Water & Seals & Bearings, Oh No!

I can only think of one or two bearing seals failing in H-Axis top loaders and front loaders here in Europe before the 1990's - and I checked over several hundred machines (My first job in the shop was water/electrical testing, mechanical testing and cleaning).
After that things started to go to hell in a handbasket.
The more time goes by and the less well built modern machines are the more I feel like just about any repair to a vintage machine is worth it.
It is true, however, that most FLs sold in the US are based on European standards. That means no chlorine bleach, regardless of what is on the dispenser; that is put their by young-dynamic-marketing-manager-in-duh-vi-duals who don't know or care; only use HE detergent and leaving the door open to let the machine dry out. Wiping out the rubber boot after every wash doesn't hurt either.
I have read that nearly all seal/bearing/spider failures in the US are because of wrong detergent and chlorine bleach.
My washers here in Germany always say "no chlorine bleach" on like 15 million places in the instructions and on the machines and in the dispensers and on the door and and and...
Those aluminum parts (like the spider in the Frigemores) just get et up by the stuff.
Didn't Maytag actually have a patent on their air-bubble technology?


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Post# 214161 6/4/2007 at 00:20 (6,164 days old) by rinso (Meridian Idaho)
Checkrate/Likes FWIW: I have often wondered if the problem of failing seals and bearings in front load machines is worse than in top loaders. Back when the American world was dominated by top-loaders, I seldom heard of these components failing. I have heard that with many top load machines, clever methods were used to keep the seals and bearings away from the water. Driving the agitator and tub at a level higher than the water fills seemed to be one method. I was also told that low post agitator drives (such as Maytag, in the good days) were designed so that a bubble of air was trapped under the agitator during fill, helping to keep their seals dry. With a front load machine, Could the seals be right in the line of fire, so to speak? Water (and corrosive chemicals like chlorine bleach) may have much better access to them just by the rotation and splashing of the water. Couple that with spin speeds often double that of some top load machines, and it seems the seals and bearings of newer front load machines are functioning in a much tougher environment than top loaders. I have also wondered if pressing the bearings in plastic housings instead of metal, makes them less able to dissapate heat. Anyway these are just some lunatic ramblings on my part, any input would be welcome. Whaddya think?

Post# 214192 , Reply# 1 6/4/2007 at 04:21 (6,164 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There�s a Lady on Stage)
Checkrate/Likes Don't know about top loaders, but front loading washing machines by design always had TOL bearings and seals. They had to because many vintage machines used LOTS of water and it would be very easy to ruin the seals/bearings. It should be mentioned that in many cases like commercial front loaders the best vintage and even modern front loaders had bearings that could be removed and repaired if need be. Today's garbarge usually has seals and bearings as part of one uni tub assembly so when one goes the whole thing must be chucked as it costs more to replace the assembly than purchase new, or close enough. We must face facts that few appliance makers are producing washing machines designed to last 15 or so years of constant use. When you take that out of the equation, then just any bearing/seal will work, after all whatdaya expect when the average lifespan of the machine is supposed to be around 7 years. L.

Post# 214218 , Reply# 2 6/4/2007 at 07:58 (6,164 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)
Checkrate/Likes *sadly* I can only think of one or two bearing seals failing in H-Axis top loaders and front loaders here in Europe before the 1990's - and I checked over several hundred machines (My first job in the shop was water/electrical testing, mechanical testing and cleaning). After that things started to go to hell in a handbasket. The more time goes by and the less well built modern machines are the more I feel like just about any repair to a vintage machine is worth it. It is true, however, that most FLs sold in the US are based on European standards. That means no chlorine bleach, regardless of what is on the dispenser; that is put their by young-dynamic-marketing-manager-in-duh-vi-duals who don't know or care; only use HE detergent and leaving the door open to let the machine dry out. Wiping out the rubber boot after every wash doesn't hurt either. I have read that nearly all seal/bearing/spider failures in the US are because of wrong detergent and chlorine bleach. My washers here in Germany always say "no chlorine bleach" on like 15 million places in the instructions and on the machines and in the dispensers and on the door and and and... Those aluminum parts (like the spider in the Frigemores) just get et up by the stuff. Didn't Maytag actually have a patent on their air-bubble technology?

Post# 214253 , Reply# 3 6/4/2007 at 13:14 (6,163 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)
Checkrate/Likes Personally I never had any problems with bearings that had to be replaced, nor do I know anyone who came across this problem. I don't think problems with the bearings are a specific frontloader problem. I know some Frigemore series had problems with the bearings, but on this site we also saw problems with some Maytag and Speed Queen series IIRC. So I guess it's more a problem of the quality of the bearings used than a top- or frontloader problem.