my washing machine has started banging very loudly when spinning fast. i took the back off and a lump of the counter weight (concrete slab) had broken off and one of the bolts which secure it had come off. i removed them and when i put the machine on again the noise was even louder and the lip of the drum on the bottom started glowing bright orange. anybody any ideas? they would be greatly appreciated.

ben h, May 2009

My washing machine had a similiar fault in which the counterweight had torn itself free ripping a hand sized piece from the outer drum. I had to bolt a heavy plastic patch over the hole and insert three new 3 inch bolts with the heads on the inside of the outer drum. It was necessary to make a temporary opening in the drum to fit the two rear bolts. I used shake proof nuts to tighten the weight down but need to retighten these as the the weight settles down on its new mountings. New drum assembly for this machine is about £138 plus VAT. Make sure that the inner drum can rotate freely without fowling the bolt heads.

Stanley, May 2009