Noisy Indesit wa 135

[indesitwa135]

I have a three year old Indesit WA135 and over the last few weeks it has been making a grinding/catching noise during the spin at medium speeds. I have looked on the web and people advise to check the bearings - I have had a look and there are no signs of leaks - I have tried to remove the bearings but couldn't loosen them with a star screwdriver (it snapped). I have checked the filter and there was nothing trapped. It sounds like there is something caught in the middle of the barrel (how do you get in there?) Has anyone got any suggestions?

 

[bathjobby]

Not sure how you get in there without taking the drum out (and they build the machines around the drums) ! Had the same problem with a bra wire (not mine) and got really lucky as the very end of it was still sticking out into the drum slightly through one of the drain holes so pulled it out with pliers. Just a suggestion, carefully (don't want to push it in all the way) check all the drain holes to see if anything stuck in there.