Thread Number: 91237  /  Tag: Modern Automatic Washers
Kenmore (LG) FL squeaking when coasting from a spin. Please tell me it isn't bearing issues! 		[Down to Last]
Post# 1157500   8/21/2022 at 02:00 (947 days old) by superocd (PNW)        

My Kenmore washer, made by LG, squeaks the last few seconds when coasting from a spin. It usually does it when using Heavy Duty (high spin speed) but doesn't usually do it if I do bulky/bedding (mid spin speed). I don't use any other cycle. If I use steam it will happen on the subsequent cycle and will squeak intermittently even when tumbling, but if it sits for a day the squeak is gone. Is a rubber seal expanding or contracting? Are the bearings on the way out? The drum is as tight as it was when I bought it and it turns fine by hand.




Post# 1157563 , Reply# 1   8/21/2022 at 18:46 (947 days old) by lakewebsterkid (Dayton, Ohio)        
bearing

 Telling by your username, you probably are overthinking it! Lol.
When my Duet's bearings started to go bad, I could hear a very faint chatter, rather than a squeak. It happened regardless of spin speed, which spin it was performing, and would get just a touch louder with each cycle.

Post# 1157619 , Reply# 2   8/22/2022 at 13:29 (946 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY)        
well

 mark_wpduet's profile picture
my German built Duet from 2005 has done this for years and it's very intermittent...the squeak sounds like baby birds when it happens and it's usually during the tumble and sometimes the end of a spin if I'm standing there to hear it coast down...I would venture to say it's done this for 7 to 8 years and it can stop doing it for months at a time before it shows up again....and it never seems to last long. I don't know what the hell it is quite honestly....but apparently it's not major.

Post# 1157627 , Reply# 3   8/22/2022 at 17:43 (946 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        

combo52's profile picture

The Squeal is normally coming from the main water-shaft seal, it is usually not a cause for great concern, you could try using a different detergent or more detergent sometimes this can cause this sound.

 

John L.
Post# 1157655 , Reply# 4   8/23/2022 at 00:15 (946 days old) by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany))        
Squeaky bearing seal

 There is a seal around the drum spider shaft keeping water from getting into the bearings and out of the tub.

That seal has extremely tight tolerances by the nature of design of such constructions (a stationary seal having to sit water tight against a rotating shaft).



IF that seal was to fail, bearing failure would happen EXTREMELY quickly since the soapy water getting into the bearings would remove any lubricants very much instantly.
And a bearing without lubrication won't last any considerable amount of time.

BUT that squeaking USUALLY dosen't indicate any imminent failure.
Think of it this way: For the squeaking to happen there has to be contact between 2 things rubbing against each other.
For the seal to fail, there has to be NO contact - which would also mean NO sound.
That squeaking often just happens if some residue and/or thermal expansion/loading situation causes a tiny change in those incredibly small tolerances.



IF the bearings fail you WILL know.

It's one of these things you worry about happening until it actually happens to you once - then you know that that noise is just completely it's own unique thing.

Once you started hearing that freight train coming through the laundry room, you know a small chirp means nothing.

Post# 1157656 , Reply# 5   8/23/2022 at 00:33 (946 days old) by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany))        
2 small references there

 So, over here, the tolerances for engineering such designs are placed into tolerance groups.

For such sealing systems, the class used would be h8 usually.

To make that understandable:
That means if the shaft size by design is between 18mm and 30mm, the actual shaft after production is only allowed to be 0,033mm smaller than speced, but not no bigger than speced.

In inches:
A shaft speced as between about 0.7 and 1.2 inches - which seems reasonable for a washer spider shaft - can't be any bigger than speced after production.
However, it is allowed to be up to 0,0013 inches smaller.

You can see how such small distances can lead to tight fits and noises.



A bearing failure though will ALWAYS sound like a freight train comming on.

It will be very quiet and faint at first - but bearing failures basically never produce high pitched noises.







Post# 1158611 , Reply# 6   9/3/2022 at 21:27 (934 days old) by dartman (Portland Oregon)        

That sounds just like my Old Kenmore HE top loader that would lose the seal and eat the bearings very quickly after a year or two of service. As you can hear from the video it will be very obvious when the bearings fail.
I finally gave up and we bought a LG 7900 top loader with a extra warranty and we'll see how long it lasts.


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