Dryer Repair Kit

I found that the dryer would not start turning by itself. Could manually help it start and it would run fine. Anyway, after a new set of rollers, belt, etc. found that the motor still would not start by itself. Ordered new motor and it was taken care of. You have to take the back off, remove the belt and remove the tumbler. After that, it is fairly easy. Two screws hold the motor down and then you can take the whole motor assembly out. Be careful removing the fan as it takes a 3/8 socket drive and it is plastic. Two clips hold the motor to the assembly. Needle nose pliers takes care of it. Replace and all should be good.

The issue was the idler pulley. First I began opening up the front panel based on a youtube video but soon realized the model was slightly different and required a lot more items to remove. I saw the pulley in the back with nothing in the way so I put the front panel crap back on and removed the rear panel. There it was, very simple to remove and replace. I'm not looking forward to drum rollers though. Hopefully they're aren't as difficult as they appear.

I purchased the dryer repair kit with the drum belt, wheels and idler pulley. I watched the instructional videos online and it seemed fairly straight forward. Breaking down the dryer and replacing the pulleys was easy enough. My problem began when I tried to feed the drum belt around the idler pulley. After finishing the job, the dryer would not turn and the sensor light stayed on. I thought something else was broken with the dryer and spent hours trouble shooting other problems that I was having. Finally I figured out that the drum belt was not installed correctly around the idler pulley. However, I could not get it properly installed from the front of the machine so I tried from the rear still with no avail. I finally had to fish the old belt out of the garbage can that I had thrown away earlier. I lined up the old belt with the new one in the kit and discovered that the new belt was much smaller, so I put the old one back on the drum. Here's the lesson I learned...make sure the belts are the same size before attempting to install. The old idler was responsible for the squeaking and that stopped but I am still using the same old drum belt. Hope it lasts.

1. Disconnect dryer from electrical outlet. 2. Pull dryer out and disconnect the exhaust tube from the back. 3. Remove the screws at the top of the dryer back ( 3 ) and remove the top of the dryer. 4. The service instructions will be in a bracket on the top right. I didn't use them because I have done this job before. 5. Continue to remove the screws holding the back to the sides. There will be a lint collector attached to the back panel by three screws. This must be removed first, then the screws along the edge of the back panel. 6. Pull the back panel up and away from the sides and set aside. You will see two lower rollers attached to this panel. 7. Look under the drum and you will see a idler arm and roller in front of the electric motor and a little to the left. Notice that the drive belt is looped around the roller. Unloop the drive belt from idler and roller. 8. Lift the drum of the dryer up and out of the dryer. 9. Replace all the rollers (4) by removing the plastic "star" on the roller shaft. This can be done using a small screw driver. 10. Once the rollers are replaced, place the new drive belt, ribbed side facing the drum around the drum. Lift the drum up and into the dryer enclosure, making sure the rollers in the front of the drum are in the ridge groove. 11. Lift the back of the dryer in to the dryer enclosure, again making sure the rollers are in the rear groove. Turn the drum by hand to make sure the front seal is flush to the front of the dryer and that the front rollers are in the front groove. I2. Install drive belt around electric motor shaft ( ribbed side facing the shaft), lift idler arm up while running the non-ribbed side of the belt around the roller on the idler arm. 13. Install the back panel using the remaining screws. 14. Install the top of dryer by sliding it into the front panel and securing with the last three remaining screws, these 3 screws go on the top of the back panel. 15. Replace exhaust hose and replace dryer into space it formally occupied.

Just like video except there were two screws in back to take control head off. Be prepared to have shop vacation ready. Clean dryer duct too. Have bandaids ready. Plastic triangles are not easy to take off, video makes it look easy.

Viewed a video provided on this site for disassembly etc. It was not my exact same model, but the instructions were pretty much spot on. The main issues we had were just that it was bulky etc. and somewhat heavy. We could not really work on it in place, so we had to drag it to the kitchen area. I found the existing heater element to be open upon inspection. Changed it out with the one I purchased which was an exact replacement. The drum rollers, motor pulley, and belt did not really look bad, but since I ordered the repair kit, I went ahead and replaced all of them. I was glad I did because it is much quieter now. The only thing I did differently was I cut off the existing plastic triangle keepers for the rollers with my diagonal cutters instead of work them off with a small screwdriver like in the video, which saved some time and frustration. New ones were provided in the kit I purchased anyway. I also would recommend marking the front of the drum somehow so there is no confusion which way it goes when you put it back together. Works as good as new now, good for another 10 years (I hope).

BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE UNPLUG THE POWER AND TURN OFF THE GAS SUPPLY 1. unscrew the 3 nut screws at the back to remove the cover lid. 2. pull the control console cable from the electronic board. (only 3 wires on it).3. unscrew the 2 nut screws of the control console then remove it by pulling up.4. unscrew the 5 screws to remove the door. (pull little up to unhinged then remove). 6. unscrew the 5 nut screws to remove the lower siding. 7. unscrew the copper 4 nut screws then remove the lint suction fixture 8. unscrew the 4 nut screws to remove door fixture ,then just lay next to the machine.(the wires are long enough so you don't need to unplug and separate it from the machine.9. remove the belt by pulling the idler pulley towards the motor pulley (against the tension spring) 10. remove the drum by lifting a little bit upward. 11. remove the plastic triangular lock using a small screw driver then remove the idler pulley wheel then install the replacement. (clean your machine using a vacuum cleaner and remove all the lints). 12. install back the drum, be sure to set the drum belt to the right position. (groove on drum side). 13. install back the belt to the pulley the same procedure as to remove it. 14. assemble back what you have removed. end.

I ordered the dryer repair kit and to my surprise it arrived 4 days early. I followed the video instructions on the parts select website to replace 4 rollers, belt and belt pulley. A 1/4 in nut driver attached to my Dewalt drill made life ALOT easier!! My recommendation, when you remove the rollers, take a rag and really clean up the shaft they ride on. Then apply a lightweight spray oil to the shafts. When you install the new rollers they will spin free and easy. Having the dryer apart is also a great time to break out the dust buster of vacuum. Spin the fan motor up front by hand and use vacuum to remove lint or belt shaving from inside the cabinet. Add this step as good fire prevention measure.

We watched the video at whirlpool.com! Made it so simple anyone could have done it!

By watching the video it made the job much easier than I thought it would be. I was very pleased with the speedy delivery of the Dryer kit I had ordered. I had called a local repair facility and they wanted twice as much for the same parts.