Two weeks ago I was at my moms house when washer was on spin. I told her the bearings were on the way out and to get someone out. Today she called me and said it was throwing oil on the floor. I went over there tonight to see what was up. Took tub out of washer (top loader HE, Maytag Bravos) and took motor off the bottom. That process was technically easy, but annoying. The bearing in question is pressed into the plastic tub where the shaft for the agitator disc goes through the bottom. So much for that. Washer out in the yard, new one coming on Wednesday. 2007 vintage, I guess no complaints. I feel like 20 years out of an appliance was pretty good even back in the day.
Wash Machine Bearing Took a Dump
- Thread starter MrkofXcellence
- Start date
Sounds like a decent run and probably was.
I vastly prefer cycles as a metric of lifespan over years.
20 years could be a great run or it could be an early end of life, without a cycle count its hard to tell.
Bet it won't go even 4 years. the last few i've had have been yugos and have been a waste of time to fix only for something else to break. I'd recommend one of those simpler GE models that has a bunch of knobs up front with no touch buttons that have lots of issues.
It seems thst 20 years should be easy to achieve yet it seems more and more that manufacturers are cheapening their products. I saw a really interesting youtube video of a British home appliance repair person. He said roughly four years ago manufacturers started sealing the washing machine drums so repair of a bearing or motor that was $15-$20 is now $300 to replace the entire drum.
"Many modern British and European washing machines (from brands like Hotpoint, Indesit, Hoover, Candy, Beko, and even budget Bosch models) are built with sealed, plastic-welded tubs. Because these tubs are glued together rather than screwed, manufacturers often declare them unserviceable, meaning a simple failed bearing or seal can result in a massive repair bill or a written-off machine."
