Yes, I agree with Louis. I don't think overloading a front loader causes any problems to the machine. (though the clothes won't be clean...)

Think about it - if the clothes are packed so tight they don't tumble, just go round and round, then there is no force of clothes thumping down after being lifted and dropped, and the load will be inherently balanced on spin. Regularly overloading will minimize forces acting on the bearings, spider and so on.

Corroded spider comes from bad detergent, under or over dosing detergent (war starts here...), selecting quick wash cycles all the time (causes terrible rinsing, leaving detergent and filth residue behind), too many cold washes, and... the luck of the draw.