Why does the belt fly off the washing machine drum?

The belt on a washing machine is the connecting link between the motor and the drum, or rather the drive. When turned on, the motor begins to rotate and, with the help of a drive, rotates the drum. This is the operating principle of a washing machine. But sometimes it happens that the belt flies off the drum. Why is this happening?

Causes

The situation when the washing machine stopped working, and an autopsy showed that the drive belt had fallen off, can arise for several reasons:

Under heavy load, when the machine operates intensively, the belt may fly off its drum. If this is an isolated case, then no need to worry, just install it in place and the machine will continue to work perfectly.
If the situation repeats periodically, this may be due to the fact that the belt has stretched a little and flies off when rotating quickly. To fix the problem, you need to replace it with a new one.
The situation may arise due to a loose motor mount, which changes its position and leads to weakening of the drive. The situation can be easily corrected if the engine is securely strengthened.
The belt may fall off if the pulley is loosened. Fasten the pulley well - and the machine is ready for washing again.
The tension may weaken due to deformation of the pulley or shaft. Such a malfunction requires replacement of the deformed part.
The shaft is attached to the machine body via a cross. If it is damaged, it must be replaced.
Worn bearings can cause the rotational motion of the drum to become distorted, causing the weakened belt to fly off.
Infrequent use of the washing machine causes the drive belt to dry out. When you turn on the device, it may break.

Is it possible to restore the belt?

To repair the part, you will need two small bars that will act as a vice. They must be tightly twisted together. They should be wider than the belt. You need to prepare acetone, a screwdriver, self-tapping screws, a penknife, sandpaper and Moment type glue. To restore a poly V-belt, proceed as follows:

clean the part with water and acetone, especially carefully where gluing is expected;
in places where there is a tear, cut off the uneven edge. Make sure that the cut is strictly perpendicular to the side edges of the belt;
The part is placed with the wedges up and 10–12 wedges are carefully cut off along one edge. This is convenient to do with a sharp penknife. The cut area is covered with sandpaper;
then the belt is turned over with the teeth down and both edges are brought together so that 10–12 teeth are in the place of the cut teeth;
lubricate the area where the old teeth were located and press the ends of the belt tightly;
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Bars are placed below and above the gluing area and secured with self-tapping screws so that the belt itself is not touched;
leave the belt to dry.

Note! With this repair method, the belt becomes shorter, so it is not suitable for those models of washing machines in which the tension cannot be changed by moving the motor.

It is better to entrust gluing work to a professional craftsman. Dealing with them with your own hands is not easy. V-belts can also be glued together. This requires acetone, a construction stapler and Moment glue. The part is restored like this:

cut off areas of rupture evenly;
both edges are cleaned with acetone, glue is applied to them and tightly joined to one another;
without moving the belt, secure the area of the rupture with staples of a construction stapler in several places;
When the glue is completely dry, the staples are removed.

Before installing the repaired belt in the washing machine, you need to check how firmly the adhesive has set. To do this, stretch the edges of the part. It must withstand the application of force. At the same time, the service life of a glued belt is much shorter than that of a new part. It can last for several months.

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1 reader comment

06/13/2021 at 19:35
Alexander:
How to drain water from a machine without a belt?
Answer

Is it worth doing the repairs yourself?

Important! If you are far from repairing household appliances and have never done this before, then it is best to trust professionals who will fix the problem quickly and efficiently.

Any user can inspect and diagnose a washing machine. Depending on the malfunction detected, decide whether to seek help from a professional technician or deal with it yourself.

Before deciding to fix the problem, you should make sure whether the warranty period has expired? Manufacturers of equipment from well-known brands, such as Indesit, Samsung, Electrolux, provide a warranty period of one to three years.

If you decide to turn to professionals for help, then it is better to contact a service center. Why should this be done?

A guarantee is provided for the repair work carried out.
Replacement of components, if necessary, will be made from “original” parts.
The competence of the craftsmen is beyond doubt.

And the master you find through an ad will not give any guarantees. He will replace the faulty part, but it is possible that it will be the wrong brand. How long the car will work after such repairs is also unknown.

Choice to replace

How to properly install a belt on a washing machine? First you need to purchase a similar product that is suitable for your SMA.

Models with asynchronous motors use a wedge type. Its cross section is compared to a triangle or trapezoid. Due to the rigidity of the material, they rarely tear. You can determine their number and brand by the designation on the outside.

A feature of the installation of a wedge-like product is considered to be strong tension and a slight deflection in the middle part.

For the SM commutator motor, poly-wedge products are used. Consists of several toothed wedges.

How to tension the drive belt in this case? The installation differs from the wedge one - it is not tensioned so much. However, in some models of narrow machines, this poly-wedge type can be put on very tightly. Therefore, you will need to use more force for installation.

To buy a belt in a specialized store, just name the make and model of the car, after which the seller will offer a suitable option.

Both installing a broken belt and replacing a drive belt in a washing machine is not at all difficult, and the work is done in the same way.

First, complete the preparatory phase. Unplug the washing machine. Close the water inlet valve. Prepare a container to collect water. After unscrewing the intake hose from the back wall, drain the remaining water into a container. Now you can start disassembling.

To do this, take a Phillips screwdriver and unscrew the screws around the perimeter of the back cover of the SMA. Putting the cover aside, inspect the belt, as well as nearby parts - wiring and sensors - for damage.

If everything is in order, it's time to learn how to change the belt. Replacement of wedge and poly wedge products is carried out in the same way. For this:

Pull the product first onto the electric motor shaft, and then onto the drum pulley.
While doing this, pull the belt with one hand and turn the pulley with the other.

Now you know how to insert the belt into the washing machine, so carefully inspect the installation location - it should be located clearly in the groove. All that remains is to reinstall the back panel, secure it with bolts and connect the SM to communications and the network.

Start the car and check the functionality of the new belt.

As you can see, you can change the belt yourself at home. Be careful, because some products are so tight that you will have to apply a lot of force to tighten them.

A video on the topic will help you:

Increasingly, manufacturers are giving preference to direct drive motors, as these motors have a long service life and are characterized by higher efficiency. At the same time, motors with torque transmission to a belt remain relevant. They are easier to repair and are not so sensitive to voltage surges. The main function of the belt is to transmit torque from the motor shaft to the drum of the washing machine.

As a result of prolonged use, the belt may wear out or break completely. In this case, the motor will idle - the motor shaft will rotate, but the drum will stand still. To replace the belt, you will need to disassemble the washing machine, so we recommend contacting our service center - professionals in their field will return your “assistant” to operation in a short time.

How to install the belt yourself

Replacing a belt on a washing machine is a simple matter that even a beginner can handle:

When repairing any electrical equipment, it is necessary to disconnect the device from the electrical network.
To carry out inspection and diagnostics, it is necessary to remove the rear panel of the machine, which is secured with bolts.
If the drive belt has come off, you should put it back in place. First put it on the motor shaft, and then pull it onto the pulley. Initially, only part of the circle, and then, turning the pulley, tighten it completely. It should fit snugly into the groove. Be sure to rotate the pulley several times to ensure the correct position of the belt.
If the belt stretches or breaks, you need to purchase a new one. You can choose the right belt for your washing machine in a specialized store or service center.
Close the back panel, securing it with bolts.

Causes of belt breakdowns in a car

The main reasons that may result in a breakdown are presented in the table:

Cause	Explanation
Overload	You cannot put a lot of things in the washing machine. It is best to wash in two steps than to then spend a lot of money on fixing broken components
Unreliable fastening	Initial installation with problems may affect the operating condition. This is due to damage to the drum pulley, which disables the belt.
Deformation	If you move the unit and hit it against other furniture, the belt most often falls off. It must be repaired immediately before starting the wash.

The process of self-repair for various causes of breakdown

The repair process directly depends on its causes. Modern technology is able to recognize the nature of the breakdown and report it. Otherwise, try to listen to your home appliances. Belt failures are accompanied by characteristic tapping sounds. And if the drum does not spin, then the malfunction is obvious.

Overloading the washing machine

If you were careless and the washing machine was rebooted, then most likely it is worth checking the correct location of the belt in the rear wall of the unit. When faced with the fact that a component has simply fallen, return it to its place without using improvised tools. The correct location can be seen in the photo.

Unreliable fastening, how to fix the problem?

The belt on the washing machine constantly falls off due to its improper fastening.
This is due to a malfunction of the drum pulley. The accessory is a wheel that secures the belt and ensures proper functioning of the drum. The issue can be resolved by completely replacing the belt and pulleys. To do this, simply pull the unit out into the open and unscrew the back panel. This will open up a view of the rear parts of the machine that need repair.

Such a wheel is fixed on one or more screws that must be unscrewed for replacement. The next step is to remove the component along with the belt. Taking into account the model and features of your washing machine, the old part is replaced with a new one.

After tightening the drum pulley tightly, proceed to correctly install the belt. It should lie as shown in the photo. Take the time to correctly select such a component, because failure to match the unit model will lead to new malfunctions.

Deformations and how to avoid them

When purchasing a new washing machine, make sure that the equipment is transported correctly. You should also be careful when installing, especially in small spaces. Any physical influence leads to breakdowns of various types.

It is best to transport it in a special box where the device is secured with foam rubber or thick paper. This way the machine will be intact even if it collides with other objects.

Most often, the belt breaks in a washing machine. Because of this, there is a need to buy a new one. It is necessary to replace the broken part before the first start. This will prevent malfunctions with serious consequences.

Why does the belt come off?

If your device was recently purchased and you operate it according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, then the washing machine will work flawlessly.
The belt in a new washing machine can fly off only if the component itself is of poor quality or you have loaded the drum more than the required amount and the machine cannot cope with a large amount of laundry. From here there are spins, and the result is a flying belt. However, if the situation is systematically repeated, then it is necessary to think about professional diagnostics in order to identify the reasons for such behavior. Only an experienced technician will be able to establish the true cause and efficiently eliminate the malfunction. If we talk about the reasons, it is necessary to highlight the following:

Weak fastening of the drum pulley - the driving mechanisms are subject to heavy loads, so their fastenings can simply become loose. If the pulley fastening is loose and it “moves” from side to side, the belt will inevitably fly off, get jammed or completely break. This may lead to a situation where the drum is stuck.

The motor mounts are unreliable - due to the fact that the washing machine produces vibrations during operation, the motor mounts, as well as the pulley mounts, may become loose. The belt tension will be insufficient, and the result will be the belt coming off. To verify this, you need to unscrew the back cover of the washing machine and check the belt and surrounding components. If necessary, you can tighten the fasteners, tighten the belt back, and then check the operation of the unit.

Deformation of the shaft or pulley - in the first case of slipping, the belt may bend the pulley, after which it will need to be replaced, otherwise there is a high probability of damage to other important components of the device. This can also happen to the shaft. Deformation of one of the components will in any case cause incorrect operation of the mechanisms.

Natural wear of bearings - wear of the bearings causes the drum to skew, as a result of which the belt will fly off. To correctly determine the cause, call a washing machine repairman.

The belt is not tensioned correctly - replacing the belt, although not a difficult task, however, requires certain knowledge, otherwise it is fraught with rallies. The belt must be correctly tensioned on the pulley and with a certain tension. If the belt breaks, it may have been incorrectly selected when replacing it. To choose the right belt, it is recommended to seek professional help, or take a worn product with you to the store. The seller, judging by the labeling, will help you with the right choice.

The drum cross is damaged - if the cross is damaged or weakened, an imbalance may occur, causing the belt to fly off.

Rare use - oddly enough, due to rare use of a household appliance, the belt may break. This occurs due to the rubber component drying out, cracking, and losing elasticity.

As you can see, there can be many reasons for a belt breaking or slipping. Without special skills, knowledge and equipment, it will not be easy to establish the true cause. If you don’t want any problems with your washing machine in the future, then trust the professionals. This will guarantee the correct and uninterrupted operation of your home assistant.

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The belt is an important part of the washing machine, thanks to it the drum rotates. Using a belt, the drum pulley is connected to the engine. This design is used in all washing machines, and if the belt stretches, falls off or breaks, your machine will need immediate repair.