Disassembling an Indesit washing machine
Indesit produces budget-friendly appliances with short lifespans. When something finally breaks, you have to decide whether to fix it yourself or call in a professional. If you decide to fix it yourself, you first need to figure out how to disassemble an Indesit washing machine. And not just disassemble it, but disassemble it so you can reassemble it and get it working again. We decided to discuss how.
What will you need?
Indesit washing machines are very similar in design to Ariston washing machines, but there are differences between them, and as always, these differences are in the details. If you're interested in the process disassembling an Ariston washing machineYou can read about this in one of our publications. But let's not get ahead of ourselves; let's first look at the tools we'll need for the job. Generally, we can get by with a small toolbox containing:
- open-end wrenches from 8 to 18 mm;
- set of heads and ratchets;
- pliers;
- pliers;
- screwdrivers of various configurations and sizes;
- a small set of socket wrenches;
- multimeter;
- hammer;
- hacksaw for metal;
- colored markers;
- awl.
If you don't need to repair electrical equipment, you don't need a multimeter; you can get by with a regular tester, just in case.
Having collected all the above tools, you can proceed to the next stage of preparation for work.
Initial stage
What's next? Next, we'll need to decide on a workspace—specifically, where we'll disassemble the washing machine and organize the disassembled parts so we don't lose anything we need. The ideal place is a workshop, or at least a shed or garage. If you don’t have one, or the other, or the third, then you’ll have to disassemble the car right in the apartment, but you need to properly prepare the area.
- Clear a 2x2 meter area of the floor from carpets and other furnishings.
- Cover the floor area with rags and newspapers.
- Turn off the washing machine and move it to the disassembly site.
- Remove the powder tray and set it aside.
- Unscrew the debris filter manually and drain the remaining water from the tank. Set the filter aside.
With the tools, work area, and Indesit machine prepared, we can begin disassembling. First, remove the top of the machine, specifically the lid. There are two screws on the back, in the upper right and left corners of the machine; remove them with a Phillips-head screwdriver. Then, slide the lid back and lift it up.
Next, we'll remove the service hatch cover ourselves. It's located on the back of the Indesit washing machine. To do this, you'll need to remove the six screws that hold it in place.
How to get to the tank?
By opening the service hatch and the top cover, we immediately gain access to some parts of the washing machine, which we should take advantage of.
- Remove the belt from the pulley. To do this, grab the drum pulley with one hand and the belt with the other, and turn the pulley until the belt "jumps off."
Inspect the rear wall of the tank, which is located directly behind the pulley. If there are traces of oil or rusty streaks, the bearings are definitely damaged and will require complete disassembly to replace them.
- We remove the wires from the contacts of the heating element and the temperature sensor, unscrew the central nut and carefully pull out the heating element. You can leave the heating element in the tank for now, but then you need to be extra careful when disassembling it so as not to break off one of the protruding contacts.
- Remove the wires and connectors from the washing machine motor. Use a ratchet and a 10mm socket, or a long 10mm socket wrench, and unscrew the two bolts securing the motor. Remove the motor and set it aside.
- Let's move up. A heavy counterweight is secured with three bolts above the top wall of the tank; it needs to be removed. Use the same socket wrench to unscrew these bolts, then pull the counterweight off and set it aside. Be careful when disassembling, do not drop the counterweight on your foot.
The tank is now almost empty, but there are still a few small things to do, like removing the control panel. First, we unscrew the fasteners located near the powder receptacle. Then, we remove another screw from the front left corner of the housing. Now the control panel is held in place only by relatively weak latches.
We pull the panel up, and it pops out of its latches. In this case, the technicians have only one recommendation: don't pull the panel too hard, otherwise you'll rip the wires and cause further problems with the Indesit washing machine. We disconnect the wires going to the inlet valve and set the control panel aside, letting it hang off the edge by the remaining wires.
Let's tackle the hatch seal. This large rubber band is secured with a special clamp; it needs to be removed without puncturing the seal. What do we do?
- We find the cuff clamp.
- Carefully pry it out with a flat-head screwdriver.
- We go around in a circle and find the mount.
- We unscrew the fastening and remove the clamp.
- We tuck the cuff deeper into the machine body.
What do we do next? Next, we go around to the back of the washing machine and unscrew the screw where the inlet hose connects to the machine. After that, we'll be able to pull out the inlet valve and the detergent drawer.
Important! When removing the powder receptacle, be sure to disconnect its hose, which is connected to the receptacle from below and held in place by a clamp.
We disconnect the wires from the water level sensor and remove the sensor itself from the plastic mount. Be extremely careful not to damage the mount or the sensor itself, otherwise you will have to buy and replace these parts, which you still need to find.
Now lay the washing machine on its left side. The Indesit washing machine has no bottom, so we have immediate access to the drain pipe and the racks. These are the elements that will prevent us from removing the drum later, so they must be removed; further disassembly is impossible without them.
- We remove the two clamps that secure the drain pipe.
- We pull off the pipe.
- Using a 10 mm socket wrench, unscrew the screws that hold the racks and remove them.
- We put the car back on its feet and we can consider that we have completed the main stage of disassembly; all that remains is to remove and disassemble the tank.
We disassemble the tank
Disassembling the washing machine continues, we remove the tank. In this case, the Indesit washing machine's drum is non-detachable, but in order to change the bearings, we need to remove it and disassemble it. When removing the tank, ask someone to help, as removing it alone is not only difficult but also inconvenient. Pull the tank off the springs and carefully lift it up, removing it from the housing.
Note: When removing the tank, be careful with the wires and the cuff to avoid damaging anything.
Place the removed tank vertically, with the factory-welded seam facing up. This is what we'll be sawing. Take a hacksaw and begin sawing precisely along the seam. Be extremely careful, as we'll need to seal the tank halves and bolt them together later. Let's be clear: disassembling an Indesit washing machine's tank is a very painstaking job; it could take up to six hours straight to cut it, but you'll be pleased with the results.
By cutting the tank apart, we can remove the front half and discard it immediately, while the rear half remains attached to the drum shaft along with the bearings. Our task is to remove the rear half of the tank.
- We unscrew the nut holding the drum pulley.
- We remove the pulley from the shaft.
- We screw a bolt of a suitable diameter into the thread (just not the one that was on the car).
- We lean a wooden block against this bolt.
- We hit the bolt through the block with a hammer. You need to hit hard enough for the tank half to come off the shaft.
Once you've managed to knock half the tank off the shaft, you're left with a drum with a shaft protruding from the back, onto which the seals and bearings are mounted. To remove the bearings, you have two options: first, find an automotive bearing puller and try to remove the bearings yourself; second, you can bring the drum to a mechanic and, for a small fee, have the local mechanics remove the old bearings for you.
Once you've removed the old bearings, you can easily press new bearings and seals onto the shaft, then reassemble the drum and the entire washing machine in reverse order. We sincerely hope that disassembling your Indesit washing machine goes smoothly. Happy repairing!
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But if the pulley nut won't come off, what should I do? How do I remove it? And is the drum shaft threaded right-handed or left-handed? There's no mention of that.
I broke two bits, then took a more powerful soldering iron and placed it on the bolt head to heat it up for about 20-30 minutes, breaking down the locking adhesive. Then I took a hex bit and wrench, and the screw actually came loose without any effort. I'd broken two bits before that, the threads were right-handed, and after the repair, I installed a hex bolt.
To save six hours, I cut the tank with a multi-purpose machine (for some reason they call it a chisel at Leroy) with a segment attachment at the lowest speed (water is a must, otherwise the plastic will melt). I added fluid literally drop by drop into the cut with a 20cc syringe. The whole thing took about an hour.
How to glue a tank?