1106072011 Kenmore Dryer - Instructions

I disassembled the dryer once to clean the motor and compartment. After reasembly, the problem persistes. I ordered the motor and the second diasasssembly was accomplished in 10 minutes and the entire job took 45 minutes and the dryer was running like new. Tip- Leave the motor secured while removing the blower fan.

This was so much easier than I though it was going to be. Pulled up on the top part of the dryer and folded it over to the back. Removed 2 screws for the front panel and disconnected some wires. Laying down I fed the new belt on and made sure the tensioner was put back into the right spot, because when the belt broke the tensioner sprung to the other end of its travel. Put everything back together. This was made super easy because you guys had the parts and the shipping was super fast. Alot of the local shops in the area didnt even carry the belt or were not helpful..

First I unplugged the dryer from 240V and removed the back cover upper (behind the switch) and lower (exposing the remainder of the parts)

Inside the upper section was a folded wiring diagram of the dryer (don't know if this was courtesy of Whirlpool or another individual, but it was a very nice touch.)

I did a resistance measurement across the heating coil and found out it was fine. I then plugged the dryer back in and carefully took voltage measurements from one phase of power (this was easily accessed where the power comes in to the dryer, just be careful not to touch or short the wires)

I had an assistant turn on the dryer (this makes things go a little faster, as you are behind the dryer otherwise) and checked for 240V across the heater coil.

Once I did not have this, I kept one lead on the left side wire (one of the power phases coming into the dryer) and moved the other lead to the left (as viewed on the wiring diagram) until I no longer had 240V. This identified the faulty component as the Thermostat High-Limit, non resetable.

I ordered the kit with the High Limit NR and High limit Thermostat (as both had to be bad). I also ordered the 150 degree cycling thermostat (although this was not necessary - for <$20 I opted to replace it as well)

Removing wires one at a time, each component is fairly easy to replace.

My only complaint is that with the combo kit, the wire attachment is a little different that the original component and requires you to cut an existing wire and crimp a different terminal to allow all three wires on the High Limit thermostat (250 degrees) to be attached. There is little to show you how exactly the crimp is to be connected (it goes on the smaller of the three wires - DO NOT CUT the jumper provided and USE A GOOD CRIMPER - not the $2 variety, or you'll be getting a new connector!!) The connector provided is designed for some strain relief from one connector to the other, however) An additional jumper with the appropriate connectors already attached would be a nicer design.

Also, make sure you do NOT screw in the smaller cover that covers the power in until you place the entire lower half cover back on the dryer (unless you want to take it off a second time, as I did...) as it uses a common screw to hold both in place.

Overall, fairly easy to do with a minimum of tools, straight blade screwdriver to remove stubborn wire connectors (esp. for HT thermostat 250), ratchet and socket for quick removal and replacement of covers, and a good T&B style crimper ($10-$20 at your local hardware and well worth it even if you only use it a couple of times)

30 minutes and done - the dryer now cranks out the heat and the advanced settings (Auto dry) work great - no more 2-3 times throug to get things dry.

If you have a minimum of mechanical ability and a little bit of electronic troubleshooting skill, you can check and repair this youself and save about an $80-$100 service call.

Thanks to Part Select for the diagram of the dryer layout as well!! (Schematic would be nice if available online, though!)

Shipped the part in about 2 days from order time, as well. Will be back (hopefully not soon, though, as something has to break first!!!)

Be safe and good luck!

(One last note: Make sure your lint trap is clear including the hose - either due to build up or a lazy kid...as this probably caused the failure as heat could not escape...)

Looking at the schematics, it wasn't clear exactly where the motor was located. I took off the rear panel thinking I could get to the motor through the blower. Realizing that was a no-go, I did some web searching and found that the lint screen chute had to be unscrewed, the top had to be lifted to gain access to the top 2 screws holding the front panel to to the main body. The barrel was then dropped and the rib belt removed from around it so I could set it aside. The clips were removed from the front and the back of the motor to gain access to the blower shaft. .The motor shaft is screwed into the blower shaft but it took me a while to figure out how to grab the blower shaft( made of hardened plastic?) with an adjustable wrench while torquing the end of the shaft with a (3/4"?) socket wrench. Access to the rear was rough, but getting the motor out an back in was easy. The spring tensioner for the belt was the next hurdle. With the s-curve facing outward and clipped to the base, the belt with the rib side wrapped around the barrel, the belt was slid between the roller and the tensioner bracket and wrapped around the motor drive rib side inward. I had to take the old motor to kind of prop up the barrel so I could at least see the tensioner and motor interface. I had to do a balance trick where I held the barrel up while centering it to the belt and the rear panel while ensuring the cloth seal was seated to the outside of the chamber. The front panel went on, and the front cloth seal was seated by spinning the barrel. The rest was just a matter of reversing the steps. Tons of lint/dust is probably what crashed this motor. Disassembling the front and the back allowed a thorough clean up - vacuuming and wipe down. Should go another 10 years/

Half of my pulley was broken off so there were no wrench flats to take it off. I was able to remove it using Channel Locks and the 7/16 wrench shown in the video.

Hint: Use a one gallon ice cream bucket to hold up the drum while connecting the belt. It makes it much easier and gives you more clearance.

UNPLUG THE DRYER!!!!!
First removed the two screws holding the lint filter in place. Then slipped a screw driver between the top and the dryer body to remove the top. Using a nut driver removed the two screws holding the front of the dryer in place, remove the two wires for the door switch., lift the front cover of the dryer and set it aside. Support the drum ( two extra hands would be nice) and remove the drive belt. Then remove the drum. A thorough cleaning to remove all of the scorch like stain from the drum and back plate. Remove the seal and glue the new one in its place. Put it back like you found it. Make sure that the seal is not tucked against the back plate. Dryer works better than new and no more stains.

Solution: electric motor replacement as the integral centrifugal switch lever (plastic cam) wears over time causing the start windings' switch poor contact. Took it all apart, (back panel, front and top) including lifting the drum out to completely expose the motor. Needed to wrench the plastic fan from the inside motor shaft. Tricky part was swapping the original pulley (6 rib belt, still good) for the one supplied for 4 rib belts. I needed to file another flat onto the other side of both motor shafts (old and new) to break them free, using a vice to secure the pulleys. The dryer works perfectly! It's a great dryer that can be repaired by a determined novice. The enclosed instructions were helpful, although if followed about cutting the original motor shaft to obtain its pulley might require drilling the shaft from the pulley = nonsense. Thanks again Parts Select.

I needed to remove the front lower cover, very easy as it is held on with clips only so I used a flat head screw driver to pop it off. I had to remove the lint filter and then there are two screws attaching the top cover of the dryer to the internal lint filter tray. The top of the dryer can then be opened front to back I again used the flat head screw driver to pop the top open as it has two clips at the front corners. It helps to have someone to hold it open or a rod of some type to keep it open. You can now lay the belt on the top of the drum and work it down the back side by pulling forward on the drum itself to seperate the drum from the seal that presses aginst the back side of the drum. I then went from the lower front to retrieve the belt now draped over the drum and pinched the belt to pass it through the tensioner and over the drive pulley. looking at it from the front the belt will come down the right side of the drum under the tensioner pulley around the drive pulley across the bottom of the drum and up the left side. The belt sits almost in the middle of the drum not against the back lip where there is a groove that might be confused as a place for the belt to ride that is where the seal sits then reverse the process to reattach the top to lint tunnel and reattach front cover and you are good to go . i would suggest vaccuming any old dust/ lint whlie everything is open as this reduces the chance for catching on fire I was supprised as to how much lint was loose inside the dryer cavity itself and our dryer is gas and the flame is an open flame.

I inserted the clip

Boyfriend stated it was simple, he removed the back and replaced the part using a few everyday tools.

Took the dryer top off and removed the bad part. Looked it up online and found a replacement by looking for whirlpool parts. They didn't have one at the local parts stores so I ordered the part online and had it mailed within three days. I replaced it quite easily. It worked and I put everything back together and my wife took over the tricky part of drying the laundry! The repair was quite easy for a non mechanical person like me.

The repair was fairly straight-forward. I removed the front of the dryer, lifted the top off, and then released the tension off the belt dy depressing the pulley arm. Once the belt was off, the drum came right out and then it was on to unhooking the wiring from the old motor. Very simple up till this point. The snag came when I went to unthread the impeller fan off of the old motor shaft. It was permanently sealed onto the shaft so I had to cut the old shaft into using a reciprocating saw was a metal-cutting blade. Once this was done the new motor installed easily exactly like the old one was mounted. I had to also purchase a new fan due to the fact that I was unable to remove the cut shaft from the old fan. All parts worked great and the dryer assembled back together easily. Works like a new dryer now.

I knew that the dryer needed a new belt and since the dryer was also failing to dry the clothes in one cycle, I decided to replace the three thermostats, figuring that I might as well do all three if I'm going to open up the dryer. I downloaded a schematic of the dryer from the Whirlpool web site, which helped me to order the right parts and see how I would be able to make the repairs. Once I figured out how to get to the drum for the belt replacement, installation was quite easy.

First step was to unplug the dryer, remove the vent hose and remove the back panel with a nut driver. Once the back panel was removed, it was easy to see all three sensors. The heating element unit was easy to remove - two screws. This made it easier to replace the sensor. Each sensor was shaped differently, making it easier to decide what went where. This normally would not have been a problem, but the part numbers have changed for this dryer. I could have also cross referenced the parts by using the partselect.com web site.

To access the dryer drum, I had to remove two screws on the back of the dryer that are located in two tabs that hold the control panel to the dryer cabinet. Once removed, it was easy to lift the top of the cabinet and swing it up and against a nearby wall for support while I replaced the belt.
I removed the old belt from the motor pulley, and then just removed the whole drum. I placed the new belt around the drum, placed the drum back in position. With my wife supporting the drum, it was easy to bring the belt through a guide and slip over the motor pulley. Then, I rotated the drum manually to make sure the belt wasn't twisted.

After ten minutes of putting everything back together, it was time to plug in the dryer and test it. I did it without a load first and checked the vent for hot air. After that, we did a couple of loads...one on high and one on perma press, and when the cycle was over, the clothes were dry!

Delivery time from PartSelect was super fast! Prices are excellent, and I really appreciate such a helpful web site. Anyone with a small amount of mechanical ability and "do it yourself" experience can save $$$ by fixing it yourself. Having someone service this dryer would have cost me more just to replace the belt.....let alone the added insurance of replacing the sensors. And, I learned that if the heating element should fail, replacing it would be a snap, and would start with a visit toe partselect.com!

First I had to take the top of the dryer off by taking the two screws off of the lint trap on top then I pushed the top forward a little and lifted up. Then I had to take the front of the dryer off (I think there was two screws). After that I had to take the belt off to be able to get the drum out. I pulled off the old seal and had to use some glue remover to get the old glue off. I then put the new seal on did a little bit at a time to make sure it was on correctly. The glue is really sticky once it starts to dry. It takes two people to put the seal on especially when it gets down to the end. Although my dryer defenitly needed a new seal it was not the problem. It was not very difficult at all, just more time consuming with trying to get the old glue off. Will be buying a new motor, found one cheap and alot less expensive than buying a new dryer considering when I am done I will pretty much have a new dryer for about $120.00.

Cleaned entire unit, replaced all thermostat assemblies and exhaust seal