Removing inner drum from a Hoover washer-dryer

[Avocet]

My dearly beloved has managed to kill another washing machine by not checking the kids' pockets before putting the washing in!!!! This is a Hoover WDYN 856DG80 washer dryer. Taking the paddles out and peering in with a torch, I can see the ribbon from a sports medal between the inner and outer drums. I can touch it with a bit of bent coathanger, but I can't pull it out because the end with the medal on it seems to be wrapped around the shaft that the drum rotates on. The medal itself is dangling somewhere round the back of the drum, close to the shaft between the back of the inner drum and the outer drum. Needless to say, it makes a hell of a racket when the machine is running.

I can't see any way to get the inner drum out. It looks like the two halves of the plastic outer drum were glued (welded?) together after the inner stainless drum was put in. Is that correct, or is there a way to remove it?

 

[rsgaz]

It looks like the two halves of the plastic outer drum were glued (welded?) together after the inner stainless drum was put in. Is that correct,

Yep, they're ultrasonically welded together. I dismantled/destroyed my Indesit machine just recently to check if what I thought was wrong with it was actually the problem (I'd already forked out for a new machine and was just checking out of interest).

What I did find though, which might help you, is that if you remove the belt pulley at the back, then the stainless drum has a heck of a lot more free play to move about inside the plastic drum (i.e. the shaft can slide back and forward inside the bearing) which just might give you enough space at the bearing end to release the medal strap.

Skip to 0:40 - then ignore everything from 1:21 on where he simply unscrews the two halves of the plastic drum!! That would be too simple now wouldn't it!

Gaz

 

[Avocet]

Thanks Gaz, That's a good idea. It looks like I can get maybe half an inch of movement before the inner drum hits the outer, so I'll give that a go tonight.

 

[Avocet]

Oh well, worth a try I guess! Took the pulley off, beat the living daylights out of the splined shaft via a block of wood, and despite turning the wood to pulp, couldn't actually get it to move at all! Tried pricing-up a replacement drum assembly, but they are no longer available. Looks like we're going white goods shopping this weekend!