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...

[redtrummy]

You have to try! Ours is 17 years plus, Have changed the dampers on that and the motor bushes a couple of times. The soap dispenser valves are now playing up but it probably is not worth replacing them at this stage. In 40 years plus this is our second machine, pity the dishwashers have not been as reliable -but that's another story