Hotpoint washing machine tucked me up!!!

[bigbird76]

Hi guys here is the story

Please read as it would probably effect everyone who is capable of changing drum/tub bearings
I have a hotpoint Ultima wmd942 which looks like this
https://cdn.images.reevoo.com/products/1432/1432850/original.jpgtimestamp=1398538417

So its been getting noisy over the last few weeks so the wife asked me to look at it. So i spin the drum free hand and its a bit noisy and there is lift in the drum which indicates the bearings have worn out. So me being of mechanical knowledge thinking I wonder if i can change the bearings which for me would be easy but time consuming as the whole machine needs to come apart but hey not a problem and the bearings seem to be from £10 to £20 on ebay for a typical bearing seal kit.

Well Here comes the punchline
Turns out it is a problem as the drum/tubs on the newer machines are now plastic welded together and cannot just be split in two with bolts like the older generation machines, So for most people this means a new machine now as a drum is like £140 (cheapest I can find) instead of £10 to £20 for a rebuild bearing kit.

So Not sure if other makes are following suite or not.

Not sure if i want to cut my drum in two as I am not even certain what size bearings this machine is running due to limited information, seems like they dont want you to fix your machine.

Anyone had a similar experience? or can offer knowledge?

Thanks in advance

Leigh

 

[jj4091]

//www.diynot.com/diy/search/8210790/?q=hotpoint+bearings&o=relevance&c[node]=11

 

[fidom]

Yes, when I was in the trade, bearing jobs were a nice little earner but not so much today. One possibility is to find a donor machine for spares. The other most common reason machines are scrapped is circuit board failure so such a machine can be used to get a replacement tub.