OK, I've just muddled through this. I am not qualified in any form to answer this professionally. Turn the power OFF. First of all, order a bearing kit. You get two bearings and a rubber seal. Take all the screws on the back off. Use a screwdriver to prize out the white plastic things. Then lift the back off it's mini hinges. Next, there is a big cross member with 4 screws. Remove this. Then remove the drive belt. Next, you take a plastic cover off the bolt in the middle of the big round gear that turns the drum. Then remove the bolt. Using a rubber mallet, whack the middle and wiggle and pull the big round gear off (it's the one that looks like a steering wheel off a car). Next it's time to take the motor off (DID YOU TURN THE POWER OFF?). There are two bolts - one on each side of the motor. I had to use a hinged ratchet drive to undo the one on the rear. Wiggle the motor off the supporting bolt and put it on the base of the machine. The wires are short and the ground came off when I did this - not a problem - just see where the wires come from and pop them back if required. Now to remove the spider. Take the three bolts out of the middle. Then remove the two bottom spider bolts leaving the whole thing suspended by the top bolt. The spider is heavy. You now need to remove the top bolt. The spider is resting on the spindle. Whack the spindle with the rubber mallet and pull it towards you. It's a pig to get off, but it comes. Now the real fun begins. There are two bearings to get out. Mine had fused with the heat. I tried hammers, bearing pullers and everything - however it was stuck solid. Eventually, I put a cutting disk on my dremel and cut the bearing out. It left a few scars on the spider, but I figure that it is still so snug, it's make no odds. Put the new bearings back in the spider. Use a block of wood and your rubber mallet to tap them back in place - ONLY TAP around the outer edge of the bearings - tapping on the inner edge causes damage. Then put everything back as before, but in reverse - remember to put the top spider bolt in first. Hope this helps...
Clifford., October 2004