bending a new hook on a spring

[Ether]

Hey Chief Delphi, need your opinion.

I've got a tension spring with a worn hook. I was thinking of cutting the hook off at the long end (no problem) and bending a new one (??).

Do ya think the steel will bend OK, or break?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Ether

Hey Chief Delphi, need your opinion.

I've got a tension spring with a worn hook. I was thinking of cutting the hook off at the long end (no problem) and bending a new one (??).

Do ya think the steel will bend OK, or break?

Neither. It's spring steel, so it'll spring back.

Kidding aside, it depends largely on how you bend it. If you were to bend it without heating, I'd put the odds of reduced life pretty high--but it's not as likely to break as you might think. But that bend isn't going to be easy without heat. Heating... well, I think you're as well aware as I am that heating isn't going to leave the desirable properties of the material alone.

And then you have the additional headache: is the reduced length going to cause extra tension in the system that the spring goes into?

[gblake]

Originally Posted by Ether

Hey Chief Delphi, need your opinion.

I've got a tension spring with a worn hook. I was thinking of cutting the hook off at the long end (no problem) and bending a new one (??).

Do ya think the steel will bend OK, or break?

When I have tried in the past, my results were generally poor.

[Mr V]

You'll want to heat the end cherry red before forming it into the new hook. On the other hand a good independent hardware store will have a selection of a couple of hundred springs, one of which should do the trick for a dollar or so.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Ether

Hey Chief Delphi, need your opinion.

I've got a tension spring with a worn hook. I was thinking of cutting the hook off at the long end (no problem) and bending a new one (??).

Remember Hooke's Law, especially regarding the length of wire you use to form the hook.

[Ether]

Originally Posted by Richard Wallace

Remember Hooke's Law, especially regarding the length of wire you use to form the hook.

Yeah, I'll add an S hook to make the tension correct.

The spring is from my 18-year-old Whirlpool washing machine. So I guess it has a good 20 years left on it right?

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Ether

Yeah, I'll add an S hook to make the tension correct.

The spring is from my 18-year-old Whirlpool washing machine. So I guess it has a good 20 years left on it right?

I thought that spring looked familiar. Maybe I can dig one up around here somewhere.

[Ether]

Originally Posted by Richard Wallace

I thought that spring looked familiar. Maybe I can dig one up around here somewhere.

You are a saint. Washer model LSC8244EQ.

[msaunders]

Perhaps this is the one, if Richard cannot supply one.

http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDeta...d111988&mr= 1

Fortunately I only live a couple miles away from their location so I do not have to pay shipping when I need parts.

[FrankJ]

The trick will be bending it. The straight portion has not been plastically deformed so it should have all of its ductility left. Putting the same radius bend as the original hook shouldn't break it.

[Richard Wallace]

After some searching I have found two springs. One is stronger than the other (thicker wire). See attached. Is one of them a match for yours?

[Ether]

Originally Posted by Richard Wallace

After some searching I have found two springs. One is stronger than the other (thicker wire). See attached. Is one of them a match for yours?

I had to put the machine back in service temporarily for the weekend laundry.

I'll open it up early next week and put the calipers on the wire.

Thanks.

[Michael Hill]

Originally Posted by Richard Wallace

After some searching I have found two springs. One is stronger than the other (thicker wire). See attached. Is one of them a match for yours?

I don't mean to be daft, but how does a single model of washer get associated with two nearly identical springs where the only difference is 0.2mm in diameter? Is it the same part, just for a later model after fixing something? Are parts in washing machines so fickle they can't be interchanged with each other?

[Ether]

Originally Posted by Michael Hill

I don't mean to be daft, but how does a single model of washer get associated with two nearly identical springs where the only difference is 0.2mm in diameter?

That's not the way I interpreted it.

The two springs Richard found are unmarked and he wants to know which is the correct one for my washer.

I assumed the other spring is for a washer with a lighter (smaller) or heavier (larger) tub.

[Michael Hill]

Originally Posted by Ether

That's not the way I interpreted it.

The two springs Richard found are unmarked and he wants to know which is the correct one for my washer.

I assumed the other spring is for a washer with a lighter (smaller) or heavier (larger) tub.

Gotcha. I assumed he looked it up in some database and both were returned as possible.