Washing machine intermittent high pitch squeak

[Joe90]

I've got a Miele washing machine - had it for years, probably done over 10,

000 hours washing.

It was starting to get noisy and had the odd squeak so last weekend I compl etely pulled it to bits and replaced the drum bearings, motor brushes and d oor seal (with genuine Miele parts).

Now when it runs there is an intermittent really high-pitched hiss/squeak a s it agitates. Does not depend on the direction of rotation - seems to dep end on torque during acceleration or with washing flopping about in the dru m. I've tried tightening the belt but that hasn't helped.

The sound is so high that I cannot tell where it is coming from. The new d rum bearings are silky-smooth. The motor spins very freely on the bench - no noise or slackness in its bearings at all. It doesn't sound like brus hes - for one thing, they have inclined faces so I would expect a different noise in each direction. It is higher frequency than I would expect fro m a belt - not really a squeal. Could it be the PCB? Or the motor bearings under higher side load when pro ducing torque? At about £50 for a Miele belt and £400 for a moto r I cannot afford to "try it and see".

Thanks Joe

[harry]

0,000 hours washing.

pletely pulled it to bits and replaced the drum bearings, motor brushes and door seal (with genuine Miele parts).

as it agitates. Does not depend on the direction of rotation - seems to d epend on torque during acceleration or with washing flopping about in the d rum. I've tried tightening the belt but that hasn't helped.

drum bearings are silky-smooth. The motor spins very freely on the bench

- no noise or slackness in its bearings at all. It doesn't sound like br ushes - for one thing, they have inclined faces so I would expect a differe nt noise in each direction. It is higher frequency than I would expect f rom a belt - not really a squeal.

roducing torque? At about £50 for a Miele belt and £400 for a mo tor I cannot afford to "try it and see".

If the vee belt is sufficiently worn, it can bottom out on the pulley(s) so no amount of tightening will fix it, (It drives on the sides of the belt not the bottom.)

Check the pulleys to see if the bottom of the groove is shiny. If so, new belt needed.

If it's a multi-vee, you should just change it, it will be knackered by now anyway.

[harry]

0,000 hours washing.

pletely pulled it to bits and replaced the drum bearings, motor brushes and door seal (with genuine Miele parts).

as it agitates. Does not depend on the direction of rotation - seems to d epend on torque during acceleration or with washing flopping about in the d rum. I've tried tightening the belt but that hasn't helped.

drum bearings are silky-smooth. The motor spins very freely on the bench

- no noise or slackness in its bearings at all. It doesn't sound like br ushes - for one thing, they have inclined faces so I would expect a differe nt noise in each direction. It is higher frequency than I would expect f rom a belt - not really a squeal.

roducing torque? At about £50 for a Miele belt and £400 for a mo tor I cannot afford to "try it and see".

Re cost of belt. Take it to a general engineering supplier they may have a replacement at a fraction of the cost.

Just Google "vee belt suppliers".

[tabbypurr]

0,000 hours washing.

pletely pulled it to bits and replaced the drum bearings, motor brushes and door seal (with genuine Miele parts).

as it agitates. Does not depend on the direction of rotation - seems to d epend on torque during acceleration or with washing flopping about in the d rum. I've tried tightening the belt but that hasn't helped.

drum bearings are silky-smooth. The motor spins very freely on the bench

- no noise or slackness in its bearings at all. It doesn't sound like br ushes - for one thing, they have inclined faces so I would expect a differe nt noise in each direction. It is higher frequency than I would expect f rom a belt - not really a squeal.

roducing torque? At about £50 for a Miele belt and £400 for a mo tor I cannot afford to "try it and see".

IIRC it can result from belt overtension or belt/pulleys that need a clean. Or various other things. I can't see it being the PCB.

NT

[tabbypurr]

0,000 hours washing.

pletely pulled it to bits and replaced the drum bearings, motor brushes and door seal (with genuine Miele parts).

as it agitates. Does not depend on the direction of rotation - seems to d epend on torque during acceleration or with washing flopping about in the d rum. I've tried tightening the belt but that hasn't helped.

drum bearings are silky-smooth. The motor spins very freely on the bench

- no noise or slackness in its bearings at all. It doesn't sound like br ushes - for one thing, they have inclined faces so I would expect a differe nt noise in each direction. It is higher frequency than I would expect f rom a belt - not really a squeal.

roducing torque? At about £50 for a Miele belt and £400 for a mo tor I cannot afford to "try it and see".

As harry pretty much said a car belt should do the job at a fraction the pr ice.

NT

[Lee]

Everyone is saying belt, but you said "hiss", is this like a SMPSU "hiss"? I don't know how the motor is driven in your model but if it is driven electronically then fitting new brushes may have altered something. Would tie in with "under load" as well. No harm in checking over the motor drive connections on the PCB with some decent light and a loupe (visually inspecting any caps present wouldn't go amiss either) but if it is the new brushes it may well settle down on it's own.

[newshound]

I agree with what others said about belts, but I seem to recall a machine I had in the distant past which generated a periodic squeak from the drum suspension. IIRC it was suspended on springs, but there was a steel plate attached to the drum which was clamped between a couple of plastic pads attached to the casing to provide damping.

[Lee]

The LG we had did that, but it was an even more annoying lower pitched kind of vibrating squeal. Replaced the machine (for other faults) before figuring out how to fix it ;)

[Brian Gaff]

Does it get affected by the load of the washing inside? If not then I'd say its not related to side forces. if its cyclical watt the rotation then maybe the gator that stops it leaking is moving jerkily against some moving part. Other than that if its random it could be almost anything as you say, pumps, hoses rubbing against things etc. Not having that model I cannot say, but maybe you can use some form of directional microphone device to try to pinpoint the culprit. Brian

[Joe90]

Thanks everyone. The idea of the belt hitting the bottom of its grooves seems most probable - I'll try a new one.

Joe