To change the bearing(s) and/or seal on a Simpson 45S100C 5.5kg Front loading washing machine:
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1) Disconnect from the power, water etc. and find your self some space;
2) Remove the lid (two screws at back of machine) and the back panel. I also took off the concrete weight on top to give myself some more room and less weight to move;
3) Remove the fan belt;
4) Unscrew the bolt on the end of the drive shaft. This holds the pulley in place;
5) The pulley is pushed on to a V-bushing. It may be very hard to get off. I found the easiest way was to put a large screwdriver behind the pulley hub and the 'spider' bracket behind. Then use leverage to pop it off. The V-bushing should then slide off the shaft;
6) Remove the three bolts that hold the ends of the spider to the drum. I found these very hard to get moving and they are also awkwardly placed. Use a socket set and you may need a bit of rust-remover/degreaser (WD-40 in Australia);
7) Remove the three bolts holding the central part of the spider to the drum;
8) Tap the end of the drive shaft with a hammer while pulling on the spider. The whole spider and the bearings should slide off the shaft;
9) The spider holds two bearings (one next to the drum and one next to the pulley). I’d recommend replacing both. In my case and apparently in most cases it is the bearing closest to the drum that gets damaged, usually due to water leaking through the drive-shaft seal. The two bearings are different sizes 6205 and 6206. When ordering replacements, I’d recommend rubber sealed ‘RS’ bearings. There is also a shaft seal that sits between the larger bearing and the tub. The seal comes from Simpson ($25). The bearing can be bought from any bearing supply company and are about half the cost of the ‘official’ bearings, and probably better quality. I paid $16 for the 6205 and $20 for the 6206;
10) Knock out the old bearings. The correct way to do this is with bearing pullers etc, but I used a long steel rod (one of the transport locking rods that new machine’s come with) and a hammer (not even rubber). First knock out the large bearing and the drive shaft seal by inserting the rod through from the other bearing side and hit firmly while alternating the position of the force around the case of the bearing. I propped the spider against a brick to ensure the bearing and seal could pop out freely. Now turn around and repeat for the other bearing;
11) Clean up the spider and shaft, ensuring you remove any rust and debris;
12) Tap the new bearings into place. Again I used a hammer and firm tapping around the ring of the bearing;
13) Tap in the new drive shaft seal;
14) Reassemble.
HAL2100, April 2009
