Seriously puzzled after investigating washing machine not draining. Pls Help!

[Bilabong007]

Take off the hoses and the connectors.

Remove the plastic cover (17005 whiteish plastic bit) and the pump will be mounted with a couple of screws.

Once it's out separate the black housing from the grey. Note how it goes together. The impeller simply pulls off the pump shaft. I used two flat blade screwdrivers either side with equal pressure to send the impeller halfway across the garage.

It's not hard to do honestly

 

[skylark42]

No idea if anyone if still following this thread but I have an update. Kind friend appeared unexpectedly yesterday afternoon with ohm-meter (?) and pronounced pump had a good resistance / current. We then disconected the gravity trap hose altogether, made sure it was clear (it was), then attached it to the pump and blew down as hard as possible. Friend felt something had dislodged. We put several 2-litre charges of water through, then 4 litres. We put the machine on Spin; the pump worked properly and expelled the right amount of water. Nothing came out except a small wad of wet lint. Machine still would not do fast spin but we got it to do slow spin. It was still making its graunching noise when no water was in it (i.e. nothing to spin). It did not get hot. Today I connected everything up again and did a small load. Out of time now but tomorrow i will post results and video.

 

[gblades]

Thanks to Flameport I know how it got onto the floor and how to get it out without a mess but I have no suitable receptacle. The bottom of the drum is at about 8" off the ground and my bucket is 12" tall. From (the amount baled + the mess), I would guess the drum holds around 2 gallons. Over the weekend I will see if I can borrow a low-sided basin.

I find an old car windscreen washer pump and a couple of bits of thin pipe to be a very handy tool. You can lie the pipe down mostly flat and then put the tube down the end and suck the water out. Also handy when you can only fit a small container under something to catch the water but it's not big enough to catch all the water that will escape or to drain the water out of a pipe before soldering .

 

[skylark42]

Bilabong007, this is what the pump looks like w/o its plastic cover. No screws in sight, unfortunately. The outlet hose (grey) is attached to the pump by a spring clip that faces the floor, with a clearance an inch or so. No way anyone can get that off unless the pump can be detached from the machine.

How to get the pump off? Here's a composite picture showing 1) machine with front panel removed, and hand-hole; 2) view through hole; 3) back of machine. the pump is at attached to side of machine, right at back, at right angles to the front hole.

 

[skylark42]

Dear all,
Yesterday during the trails, I made 2 videos using my geriatric phone. This site will not accept them as video files so I have zipped them. The short one (149) gives the 'graunching' sound of the pump has been giving after it has expelled most of the water (which it does very quickly & powerfully). You can see the outlet hose pulsing in time with the pump rhythm.

The longer film (150) gives the alarming sound the pump started making during the final rinse of the trial wash I did yesterday. It sounded just like something metal ripping itself apart (a bearing?). (Ignore the odd clunk, which is just the plastic lid of the detergent bottle rolling around in the drum.)

It was quite frightening and I was half expecting the thing to blow up on me. But the high spin completed, the washing was dry and the pump was not hot afterwards. But I am very trepidatious about using the machine again. Is it clear what is be causing that noise? What to do next, given that I can't see any way of getting the pump off?

(For anyone having trouble with the Zip file: I am able to open it by choosing Save as, then clicking on the disk file. Windows has a built-in reader.)

 

[Burnerman]

I'm afraid I can't access your videos unfortunately.....are you saying there is another noise other than the pump?
John

 

[Bilabong007]

It must be either

plastic lug type clips attaching the pump body to the metal machine housing
Or
A couple of screws holding it in

Have you flipped the machine on it's back and looked at the pump from the bottom of the machine?

If it's making strange noises and your stuck it may be time to get someone in?

 

[skylark42]

I'm afraid I can't access your videos unfortunately.....are you saying there is another noise other than the pump?
John

Sorry John, try this:
Video 149: http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=NuVqmzAy/KyEY508NS6WBIh4l5k2TGxc
Video 150: http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=NuVqmzAy/KwGOk8Iww/fA4h4l5k2TGxc

This new noise is a new pump noise.

 

[skylark42]

It must be either plastic lug type clips attaching the pump body to the metal machine housing
Or
A couple of screws holding it in.
Have you flipped the machine on it's back and looked at the pump from the bottom of the machine?

Bilabong, I am 5'3" and 9st. This last week I've used muscles I didn't know I had! But to get it onto its side would take two people, one of them tall. I'm reaching the conclusion that I will just have to get someone in and pay whatever they are going to charge me.

 

[Burnerman]

Videos still denied to me Hardly surprising as I am an I.T derelict.
I'm intrigued somewhat by the screeching noise.....the pump makes a noise for sure but I've never heard one squeal! Lets consider the drum bearings for a moment (memories of that metal shard....)
Open the drum door and give it a good spin by hand. Does it sound pretty smooth? Then, reach into the drum and grasp the top and bottom of it, near the rubber seal. Can you feel or hear a clunk as you rock it? Not as easy as it sounds as the thing is suspended anyway.
John
P.S My instinct is to put a new pump on anyway, but there again I'm an expert at spending other folks' money
J.

 

[jj4091]

That definitely sounds like the pump motor has failed or there is something in the impeller, you should not need to completely turn the machine on it's back to access the screws that secure the pump housing to the frame, just tip it up & rest it on a small stool or strong bow or anything similar. Once you have the pump assembly off there are just 2 screws securing the motor to it.

 

[skylark42]

Videos still denied to me Hardly surprising as I am an IT derelict.

Hmm, that's mysterious. Works for me today - but you have to be logged in to see the actual link. (If you right-click you should be able to open the video in a rew window or tab.)

The noise was definitely coming from the pump. It was there whenever the pump was running, whether the drum was turning or not. Maybe it will be clear if you are able to hear the video? (I have rotated and joggled the drum, which seems fine.)

 

[Burnerman]

Still nothing for me, apart from the 'wait' symbol.
Time to follow jj! When you do get the pump off you'll be able to check the pipes better for obstructions or whatever.
John

 

[skylark42]

Still nothing for me, apart from the 'wait' symbol.

I am sorry you cannot hear it, John! But I can't think what else to try - unless you want to send me your email address. I am on [email protected].

Edit: Sudden thought. My Tinypic 'channel' is apparently http://tinypic.com/1r55h47n. Wonder if you could open the videos from there?

 

[skylark42]

Update: Another friend appeared unexpectedly at crack of dawn this morning. Between us we were able to tip the machine over to about 20deg and (with his 'screwdriver' micro-socket set) take the pump out, tra la. We were unable to get it to come apart it but we checked it and found nothing loose and no foreign objects. Ditto the grey outlet hose.

So afterwards I put everything back together and washed those dirty towels on a short cycle. The pump made only its 'graunching' noise - not the frightening 'broken bearings' noise it made during the tests post my other friend's visit on Sunday.

So I find myself in Silver50's uncomfortable position of not having found any 'evidence'. As soon as I have a new load I will do a full cycle and report back.
'Night, all.