Washing machines noisy on spin

[Athos]

Hi

I have an Indesit WIL133 washing machine that is making a very loud and unpleasant high pitched noise on high speed spin with any load in. With an empty drum it's fine.

I'm assuming it must be a bearing issue inside the drum. If so is it possible or financially viable to have it repaired? If my guess is wrong what is the problem likely to be and can it be mended?

Thanks

 

[cakeman]

a few questions to answer

have a look at the belt. is it tight against the drum where it is on the pulley

can you see any brown greasy marks at the back by the pulley bolt

 

[Leccy758]

Check the motor brushes as they can cause a whine (normally new ones though)

 

[Athos]

Hello Cakeman & Leccy, and thank you both for taking the time to respond.

The belt looks to be in perfectly good order and is tight against the belt wheel (if that's the right term) - if anything it seems too tight, but I am basing that estimation on a car fan-belt and I'm sure the belt hasn't tightened itself in the last couple of weeks.

The noise isn't a whine, it sounds as if it's a moderately high pitched knocking sound, but on a 1300 rpm spin the individual knocks become a continuous sound. It's loud enough that being in the kitchen with the machine is not nice.

As I've said this noise only occurs with weight in the drum, empty tests are fine. Does a washing machine drum have bearings that sit at the bottom to keep it away from the drum housing? Or is the only bearing where the belt wheel connects?

Again, apologies for the poor use of terminology, and thank you for your time.

 

[cakeman]

belt needs to be tight , the 1cm of play in a cars fan belt.

next stage would be to check the bolts holding the 2 concrete weights are nice and tight , have a look at the shock absorber legs to see if the have any obvious issues

 

[libby lou lou]

Hello Cakeman & Leccy, and thank you both for taking the time to respond.

The belt looks to be in perfectly good order and is tight against the belt wheel (if that's the right term) - if anything it seems too tight, but I am basing that estimation on a car fan-belt and I'm sure the belt hasn't tightened itself in the last couple of weeks.

The noise isn't a whine, it sounds as if it's a moderately high pitched knocking sound, but on a 1300 rpm spin the individual knocks become a continuous sound. It's loud enough that being in the kitchen with the machine is not nice.

As I've said this noise only occurs with weight in the drum, empty tests are fine. Does a washing machine drum have bearings that sit at the bottom to keep it away from the drum housing? Or is the only bearing where the belt wheel connects?

Again, apologies for the poor use of terminology, and thank you for your time.

Open the door, feel for the top of the drum(at the front) that spins, tell me, does it lift up slightly, then fall back down?

 

[Athos]

Again, thanks for the responses.

There is a small amount of movement for the drum, but it's really vey little and it feels as if it's quite normal.

One of the bolts securing the top weight was very loose. How I didn't notice this at the weekend when examinied the machine is beyond me. It's now tight and the suspension legs seem fine too. I'm about to load up (well small load) and see what happens.

I will post the result later.

Thanks.

 

[Athos]

That seems to have solved the problem. Have yet to try a full load, but a small load gave no indiciation of any noise. I feel a bit like an idiot for not noticing the loose bolt before, but my sense of relief makes up for it.

Many thanks to Leccy and the wonderfully named Libby Lou Lou for their advice.

Many many thanks to Cakeman for hitting the nail (bolt) on the head.