Service manual request:Bearing failure on Samsung 4-year-old front loader

[Ananda]

Manufacturer: Service bulletin request: Samsung front loading bearing failure WF45R6100**/US, WF45R6300**/US, wf45r6100ac/us

Type of Appliance: Front loading washer

Model Number: WF45R6100AW/US-00

Have you validated the model number at an online parts site like Repair Clinic? (yes or no): Yes

Have you watched the video on how to search for manuals and have you searched the Downloads section prior to posting this request? (yes or no): Yes

Samsung announced that they changed the part from version 0 of these front loading washers to version one and onward they did not say why. I have a customer with a failing bearing that rumbles and gets really loud when it spins but there's no play in it yet. There must be an explanation for why they change the parts. Is there a service bulletin for this? The problem is definitely coming from inside the tub near the bearing to shaft interface. You can hear the rumble when you turn it by hand.

 

I saw their parts change bulletin but they didn't say why: 

WF45R6100**/US, WF45R6300**/US, wf45r6100ac/us

https://appliantology.org/files/file/8980-samsung-washer-front-load-washer-parts-change-notice-service-bulletin/

Edited October 12, 2024 by Ananda
Adding a screenshot of the parts changed so people don't respond to this bulletin request without reading the parts change

[Vance R]

On 10/10/2024 at 5:23 PM, Ananda said:

I saw their parts change bulletin but they didn't say why: 

There is no reason it is just a newer version. The service bulletin is to educate techs to order correct parts base on version numbers of a particular model. Pretty standard for samsung and lg to have several different version of the same model. 

[Ananda]

9 hours ago, Vance R said:

There is no reason it is just a newer version. The service bulletin is to educate techs to order correct parts base on version numbers of a particular model. Pretty standard for samsung and lg to have several different version of the same model. 

I understand what a parts change bulletin is for. But there's obviously a reason why they changed these parts. And there's always a reason why they change every part that they change: they're solving problems with their original designs. They're not explaining what that reason is because they're embarrassed about their bad design on the first version of that washer. I believe the reason is their bad design causes early bearing failure.  There should be a service bulletin about this problem. The parts they changed are the basket assembly including the shaft, the bearing, and the washer that goes between them.

If you closely inspect the details in this parts change bulletin, you'll notice that they did not change the rear half of the of the tub which is the physical outer interface for the bearing. They also didn't change the front half of the tub. This says to me that you should always use the new tub/washer/bearing parts even on version zero of these models, because the bearing and basket will fit into the old tub on the original version of this model. Because they're using the same tub Parts on the newer versions of these models. And they obviously improved the design of their bearing and their basket for a good reason.

Edited October 12, 2024 by Ananda

[vee8power]

24 minutes ago, Ananda said:

They're not explaining what that reason is because they're embarrassed about their bad design on the first version of that washer.

Of course, they're not going to take the blame unless there's no way to avoid it. Big companies don't work like that. That's why we need lawyers.

[Vance R]

It could be they just used another jobber to build or found a way to build it better (less expensive). It could also be they got a bad batch of bearings and/or seals. The list is endless. Typically they don't share this information.