Miele W3204 Washing Machine Drum Rubbing on Door Seal Gasket
Good morning, I have a Miele W3204 washing machine which has 16 years of service / one small wash per week use. Recently I have noticed the rotating drum causing a squeak due to a slight rub on the top portion of the door seal and this causes more noise on final spin. I very carefully checked the lift of the drum at the three spider points and it appears absolutely solid and no bearing grumble. I have replaced the dampers with genuine parts. I’m not sure now whether it is worth replacing the door seal (original appears in excellent condition, but do they deform over time?) I have considered grinding a small amount of rubber off the upper lip that rides close to the drum to increase clearance. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Thank you for contacting us. A video would help us check if the drum is warped.
A drum can warp even when the bearings and spider are in good condition. This may happen because of heavy loads or, less likely, a factory fault. Your machine is quite old, and one wash at a time is not excessive use.
Please record a video while slowly turning the drum by hand. Point the camera at the gap between the bottom of the drum and the door seal. If the drum moves up and down as it turns, this may show that it is warped.
At high spin speeds, the movement gets worse as water is pushed outwards. This may cause the drum to catch on the door seal.
Please do not remove any rubber from the door seal. Some people have removed the drum and used a lathe to realign it, but this is a difficult repair.
You may also find a cheap machine with an electrical fault online and use its drum as a replacement. You will receive an email with my contact details if you need more help. Our YouTube channel also has videos about this type of fault.
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