Bosch washing machine

[Seeker]

My washing machine is 13 or 14 years old and has started to clunk when spinning, particularly on start of spin.

My friend persuaded me to take a look at it rather than buy a new one (my preferred option). Like many machines it barely fits the hole it resides in plus it is just inside from an entrance door. I was unsure whether it had a water isolation valve, too, so there was a great reluctance on my part to work on it.

Anyway, today was the day and, praise be, there was an isolation valve. I assumed the dampers would be the culprit but when I disconnected one end they seemed remarkably resistant to being pushed and pulled. They are friction devices btw not a gas strut.

So I'm no further on. I suppose I will have to buy new dampers just to see if my "remarkably resistant" measurement was accurate or not. Genuine Bosch dampers are £66 each or aftermarket ones start at about £12!

I do know they are a pain to change because one end is bolted (yay!) but the drum end has a plastic pin that needs to be drilled/cut out (why?), naturally there are drum hoses in the way that stop access.

[Sir Trev]

Do you have a reliable indie repair engineer you could try? One of my neighbours runs his own company fixing white goods, but then you're probably a bit off his patch...