water and electricity. Very different to US top loaders. There is no agitator. The power transmission is a belt, and when the drum seizes the belt burns through.
Regards, NT
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