What you are actually seeing
- A vibration you feel through the floor
- Banging and walking during the spin only
- A grinding or rumbling that rises with the spin speed
- Not this fault: Noise with water left in the drum
Ranked causes on a Contoure washer
- Machine not level or on all four feet — Ranked here because: an RV is level only when someone levels it, and several of these appliances will not work correctly out of level
- Suspension rods, springs or dampers worn — Ranked here because: a few hundred miles of road vibration loosens connections, fasteners and plumbing joints that would never move in a house
- Unbalanced or overloaded drum — Ranked here because: coach appliances are used intermittently and stored for months, which produces its own fault pattern
- Coins, underwire or a button between drum and tub — Ranked here because: coach appliances are used intermittently and stored for months, which produces its own fault pattern
- Drum bearing worn — Ranked here because: this is a wear part with a service life rather than a component that fails at random
- Drive coupler, belt or clutch worn — Ranked here because: the drive belt is the part under continuous load and the first to give out
What to check, and in what order
- Open the drain pump filter at the front and check for coins and debris
- Note which phase makes the noise: fill, wash, drain or spin
- Press each corner of the cabinet and check for rocking, and confirm the transit bolts are removed
- Run a spin with a small, evenly distributed load
Steps you can safely do yourself
- Press each corner of the cabinet and check for rocking, and confirm the transit bolts are removed — Tools: spanner — Estimated time: about ten minutes
- Run a spin with a small, evenly distributed load — Tools: none — Estimated time: one spin
- With the machine off, grip the drum at the front and try to move it up and down and in and out — Tools: none — Estimated time: a few minutes
- Turn the drum by hand and listen for anything loose between the drum and the tub — Tools: none — Estimated time: a few minutes
- Open the drain pump filter at the front and check for coins and debris — Tools: shallow tray, cloth — Estimated time: about twenty minutes
Safety
Safety
unplug-before-service branch-circuit-15-20a
When to call a technician
a drum bearing is rumbling, since that is a major teardown the suspension rods or dampers need replacing a drive coupler or belt has failed and the drum is not turning under load
Nearest pages
What this page does not cover
Not this fault: the family pages for the refrigeration, cooking and laundry lines Not this fault: model-specific pages once the model and serial label is read
Links: - [Common CONTOURE Dryer Problems](/blog/contoure-dryer-problems) - [Common Contoure Microwave Problems](/blog/contoure-microwave-problems) - [Common CONTOURE Refrigerator Problems](/blog/contoure-refrigerator-problems) - [CONTOURE Washer: Does Not Clean or Dry](/blog/contoure-washer-cleaning-performance)
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
