When the bearings start to howl on your front loader you have options.
1) Replace the wash machine. This machine was (only?) ~10 years old. It has worked great and the bearings were the only thing wrong with it.
2) Replace the tub. The manufacturer sells the tub as a service item. The cost is in the range of $500 including shipping.
3) Replace the seal and bearings. The manufacturer won't sell you the parts but enterprising souls will for less than $100. The project took several hours to complete but the education and sense of accomplishment have an intangible value. When someone asks what you did last weekend you could actually have an answer.
Removing the tub from the washer chassis was straight forward and step by step. It took the longest time. Probably two hours. I am sure the second one would be much faster.
This photo shows the condition of the seal. You can see the water has started to cause rust on the 'wrong' side of the seal.
I wanted to calculate how many miles were on the bearings after 10 years. Let's assume the washer spins at 1000 rpm and each load includes 20mins of spin time. For a family of six, we probably have two loads each day or would if we spread out the loads like that.
1000 rev/min * 20 min * 2 loads/day * 365 day/yr * 10 yr = 146000000 revs
Further assume 0.3m rolling radius.
146000000 revs * 2 * pi * 0.3m = 275064000 m = 170916 mi
The bearings and seal are in the bottom of the tub. You pound out the bearings just like you do (or used to do) on the knuckle of your car. It takes some elbow grease but it's not difficult to do.
Re-assembly is simply a reverse of the removal.
