How to remove a pulley on an Indesit washing machine?

How to remove a pulley on an Indesit washing machine A pulley is a metal wheel bolted to a drum hub and connected to the engine via a drive belt. Finding it is not difficult: just unscrew the back cover and look right in the center. The wheel, like other moving parts of the machine, can be damaged due to strong vibration or mechanical impact. Then you will have to remove the pulley from the drum of the Indesit washing machine, repair or replace it. We will tell you how to do this step by step further.

Description of pulley removal

If the “star” of the bolt holding the electric motor pulley is intact and not torn off, then the task is not difficult. You just need to select the appropriate size key, put it on the head and rotate it counterclockwise. There is only one caveat - you need to fix the wheel with a wooden block to slow down the part.

When water gets inside the bushing, the bolt threads can become permanently rusted. Then the craftsmen begin to press harder on the key, trying to overcome corrosion, but in the end they only tear off the “star”. Then the task becomes much more difficult. trying to unscrew the bolt

A damaged head is more difficult to deal with, since the key has nothing to catch on. In this case, you need to thoroughly treat the bolt with WD-40 cleaner and wait 15-20 minutes. Next, we take a chisel with a hammer and try to make a notch on the head. It is enough to penetrate the metal by 1-1.5 mm. Then we insert the chisel horizontally into the hole and, using hammer blows, try to unscrew the mechanism counterclockwise. Although at first it doesn’t matter in which direction the rack unscrews - the main thing is to move the screw from its place.

If you have a manual grinder, then it is better to make a notch with its help, since a chisel is much more destructive.

The bolt has been removed, but the pulley cannot be removed

Sometimes the situation seems completely hopeless. The pulley sticks to the bushing so much that a chisel and hammer do not help. The cause may be either spreading rust or deformation of the wheel due to mechanical damage. In any case, there is no retaining element, and you will have to act according to a different scheme.

The cleaning agent WD-40 will help you quickly get rid of corrosion and scale.

To deal with a tightly stuck pulley, you need to try. First of all, we do this:

we ask a friend to hold the drum, and we ourselves take the pulley with both hands and try to unscrew the wheel;
We begin to loosen the pulley, pulling the wheel off the tank;
At the same time, we get rid of rust by treating the joints with WD-40 every 15-20 minutes.

If you cannot pull out the pulley, you will have to knock it out. The main thing is to refuse metal tools, otherwise there is a high probability of damaging the bushing and aggravating the problem with a broken shaft. It is better to find a shovel handle, pointed at one end. The tip should be pointed at the middle of the wheel, then take a hammer and tap the wood. The blows must be strong and accurate. Over time, the part will give in and pop out, but it will take a lot of strength and patience.

When the repair is completed, there is no need to rush and mount the pulley back. First, you should thoroughly prepare the seat. To do this, we treat it with WD-40 in several stages, clean and lubricate the bushing threads. If the bolt is damaged, replacement is required. Otherwise, in a couple of years you will have to solve a difficult problem again.