On Thu, 1 Oct 2020 12:23:48 +0100, rick
wrote:

Have a reasonably new Washing Machine .... and bearing is on its way out
on the drum.
Groaning badly if you rotate by hand and very noisy on spin ......(no
shaking or vibration of machine though)
Its a Hotpoint WMUD962 Ultima
Local repair guys (who are trustworthy & honest) advised on this model
bearing is on inner drum and there is a sealed outer nylon drum -
bearing can't be replaced. (great design idea)
Needs a new drum tub, £140 from Hotpoint.

Found new one at £90 ..... comes complete with heater.

Anybody changed one of theses drums .... any tips/hints.

Yes, several. Pretty easy if like for like but ...

We picked up a 13 month old Zanussi from Freecycle that had been
written off (sealed tub like yours) because of a failed bearing,
otherwise it looked like new.

We got it home and stripped it down and noticed the tub was designed
to be screwed together by various lugs around the central seam. So I
drilled the lugs out to M6 and then carefully cut round the seam with
a saber saw.

After replacing the bearings I made a seal from some round section
neoprene (with a spliced joint at the top) and after placing stainless
steel spacer washers [1] at each bolt hole, applied a bead of CT1
sealant around both sides of the join (and under the neoprene seal)
and then carefully placed the open end onto the main tub, put the
bolts though and nipped up the Nylok nuts.

Allowed to cure overnight, passed a leak test the next day and carried
on working for a further ~8 years.

I could have bought a replacement splittable tub but apparently it
would have need a different drum, dampers and some other bits (costing
more than a new one).

Cheers, T i m

[1] We needed to use the spacer washers to replace the plastic removed
by the saber saw or the drum would rub on the inside of the tub mouth.