Idler Pulley Lever and Shaft

To make working on the dryer easier we tipped the dryer back, about 45 degrees, removed the bottom panel, the door panel, note: make sure to mark the inside chassis or case with a sharpie where the wires go by color, etc… note: this makes it easy to place every thing back in order. I removed three screws on the bottom left side, to allow the more room for me to remove the drum. You can not remove the drum just yet but until the rubber belt is removed. I went below where the tension wheel is… it’s back behind the motor… incidental the tension wheel and the arm was the problem, it had warn to one side. Now release the rubber belt around drum. I pulled the drum out. The motor assembly is all one piece so it’s easy to remove. Don’t forget to unplug the plastic Molex plug and mark where you wires go. Two screws in front on the motor assemble and the whole assemble comes out. From here I could do a good job of cleaning the motor assemble and replacing the parts without any difficulty. Re-assembly was really easy, just one issue with placing the rubber belt took some time, and I need some help. I was finished in less than two hours. Bingo fixed!!

Removed the screws holding the bottom to the sides (but after taking it all apart, I think I could have done the repair by just taking the front off :-(.
Removed the screws holding the front to the sides. Noted the wiring (three wires go to the front door switch). Removed the wires from the switch (they are quick connects, so no tools necessary). Removed the front. Pull the drum out.
Disconnected the spring from the idler pulley lever. Removed the bolt and nut holding the idler pulley lever assembly to the bottom. (The old pulley had basically frozen in place which caused the belt to break). Put the new washers, wheel assembly and retaining ring on the new idler pulley lever. Bolted it back in place. Connected the spring. Put the new belt around the drum and slid the drum into place. Put the belt around the motor pulley and past the idler wheel (make sure it is on the correct side so this takes up the tension). Put the bottom screws back in. Connected the wires back up to the front. Put the front in place. (Make sure that the drum is properly seated in back so the front goes on and the drum will turn). Put the front screws back on.

The pully wheel was completely worn down as the belt had cut into it over time. I'm not sure if the lever and shaft needed replacing but since the part was inexpensive I decided to replace it as well as the wheel. The easiest way to access the parts was to turn the dryer on its side and remove the bottom panel of the dryer. This eliminated the need to remove the drum. It was then easy to reach in with a wrench and remove nut and bolt that held on the pulley lever. I also had to remove the spring which was attached to the lever. Next I put the new pully wheel on the shaft of the new pulley lever. The most difficult part of the job was installing retainer clip which holds the wheel on the shaft. This took a little persistance. After this was done it was simple to put the assembly back in place, reattach the spring and tighten the nut and bolt. I then replaced the bottom panel of he dryer, turned it upright and plugged it in. The whole job took just over an hour. One tip: Before removing the old assembly, I took a picture of it with my cell phone camera so I would remember how it went back together.

Removed the two sheet metall screws on the front foot panel, removed the four screws holding the door assembly, wrote down the wiring placement for the front door, removed the blower bulkhead assembly by removing one screw in the bottom of the dryer. Removed two screws and propped the dryer top panel up at a 45 degree angle to gain additional clearance. Removed the drum and belt from the front and back seals by applying simple outward pressure. Removed the screw in the bottom of the motor assembly allowing me to reposition the assembly for easy access. Removed bolt holding old Idler arm assembly. Assembled new Idler pulley referring to old assembly. Reversed the process to complete the repair. Note: I found it easier to simply hang the dryer belt over the dryer drum when replacing the drum in the dryer. First you need to place and align the drum then route the belt back to the moter pulley and then over the idler pulley. if you try to put the belt over the motor and then align the drum, it is difficult to keep the belt on the pulley. It might help to draw a diagram of the belt route or obtain the belt route diagram from the website for reference. Very easy job.

Just take the old parts with my tools and fix it, i did take the pulley bearing with care and put the new one, and adjust the screw on the motor base, the belt just was a little difficult but I did it, it's easy.

I followed the instructions found on this site. The hardest part was figuring out how to release the clamps at the front of the dryer so I could remove the top.

The key was to unbolt the clamps at the back of the dryer first, then to use a putty knife to release the two clamps at the front of the dryer that hold the top to the front.

The rest was easy by following the steps already listed on this site and removing the two front pieces, then the drum and replacing the parts. Putting it back together was simple since I placed things in order and had taken pictures with my cell phone as I went through the process.

The time I took, included vacuuming the inside of the dryer thoroughly. Now it runs like new.

First of all I would not have done this if it wasn't for
your website. Using the schematics to figure out
the right parts was easy. It was also helpful in the
actual repair process. I have added your website
to my favorites in my browser. The parts arrived in 3 days and I live in Reno. Great Website.

M.B.

Loud squealing noise coming from the idler pulley. The pulley was not spinning freely on the shaft of the idler pulley lever to the point of putting a groove in the pulley and damaging the belt. To fix the problem replaced the belt, idler pulley, and idler pulley lever. Because I had the dryer apart also replace the following items. Drum support roller and drum slides.

It was pretty simple, really. Quite honestly, Parts Select was the first website that had my model number listed, and even had a diagram of the dryer. Once I removed the covers, it was very obvious that the belt tension pulley was bad, One side was worn away. I ordered both parts, the new pully, and the tension arm with the bearing, since I had no way to tell which was damaged, causing them to bind. They simply bolted to the motor assembly. The hardest part was reassembly. Getting the front panel on and being sure that the tabs holding it in allignment, and that the drum spun freely was really the only concern. The repair took less than 1 hour, and after seeing the inside of my dryer, I am convinced I can easily replace ANY part of this appliance and keep it running as long as I can find parts.

Pulled bottom access panel of, pulled front door section off, pulled lint filter assembly out, pulled drum out, disconnected idler arm, installed new idler arm and wheel, new belt around drum, drum back in, front door assembly back on, then routed belt over idler arm wheel, lint assembly back on, bottom access panel back on. very easy job, the hardest part was pushing the new idler wheel over the new pulley lever, but with a few firm taps with a hammer it was on. *Tips...save the idler wheel washers and retaining clip from bad wheel and be sure to draw yourself a diagram of what color wires hook up where, in case you forget.