Appliance Spares
Quick answer: A drum overhaul kit bundles the parts that all have to come out together on a front loader bearing job — bearings, lip seal, drive belt and door seal. It is worth buying as a kit when you are already opening the machine, because the labour is the expensive part and every one of those components is at the same age. It is not worth it if your fault is only the belt or only the seal, and it is not worth it at all on a machine whose drum or spider arm is already damaged.
Last updated August 2026
Kit or single part: the decision
A drum bearing kit typically costs $50-$59 AUD (median $56.95) and suspension parts $45-$70 AUD (median $54.95), as at August 2026 — which sets the floor. A full overhaul kit sits above that because it carries the seal and belt as well.
| Your situation | Buy |
|---|---|
 Roaring or rumbling on spin, machine otherwise sound, you are opening it up | A full overhaul kit — Hisense HWFY7514 or Haier HWF75AW1 |
 Bearing noise, but belt and door seal are recent | A lip seal and bearings kit only |
| Leak from the door, drum quiet | Door seal alone — do not open the drum |
| Drum will not turn, no noise history | Belt alone; check the motor and controller first |
| Grinding plus play in the drum when you rock it | Stop. Check the spider arm before buying anything |
The principle is simple: buy the kit when the machine is coming apart anyway, and buy the single part when it is not. Everything below is about telling those two situations apart.
What is actually in an overhaul kit
A front loader’s outer tub is sealed around the shaft that drives the drum. Behind that seal sit two bearings. When the lip seal hardens and lets water past, the water reaches the bearings, they rust, and the roar begins. By the time you hear it, the seal is always gone too — which is why bearings and lip seal are never sold separately in practice.
The kits add the two parts that have to be disturbed to get there. The drive belt comes off to remove the drum pulley, and on many machines the door seal has to come out to split the tub. Both are rubber, both are the same age as everything else, and both are far cheaper in the kit than as a second repair six months later.
Fisher & Paykel and Haier share manufacturing platforms, and several budget front loaders share theirs, so kits are often listed against a lead model with siblings behind it. Match your model code rather than the badge; manufacturer support sites such as Haier Australia keep the manuals by model code — the Hisense 10 kg kit and the Euromaid kit are examples where the model list matters more than the name.
The honest case against
We would rather you did not buy a kit you do not need, so here is the other side.
- It is a long job. A bearing change on most front loaders means removing the tub and, on many, splitting it. Half a day is realistic for someone confident, and some tubs are sealed and not designed to be split at all.
- The machine’s age matters. On a machine well past ten years, with a worn door seal, tired suspension and a rusting cabinet, a bearing job can be good money after bad.
- Check the spider arm first. The aluminium spider behind the drum corrodes on some models. If it has gone, new bearings will not save the machine, and that is the single most important check before ordering. The symptoms overlap — see LG front loader loud on spin and Electrolux front loader bearings.
- You may need a puller. Bearings rarely come out by hand, and hiring or buying tools is part of the real cost.
The full method, including how the tub comes apart, is in washing machine bearing replacement. Read it before you commit, not after.
The tests that decide it
- Spin the empty drum by hand. A dry rumble or grinding that you can feel through the drum means bearings. Silence means look elsewhere.
- Grab the drum at the top and rock it. Noticeable in-and-out play means the bearings are well gone, and it raises the odds of spider damage.
- Look under the drum with a torch. Rust streaks below the shaft are water that has already passed the lip seal.
- Listen through the cycle. Bearing noise rises and falls with drum speed, and is there whether the load is balanced or not. Suspension noise is knocking and only appears on spin.
- Check the load. Heavy winter bedding is what exposes a marginal bearing, so a machine that has just got noisy after a run of doona washes is telling you it was already worn.
If the noise is knocking rather than roaring, it is suspension, not bearings, and that is a much smaller job.
Frequently asked questions
Can I replace just one bearing?
No. The two bearings and the lip seal are a set. If one has failed the other has run in the same contaminated grease, and the seal that let the water in is the reason both are worn.
My machine roars but still washes fine. Can I leave it?
For a while, but it gets worse and the failure mode is not gentle — a collapsed bearing can damage the shaft and the spider, turning a parts job into a scrapped machine. Noise is the warning stage.
Is a top loader the same job?
No. Most Australian top loaders use a different drive arrangement, and the noisy-on-spin fault there is more often the suspension or the clutch. This kit logic is a front loader story.
How do I know if my drum can be split?
Look for a ring of clips or bolts around the tub seam. A smooth, welded-looking seam means a sealed tub, and on those machines the repair means a complete tub assembly, which is usually where repair stops making sense.
The kit lists a model that is not exactly mine. Close enough?
Send us your model code first. Bearing sizes and belt lengths change within a range, and a kit that is close is a kit that does not fit once the machine is in pieces.
Should I do the suspension at the same time?
If it is worn, yes — the machine is already apart and worn suspension is what loads a bearing unevenly in the first place. If it passes the bounce test, leave it.
Get the right kit first time
Send us your model code and a description of the noise — rumble, roar, knock or grind — or run the code through the part finder. We will tell you which kit is listed for your machine, and we will tell you if it sounds like a spider arm instead, because that is not a repair worth starting. Same-day dispatch from Sydney’s Northern Beaches on orders placed before 12pm.
Disclaimer: this article is general information only and is provided without warranty of any kind. Appliance designs vary between models and production runs — always follow the manufacturer’s instructions, switch off and unplug the appliance before starting any work, and confirm parts against the model number on your appliance’s model sticker. Any repair is undertaken at your own risk and Oz Appliance Spares accepts no liability for injury, loss or damage arising from work performed after reading this guide, to the maximum extent permitted by law. If in doubt, use a qualified technician.
