My washing machine is making a terrible noise and banging ?

Move the clothes around inside, sounds like the load is unbalanced.

Lilac
April 2009

Possibly a problem with the damping system - shock absorbers at the bottom of the drum which are meant to minimize oscillations. They're two main types, either sliding pistons or a sprung friction pads which bear onto friction plates welded to the drum. Whichever type they are, they're probably worn out and needing replaced. They suppress the oscillations of the drum when in spin mode so the machine doesnt hop around the floor. Friction dampers are like little square brake pads attached to sprung arms mounted on the machine frame which bear onto friction plates attached to the drum. Any excess movement of the drum is dissipated by friction between the two surfaces. If they are the friction type, prise the sprung arms apart with a length of wood, and replace the pads.
The other type is a sliding damper, which is like a scaled down version of a shock absorber in a car. Some have inline springs to support the drum, but mostly they are simple sliders which suppress the oscillations by the friction of the slider sleeves, flow of damping oil through a restricted valve or restricted airflow within the unit. They are generally mounted with nuts or bolts at the top and bottom of the unit. If the machine sounds normal on the wash but starts to get very loud when it comes to the spin, possibly one of the balance weights is loose. It only has to move a few centimeters and this will cause the machine to sound excessively noisy.
If the doorseal appears twisted, the machine has jumped out of its suspension - generally the result of the machine going into spin with an unbalanced load. Once you have replaced the drum in its suspension, check the motor or tacho and possibly the timer ( any of these would cause the motor to go into premature spin). If there is a rattling sound when you move the drum backwards and forwards it could possibly be that one of the top springs have snapped. This would cause the pulley to rub on the back of the cabinet when washing, which would then make a scraping noise as well. Replacement springs are available from spares stockists.

Repair and service your own washing machine. Go to www.2ndwave.co.uk/manual.html

dannyboy
April 2009

It sounds like the bearings that support the revolving drum have failed. Open the door, grasp the drum front top and bottom and try to move it up and down. If you can feel some free play, then this is the problem. The noise is actually the inner drum, that you can see and spins, making contact with the outer drum, that you can't.

John
April 2009