the opening handle on my hoover nextra washer/dryer 1300 model hnwl6136 has snapped.

I have a replacement door hook kit and don't know how to fit it properly, how to position the spring etc. as someone removed the door before i could see the original fitting.

jane, January 2008

Thanks to all, yes getting the spring tension is key. If you follow Jon Green's instructions carefully I don't think you can go wrong. Always assuming you have the same issue to start with.

Ken, May 2019

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread, which I found in desperation after having spent many hours trying every combination possible of catch / spring / handle.

A big thumbs up to the tip about using a piece of cotton to get the right tension! A big thumbs down to the Hoover handle designer!

Stuart, March 2018

Thank you! I've just managed to replace the handle on our 12 year old Hoover Nexus Optima washer dryer. I had given up and been quoted €70 by 2 appliance repair companies. Until I found this thread.

Gabrielle, February 2018

After having fought nearly 2 hours with this kit, I'm going to replace this rather new washing machine by an ancient M**** (at least 13 years old) we inherited.
I mean it!

cyssanbur, November 2014

My door handle snapped off and I panicked a bit . Then looked online & saw I could buy a replacement . I got one locally from Appliance Spares Direct for £ 8 50 . I just got the paddle part . I read on here various tales of success & failure , and prepared my husband for a couple of hours work !
You need a torque bit as they aren't regular screws apparently . I took a picture of the door lock fitting as advised when it was taken off, to make sure he put it back on the right way round , then I just hovered around ! All went well and he put the door liner part back on hinge end first working around to the lock , and it snapped in place . The door went back on fine , there are two small hooks on it which helps stop it falling while you reach for the the screw things . All told it took him no more than 20 minutes from start to finish & he isn't very DIY minded . I just told him tips I read on here & it was fine . I have just done a wash , no problem . Thanks to everyone for posting tips .

Tricia from Blackpool, June 2014

Thanks to all the companions in distress here who tried to help to fix this spring-hook-handle dilemma. Congratulation to those who managed this successfully. I could not.

At the same time I came up with an alternative, albeit not a professional and permanant solution but it works and I can use the mashine to wash and dry.

After spending several hours of taking the door apart and trying all possible ways of putting the pieces back together I literally cut the Gordian knot by the following.

I took the entire handle part out and screwed the door back together and onto the hinge.

I loaded a wash, choose a program, inserted the tongue into the groove on the machine and pushed the door closed. (Note that it is now not locked and possibly not entirely leak-proof. ) The mechanism clicked and recognised the tongue, kept it in the locked position and the program started.

To make sure that the shaking won't loosen the door and spill all the water out - because nothing! is keeping the door locked - I wedged a broom handle between the opposing wall and the washing machine door.

YES, I am a woman. But it works. :D

Dr. Sophie Hoover, May 2014

(Hoover Nextra 6)
I found the advice here very useful. However I think one difficulty is that in the final stage people are assembling the hinge/latch "ends" of the door in the wrong order. Once the hinge was assembled in the rear of the door I offered the latch end of the back of the door to the latch end of the front, making sure the little spring ends were resting in their housing on the door front (and doing it this way it is easy to see what's going on), and then clipping the two halves of the door from *latch* to *hinge* not the other way round as others have done. Didn't need any screwdrivers or strings. Whole thing took me thirty minutes, door off to door on - wish I'd filmed it, sorry.

Jim L, March 2014

Hi, Having spent ages on fixing this-the bestpiece of advice on here was from Mirka in Jan 2010-about locating the spring with the screwdriver before putting the door pieces together. On the Hoover HNL662 however there is only 'locating device' ie on one side of the spring-having put the spring into this-hey presto TENSION

Helen, October 2013

This is the work of the devil, only beelzebub could have invented a contraption with three parts that could cause such misery to mankind, I've stripped V8 engines down and put them back together but this b****** got me beat ! Unfortunately it all fell apart so I hadn't got a clue how it all worked. The trick is to look at Sands photo of how the latch should look on assembly, it's really fiddly to get the pin through and fit to the door, the hooks should be toward the glass and don't forget to tension the springs either with string or by putting a little bit of pressure on the handle before clipping the two halves of the door together. You must take the door off first and take out the glass before attempting this fix !

Spookydragon, July 2013

Do someone has a picture how these parts should be ???

Thanks jukka from Finland

Jukka, April 2013

Italy Loves you :)

Max, February 2013

The string idea is brilliant. I spent ages trying to figure out how to tension the latch before I tried here. If you loop the string on the hook while feeding the ends through the door (towards the centre & outside the glass) it makes it much easier. Unloop it before you tighten the final screws (latch side) and when all screws have been tightened pull both ends of the string towards centre of the door... and viola! Both of the 'curly' ends have been pulled into place and you have tension on the latch and not with the missus!

Brian, November 2012

Thanks very much to "Sand". Great picture. Had the job done in a jiffy after seeing it.

Daltonxk, November 2012

Thanks for the help - to add to Jon Green's excellent 17point plan I would add an extra step between 14 and 15.

You need to tension the spring against a bit of the plastic moulding of the door. It's easy for the spring to go the other side of the little moulding 'all". The result is a floppy handle - which is nearly useless.

As you reassemble both halves of the door, once you place one of the bent legs of the spring (only one required) against this little plastic wall, you will have tension and all will be fine.



I will try and upload a photo to help.

Andrew Smith, October 2012

God, after 2 hours found this, the cotton or in my case thin strimmer cord really worked and the door is back in place after only a few minutes

gwern boy, June 2012

I spent 2 hours fixing the broken door handle on my Hoover Nextra 1300 washing machine - now I realise the job could have taken me 15 mins. The spare part ordered from Espares came with a plastic handle, a metal pin to fix the handle, a spring and a metal latch. Removing the door was a bit difficult until I realised that after you have removed the 2 torque screws you have to lift the door upwards as it is also hung on little hooks at the back of the hinge. I dissassembled the door following the instructions on the video. It is good advice to take a photo of the spring position before you remove the old one. I reassembled it following the advice on this site - which very good - but when I fixed it on the washing machine it was loose and did not click shut. I realised that I had used the old latch and the new spring when I reassembled it. In the end end I got it to work by using the old latch and the old spring with the new handle. The old and new pins were exactly the same size but the old and new latch and the old and new springs varied slightly in size and shape. I decided to use the old parts as they looked more robust. My advice is don't mix the an old latch and a new spring - they're not engineered to fit exactly together and you won't get the tension you need on the spring for the handle to work correctly.

sand, June 2012

Ok, having tangled with this myself, to save everybody's sanity, here is a pic of how the spring, handle and latch/hook go together....

PICTURE LINK HERE!!!!

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z405/jockthedog/DSC00199.jpg

I did find that it helped enormously to tuck one hook of the spring to the inside of the little bit of plastic which stops the hingepin from dropping out, outside of the plastic panel. I'm sure both hooks are supposed to be inside the plastic panels, but hey, it works a treat. I simply could not get enough tension otherwise.

jockthedog, May 2012

Thanks to all who've given advice on this thread, I've just replaced the broken handle is a little under an hour (having pessimistically set aside the whole day!). Mirka's instructions in particular were fantastic.

My main advice, as others have already said, is to take pictures. I also found it helped to write notes as I went - as though I was going to post a set of instructions on here. It makes you think more about what you're doing, which helps cement what you're doing/have done in your brain. In fact, since I've written them, I may as well post them!

1. Unscrew the door hinge from the washing machine's body (two Torx T25 screws)

2. lift door hinge to free from machine body

3. unscrew the front and back halves of the door (six Torx T20 screws)

4. unclip front and back halves of door from each other (clipped in at eight locations)

5. set the front half of the door aside

6. note the orientation of the latch (hook side points towards the outer edge of the door)

7. note the position of the spring clip relative to the latch (the loop part of the clip sits toward the inner edge of the door, relative to the latch)

8. note the orientation of the clip (hooked arms toward the outer face of the door, with their ends pointing towards the centre of the door)

9. remove latch mechanism by pulling the pin out towards the bottom of the door. The latch will fall out – don't let it bounce anywhere out of reach!

10. assemble the new handle, spring & latch as the old one was. Place it into the door as the old one was and push the pin back into place

11. line the front and rear halves of the door up with each other, put the hinge back into position between the two door halves, and place the two halves together (with the handle not between the glass and plastic windows!)

12. starting at the hinge side of the door, clip the first six positions back together. Leave the final two (nearest the latch) unclipped for now

13. The handle will NOT be tensioned at this stage. I spent ten minutes trying to figure out why not, before realising it tensions in the next step!

14. Pulling the latch towards the outer edge of the door and the handle towards the windows, clip the final two points into place. The handle should now be tensioned

15. Screw the two door halves together again

16. Re-hang the door on the machine body and put its two screws back in.

17. Have a coffee/tea/beer to celebrate!

Jon Green, January 2012

how to remove door interlock

machel, January 2012

Spent many hours attempting to fit - ended up with no tension on the handle and a large whisky.
This morning all was solved - the spring ends were pointed towards the inside of the door. I then wrapped strong cotton around each end (the trailing ends left towards the centre of the door on the glass) and commenced to refit the door starting from the hinge end. Approaching the latch end, I pulled tight on the cotton, bending the spring towards the centre of the door and clipped the latch end halves of the door together. The cotton then just pulls free. Hey presto, I have tension.

Pete, December 2011

This is mental, what a stupid contraption!! How do you get tension? I have pointed to metal hook to the right, but where do the curly ends of spring go.....

Chris B, November 2011

just take a pic 1st.like everyone else i did'nt do this.but after reading all the help below ,my wife is now taking to me again and i can now have my work clothes washed.many thanks everyone.

dave gosport, September 2011

Can anyone please put some pictures as following all the instructions I'm unable to fit the spring properly. A photo with the spring will help or a sketch would be good to understand. If someone can send me the pic at amrik dot aidan at gmail then that would be great. Thanks

Amrik, September 2011

thank you for this web page it took me 40 mins including getting tools out and packing them up
just a tip make sure you get the spring the right side of the door catch

mike bournemouth, September 2011

Thank goodness I found these pages, I had over an hour of hysterics before finally fitting the wretched thing together, washer working, thankyou all.

Vee, June 2011

Folks, the statement "a picture speaks a thousand words" sums it all up! .
I had same issue, broken door release paddle on Nextra HMWF 3125 Washer Dryer.
The explanation by Mirka is as good as it gets, the curled ends of the spring need to curl inwards (ie towards the glass of the door) as you look at the door from the outside (with toilet seat removed).

It's essential that you achieve a high latch spring tension for the door/interlock system to work!

I found, first time around, I could snap it all together and the release mechanism apparently worked. When you pressed back on the chrome latch, only light pressure was needed..however there was "some" spring tension there.... this was no good!

When refitted, the door seemed to close OK but the machine sometimes failed to start ( door lock LED flashing) and sometimes if a cycle actually started, the door would not release after the "door Locked" LED extinguished.

The symptoms were so spurious that you got the impression that there could be a controller fault.

In the end it became clear, the chrome latch needs to feel rigid against the spring pressure if fitted correctly.

When you close the door, this chrome latch needs to exert pressure against a spring loaded contact (within the door latch solenoid assembly). This contact closure within the door lock asssmbly tells the controller that the door has been closed.

You should therefore feel heavy spring pressure against the chrome door latch, if the spring is correctly fitted .

NigelI UK, May 2011

Getting the spring tension is the key to the door locking. Thanks for the help

Cj, March 2011

I have done all of the above and there's tension in the spring etc. Only problem I now have is damn door won't lock properly. Help!

Ant, February 2011

Hoover Nextra 3146-80 handle replacement. Replace plastic handle on Hoover Nextra Washing machine

I removed the 6 screws from the back of the door with a torx screwdriver. I then separated the two parts of the door with a knife working from the lock to the handle area. There are 6 small grooves where you can put a knife in. TAKE A PICTURE OF THE LOCK AREA.

Then I put the part containing the glass bit on the table. TAKE ANOTHER PICTURE. I then picked up the other half of the door (ill call it a toilet seat!) and put that on the table. Remove all the bits of the lock but remember to TAKE A PICTURE OF HOW IT LOOKS.

The handle replacement has three parts:

- A metal thread thin cylinder.
- A spring type clip with two thin hooks.
- The metal latch itself (bit that locks onto the machine).

Attach the spring to the Plastic Handle as you saw in your camera picture.

Thread the cylinder from the bottom through till it holds one part of the spring in place. Then from the other side put the HOOK in till it catches the cylinder thread and push through. Note: The cylinder may now be a little looser than it was before so jus bear that in mind so it doesnt just slip out.

The metal latch has to point OUTWARDS so if you are standing face on the washing machine it points to the RIGHT, not inwards as many make this mistake!

Test the mechanism on the table:
Turn the door over and with the mechanism facing you on your LEFT push the lock to the left (i.e towards your left ear). Keeping it here, attach the 'toilet seat' part from the lock end first and click it into a place. It should have tension in the spring. Try pulling the handle.

If that works, you know its working fine. Now just repeat the procedure on the washing machine itself. You may have to get a friend to hold the 'toilet seat' part in place whilst you click all the bits into place, remembering the LOCK pushed to the left before setting it into the toilet seat part.

Hope that helps. Now i need the loo.

Salman Chaudhry, January 2011

Hi all
After looking through this forum i managed to replace the handle on my hoover nextra washer dryer. The door closes and catches fine, but for some reason the door will not lock! The door locked light keeps flashing and because of this it does not start the cycle.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what i might have done wrong when replacing the door handle?

Emyr Jones, January 2011

After 2 hours of trying many combinations I realised I had had everything the right way round in the first place. The key for me was definitely to clip the handle side of the outer door back on last so you can push the curly ends of the spring inwards just as you clip the last bit in. This then gives you the tension. Prior to doing this I had no tension and the outer part of the door didn't go back flush on the handle side because the curly bits of the spring were preventing it.

Richard, December 2010

any pictures??

phil mauer, November 2010

just follow Rebecca's answer dated MAY 2008 Heather Sharpe was spot-on (best to read this with the parts infront of you and you will see how easy it is)only thing i would add:when clipping the outer casing back on (the part that say's hoover) start from door handle and work round to hinge. hope this helps you to.

john n, June 2010

I had the same problem with my HNWF7137-80 washer dryer, after many hours trying I couldn't figure out where to put the spring. Mirka's explanation worked a treat. Finally fitted the door handle in a couple of minutes. Many, many thanks!!!

MrsB, May 2010

Thanks to all of the related answers. With this help, 2 hours wasted last evening was replaced with 5 minutes work today and job done!! My wife can get on with the washing now!!

Paul M., March 2010

Thank you so much Mirka. I foolishly took the old snapped handle off without looking at how the spring was positioned and then spent an hour failing and getting annoyed. Your step by step guidance saved the day.

Rachel, February 2010

I opened the door using a credit card - slide it in near the handle to push the catch to open it. So as not to damage your credit card, it might be safer to use a new supermarket loyalty card!!

Chris, February 2010

This seems to be a running problem with this washing machine. Thanks to everyone who provided the answer to fix it - my hubby has now stopped swearing and I can wash again.

Carol, February 2010

easier than expected took 10 mins .take your time and note how all fitted before replacing.......

marc, January 2010

I stuck a knife behind what was left from the handle and pushed the handle of the knife towards the door to lever the tip of the knife out pushing the remainder of the door handle out in the darection it needed to go to open the door.

Mirka, January 2010

How did you open the door, mine has broken with the door locked shut! Any help would be appreciated....Many thanks

Les, January 2010

After taking the door off and unscrewing the 6 screws on the inside of the door prise apart the two plastic halves of the door. The door hinge will come off, remember its position.

For clarity - the spring has what I'm calling two "curly arms" and a "loop" (at the other end)...

Remove the old mechanism. Put the new plastic handle in together with the spring. The loop of the spring has to go through the hole of the door and the two curly arms have to point towards from the handle but are not touching it (the door latch at the other end prevents the arms from touching the handle...)

Place the door latch inbetween the plastic end of the handle and the loop of the spring and slide in the pin. The hook has to face outwards, with the spring on the rear of the hook.

Put on the plastic cover, (don't forget to put in the hinge first) start pressing it together from the hinges and leave just a little gap above the hook.

In the gap between the two halves you should see the curly arms of the spring. Push both of them back with a screwdriver til they are in the correct place (you'll see some conveniently placed plastic mouldings on the inside of the cover for arms to squeeze into) then finish pressing the two halves of the door together to close the gap.

Done. Hope this helps.

Mirka, January 2010

Nightmare...but thanks to these comments (especially john & alice and jimmy b) i got there after 2 hours.
the key points - 1. the hook should always point to the right, away from the door. 2. the spring is the tricky bit. the two legs should point vertically away from the door and lodge inbetween the two parts of the door. good luck

Huw Jenkins, January 2010

After half hour of swapping this round and swapping that and the door still not fully locking, i searched the net what a big help thanks very much, saved me a couple of hours judging by some of the comments. thanks.

MATT LINES, December 2009

Thanks for the advise it took me about 4 hours till i had a look on your web site many thanks the wife is very impressed with me.

Paul, November 2009

thanks for everyones advice. i was getting very frustrated not being able to get the required tension. The best method is to hold the latch in the closed position whilst re-attaching the two halves of the door. This ensures that the spring is correctly positioned to give the neccessary tension.
Now I can do some washing!

Jimmy B, September 2009

You will need, star head screwdrivers and a pair of pin nosed pliers. Remove the door from the machine. 2 holding screws and then lift up. Place the door glass down and take the 6 srews from the inside of the door. They are all star heads. Now carefully prise appart the two bits. The door hinge may come off make yourself aware of its orientation. Take a pic. You will see the handle mechanism. Take a pic if you can as the spring orientation is tricky. With pin nosed pliers carefully pull out the metal rod. The metal catch will drop out downwards. take out the broken handle with spring in correct orientation, take a pic. Slide in the replacement handle with the spring in the same orientation. Now replace handle and spring into origional position. From below slot in the metal catch, pointed bit outwards. Spring should sit pushing against flat side of metal catch (the other5 side to the pointed bit), with the hook like bits of the spring upwards. Push back in the metal rod, through housing spring and new handle. Now replace the top white part and check the door handle pulls out the catch and is replaced by the spring mechanism. If so screw back the 6 screws and replace the door.
If at any time the spring orientation confuses you refer to the pictures, I didnt take any and I wish I had. It took me a while to suss it.

Alberto Balsam, September 2009

We've just spend a good 4 hours on this problem!
All of your solutions are very helpful but we found the big problem was making sure that the arms of the spring go in between the plastic "collar/groove/section" bit (whatever you want to call it) on the inside of the inner door section when you fix them together. One of ours kept missing it & this was why we kept failing to get the full tension!
.. also be careful not to drop the metal hook through the catch hole on the washing machine.. this lead to an hour of taking the washing machine apart to retrieve it! lol

John & Alice, August 2009

oh my goodness thank you so much! 15 mins of frustration then a quick search on the net led me right to this site. It is all about the tension of that spring!

Emily, June 2009

what a relief! the advice to push the hook outwards to get the tension before fitting the door did it -thanks guys - took me over two hours before i hit on this :s

phil, April 2009

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I have been trying to fix this without knowing exactley where the spring went but thanks to all of you i can wash my clothes again.

jenny, April 2009

As others have mentioned, Paul is spot on. The hook faces to the right with the spring behind it. The key is getting the tension on the spring before fitting the door. Snap the door together until you have the right tension THEN screw it together and fit. I spent ages before finding this site - THANKS.

Malc., January 2009

We purchased a new door catch and spent ages trying to fit it. We look at all these different suggestion by people with the same problem and noticed how different they were.
We then decided to buy a complete new door kit, which came already assembled and only had to be fitted to the machine by the two screws! Absolutley brilliant, fitted in about 30 seconds, wife satisified, marriage saved and time to spare to sit down and have that much deserved New Year drink!

The part cost £31.97 including VAT and delivery, arrived within 2 days and purchased from 4hoover.co.uk Tel: 0870442 2510 or www.4hoover.co.uk

Martin & Sue Paine, January 2009

Thanks for the advice - we'd spent ages trying to fix it and your instructions are good but what you need to do which isn't clear is put the spring hook through the gap so the flat bit is behind the door lock hook. We'd spent ages trying to put the spring in the inside of the door, thinking it was hidden, when the door is put together you will see the bar of the spring holding the door lock in position.

Kate, November 2008

I too spent hours trying to re-attach the door and get the tension in the spring. I needed the hook pointing outwards, and the rest is as mentioned by Paul

Dan, November 2008

I would just like to thank all of you who have taken the time to give solutions here. I too spent at least 2 hours trying to assemble the new handle and spring. It is amazing how many different ways that spring will fit convincingly and still be wrong! Paul's solution was spot on and within 10 seconds my door was fixed. Thanks.

Mark, November 2008

The hook definitely faces outwards with the spring to the rear as discribed by 'Paul'. The secret is to push the hook forward as far as possible (into the 'locked' position') and to re-join the two clipping door halves starting by the hook and finishing near the hinge. Secure the front screws either side of the hook first and then the others (any order). This gives the correct amount of tension to the door clip/handle. If you have a new kit use all the new parts. Good luck! took me about 10 - 15 mins.

Sue, October 2008

The hook faces outwards, with the spring on the rear of the hook. the springs curl inwards. I tried many ways (2hrs or more), even if you fit it this way you dont always get the spring tension, you have to wedge the hook forwards into the locking position before assembling the 2 halves of the door, so the springs locate in the correct place. Tip!!!! dont screw the 2 halves of door together until you have tried to close the door, just clip it together. I put the hook facing inwards as described previously and the door wouldnt open at all. Luckily i could just unclip the door front and disassemble it.

Paul, September 2008

I am having exactly the same problem and it is also driving me mad!! Which side of the hook should the spring be?

Jamie, August 2008

cant do it, still floppy driving us mad

sharon, June 2008

Heather Sharpe got it spot on, locking hook faces inwards toward washing maching with 'arrow head' to the right. The bar of the spring fits to the left of the locking hook (opposit side of arrow head) with the arms of the spring pointing upwards with the curled bit facing the handle. The handle will feel floppy until you refit the cover then you will get the tension you need. Good luck, hope this helps you.

Rebecca, May 2008

I have had the same problem and spent ages trying to tension the spring. The spring gets tensioned when the outer door shroud is screwed onto the rear section again. Also the door catch needs to be turned so that it latches onto the outer side of the catch

John, March 2008

Just fixed ours, exactly the same problem. Locking hook faces in towards washing machine. Spring is on the backside of the hook, you should see a mark on the hook where the spring was previously, the arms of the spring to point out with the curled bit pointing inwards and left towards the handle.

Heather Sharpe, February 2008