Dryer Repair

I'm married to a handyman. He's got lots of tools and can do the maintenance on all our vehicles. He's a mechanical engineer and actually he's got a project 1967 Barracuda that we're swapping from an automatic to a 318 out of a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee, manual transmission. Here's his blog: Project Touring Barracuda

My father was an appliance repairman. He still is, as a matter of fact. He has graduated to quite complex commercial heating and refrigeration, but began as a serviceman for Sears Corporation. When I was in elementary school, he began his own business. He would purchase appliances at yard sales, fix them up and resell them. He would also do service calls. We got to rotate on Saturdays, and each weekend one of us would have the privilege of helping in his shop! We'd dust appliances on the showroom floor, vacuum out dryers, wipe out refrigerators, and sometimes we'd actually get to go on a call!

As a result, I've inherited his knack for taking apart small appliances and doing maintenance. (always putting them back together, of course)
I routinely pull the cover off the back of our refrigerator and vacuum out the lint and hair from the coils and motor and fan. I've taken apart our vacuum when a sock was lodged in the center of the plastic area (past the hose). In college, I took out my pocketknife which had one blade and two screwdrivers with can openers, and cut the hair wrapped around the beater bar which was causing the belt to smoke. I saw him do it on our Kirby multiple times.

Our dryer began making an awful noise. Thanks to the internet, the diagnosing was simple. We called him (we live 400 miles away) to verify the parts we thought we needed. And? My husband had to be gone for the evening but asked if I "wanted to get started on it"??

Ooooh, I was just waiting for an invitation! The most difficult part was the two front screws. They threatened to strip out while I got them started. The ground clearance was an issue, but once I got them loose, I was able to use a short "stubby" phillips head screwdriver to finish removing those. That freed up the entire front panel, door and all!
Rather than remove those two wires, I simply rotated the door against the wall, out of the way.

Right afterward, I put the laundry in a basket and emptied the lint filter! :D

Next was the piece that holds the drum against the back. Six screws later, that was off and out of the way.

It's easy to vacuum out the lint trap when this piece is removed from your dryer.

The drum then pulls off the rollers pretty easily. If you rest it on the bottom of the dryer, you can then work the belt off the back and pull the drum out.

This brings back childhood memories.

*Western music* "Rollin, rollin, rollin, rawhide!
P.S. Those black wheels are the drum rollers!

Last, I removed the belt from the idler arm assembly and checked it for wear. Ooof! It's been shredding for sure with more cracks than the San Andreas Fault Line!

One of the drum rollers spins easily but the other is stiff and is certainly the culprit for the awful metallic squawking noises we've been dealing with.

Getting your hands dirty is not optional, but don't let that stop you from trying things!

Based on the parts website we chose, others detailing a similar repair recommended not only replacing the rollers and belt, but the idler pulley wheel that acts as a belt tensioner.
Ours did not look lovely, and I'm unsure if it's supposed to be warped. What do you think?

it's supposed to be white.

I'm pretty sure that the black goo is not part of a properly working machine.

Can you see the warping? It's a little difficult, but the goo really shows up on this one!

At this point, we've ordered the parts, we'll put it back together (I am not sure I'll let him help me, as I'm really enjoying this project) and we'll be able to dry our clothes without concern.

If you were wondering about the red bandage on my arm, I had just donated blood about an hour beforehand. "No heavy lifting" "Avoid strenuous exercise" "Drink plenty of fluids"

All I did was manipulate a screwdriver or two. Nothing I moved was heavy.

Until next time, I wish I had a catchy phrase like Red Green. "If the women don't find you handsome, at least they'll find you handy."



Oh wait, I do.
 
Remember, anything worth doing is worth trying.

~Tammy