Hoover Optima, belt comes off

[Davie77]

Hi all, I have a Hoover Optima washing machine, the belt came off, so I put it back on.

This was a struggle as it was tight and I used a debit card to stretch it over the pulleys. However, I then tried to work the machine on spin (before I put the back panel back on) and the belt just came off again.

I didn't think the belt was loose, or had stretched as it was such a tight squeeze to get it on. Maybe some lugs have broken off that are supposed to keep the belt in place? (though I saw no sign of anything broken).

Is there anything else I can try before I buy a new belt? (which may not work anyway).

Any advice appreciated.

 

[DiyNutJob]

Show pics of the pulleys.

 

[Davie77]

This is the bottom one, (wheel at the top).

 

[conny]

You have to ensure the belt is central with the upper pulley and lower pulley.
Your belt should have a series of grooves which sit into those grooves in the lower pulley. They must not overhang or be laying at an angle across the grooves. Are you sure you have the correct belt for your make and model?
When you fit it again, spin the drum by hand a number of times and see if the belt is moving smoothly or moving sideways trying to come off.

 

[Davie77]

Thanks. It's the belt that came with the washing machine. I'll give it another try..

 

[conny]

You should be able to slacken the motor bolts to swivel it a bit to help get the belt on.
After doing this, push the motor back to it's original position and re-tighten the bolts.
I find it helps to put a felt tip mark on the arm of the motor and a corresponding mark on the back of the frame that it is attached to.

 

[DiyNutJob]

One of the pulleys should have a spring near it. This is what gives the belt tension. Position of that pulley should have some adjustments. You should not be able to force the belt on or off by hand.

 

[Davie77]

Thanks. I can't find a spring though, or anything to adjust?

 

[Fred Blogs]

One of the pulleys should have a spring near it. This is what gives the belt tension. Position of that pulley should have some adjustments. You should not be able to force the belt on or off by hand.

Well I dunno I have replaced the belts on a lot of washing machines in my time and I have never come across one that has a belt tensioner, which is what I think you are referring to.

The belt is kept in place by the ridges on the motor pulley and the ridges on the drum wheel. The two pulleys should be exactly in line with each other and the belt ridges must align perfectly with the ridges on the two pulleys. It cannot be done successfully if the belt is under tension therefore the motor fixing points must be slackened then the belt placed on the pulleys and the motor adjusted to re-tension the belt. All the ridges on the belt must fit into the grooves on the pulleys to keep the belt in place. Check the condition of the belt because if the ridges have worn to any great extent the belt will not stay on. One way that the belt can come off is because the drum bearing has gone causing the drum to wobble. If this is the cause though it's very likely that the drum will be making a horrendous noise especially when on spin. edited to add Youtube is your friend.

 

[DiyNutJob]

The motor clearly rotates on the focus at the end of its top left arm. There is a hole in the top right right arm where a screw is potentially missing. You need to show more pics if you don't want to play lucky dip.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Thanks. I can't find a spring though, or anything to adjust?

There are no springs and no adjustments to make. The grooves in the belt, will be able to sit in one of several locations on the grooved pulley of the motor - the trick is to choose the correct location on the motor pulley, so it lines up correctly with the big pulley on the drum.

Fit it on the motor first, then work it onto the drum pulley, followed by spinning the drum to see if the belt remains central on the drum pulley. If not, you need to start again by choosing a different location on the motor pulley.

A machine which has seen a few years use, will have witness marks, where the belt has polished the motor pulley, making it even easier to get it right.

 

[DiyNutJob]

The top left fixing for the motor arm looks like one of those asymmetric adjusting screws. It might give you a small adjustment. There might be the same thing on the right arm. When combined, they might give you a sufficiently large adjustment.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The top left fixing for the motor arm looks like one of those asymmetric adjusting screws. It might give you a small adjustment. There might be the same thing on the right arm. When combined, they might give you a sufficiently large adjustment.

It is all pre-aligned by design, there is no adjustment and no need for any.

 

[DiyNutJob]

There is no such thing as pre-adjustment. Belts stretch. This can be auto-adjusted with spring, or manually adjusted with screws/bolts.

 

[assuhors]

Davie77, take note of Harry Bloomfields posts these are correct. There is no bolt loosening tension springs or any other malarkey. Slotted motor fixings and adjustments went out with V belts, the current belts are multi ribbed.
The belts are very slightly elasticated and have to be worked on, motor pulley first and then drum pulley. Assuming you don't have a drum issue whereby the pulley is moving you may need a new belt. Once you get the belt on rotate the drum pulley in both directions to make sure it stays central on the drum pulley.