Two problems with out Indesit WG1234T washing machine. Firstly the washer has been sticking on the final step of a programme - the fabric conditioner part. It seems to just be feeding water in, whilst pumping it out for hours. Clicking the programme onto the next position it does a spin etc and then finishes normally. This doesn't always happens, and it can often just wash normally without a problem.
What might be the cause of this? I have noticed that the sump pump mount is broken (although I know this has been like this for 2+ years, and suspect was like it from delivery) and consequently the pump just rests on the ground (about 1" lower than it would normally be, but slightly tilted). Would the pump have a water level switch in it, which if tilted may affect the level such that it keeps pumping etc and not telling the programmer that the drum is empty? If so, making a new mount for it could solve the problem.
The other problem is that more recently than problem 1, the machine has been making grinding noises. It may run fine for a full cycle with no strange sounds, but sometimes it'll start grinding and scratching noises. Whenever we rotate the drum now by hand, it sounds grindy - but still may not make any noise when actually washing etc. Could this be the bearings? If so, how expensive are they to buy, and how much trouble are they to replace? Generally okay, or a right pain sometimes? I'm okay to give most things a go (repaired a burnt out motor controller for it a while back, see archive) - but I'd prefer not to get into a job which could take too long/get difficult. Any idea what an engineer would cost to do the repair?
One final thing - what is a good make of washing machine these days? From what I've read on here, Indesit doesn't sound very good, and in the 4.5 years we've had the washer, we've had it DOA with broken washer drawer (leaked everything onto floor first time we used it), burnt out motor controller after 3.5 years, and now, possibly bearings + something else (lets hope just pump tilt). I was wondering about Bosch or Zanussi - are there any other reliable and good manufacturers now?
Thanks
David