On 01/14/12 04:18 pm, Robert Green wrote:

Once I removed the tub and separated the halves it was easy to see why
clothes had come out dirty: large patches of greasy brown stuff, a
mixture of rust and grease, caused by failure of the seal, allowing
water into the bearings and allowing the mixture of rust, water and
grease to get out again and mingle with the clothes.

Is that a failure mode peculiar to front-loaders? I assume when the same
thing happens with a top loader, the bearings are at the bottom of the tub
and gunk doesn't migrate into the clothes being washed when the bearing
fails. Instead, water leaks all over the floor. If that's the case, it's
another reason to get a top-loader. (-:

I suppose it is more likely to happen if the seal on a front-loader
gives way, but I don't see that top-loaders would be totally immune from
grease (less dense than water) seeping up into the water if the seal goes.

I don't know if front-loaders in general are more likely to suffer from
seal failure, but this particular model seems to have a very bad bad
reputation.

We chose a front-loader because it uses far less water. And although
stacking the dryer on top of the washer was not seen as an advantage
when we bought them, that is the way we have them in our current home.

I repaired my last top-loader in 1984 when my GF's nylon stocking got into
and wrapped around the pump impeller. It stretched out to almost 20' when
I finally unwrapped it. Fortunately my Sears unit from 1985 has been
running strong (knock on wood!) for over 25 years (fairly light use,
though).

How would a stocking get the pump impeller? It should be contained in
the drum.

The only trouble so far is that rust spots have appeared inside the drum
because the enameling has failed at the edges of the tub's many drain holes.
That's probably partly my fault because I often leave very heavily soiled
clothes in the machine for half a day. It may also be due to the brass
rivets and snaps on dungarees banging into the drum while washing. FWIW, no
rust stains have shown up on any clothing, so I haven't bothered to try
cleaning them off because I think that would make the problem worse.

Our tub is plastic, and the basket is stainless steel, so we won't have
that problem. The basket (approx. $250) has a lifetime warranty, but I
guess one would still be up for about 3hrs labor plus travel time, and
if the bearings were then found to be iffy as well...

Perce