Rear Drum Felt Seal

First I shut off the gas supply and disconnected the dryer vent and unpluged the unit so you can access the rear of the dryer. Then I removed the rear cover. This is where you will find your thermostats and fuses. Holding the new part next to the one to be replaced I transfer the wires one at a time so as not to get them mixed up, then unscrew the old part and install the new one. Insert a flat blade screwdriver under the top cover in the 2 front corners to unsnap it from it's clips, also at this time you need to remove the 2 screws that hold the upper part of the lint filter tube to the lid, then lift the lid to expose the drum ( I tilted the dryer back as far as the flex gas line would allow me to and rested the top lid against the wall without removing it, to many wires). Behind the front cover in the top right corner is the plug for the door switch,un-plug it and also there are 2 screws one in each corner. After that lift the front cover straight up and pull it away from the cabinet ( it has clips at the bottom to hold it in place). Reaching under the drum on the right side pull down on the belt tensioner and release the belt from the motor then you can remove the drum. Laying the drum down on it's front edge I removed the rear felt seal and took a piece of sand paper to rough up th old glue and clean off some of the felt that was still stuck to the drum. Following the directions from the seal package I put the glue around the edge of the drum and re-installed the new felt. This is a good time to clean out your dryer, while the glue sets up. A shop vac works the best, but be carefull not to suck up the money, it will help pay for the repair ( I found over a dollar in change ). At this time I also changed the coils on the gas valve, remove the 2 screws that hold the clamp and replace them one at a time. Re-install the drum with the belt on it, fold it and push it through the tensioner and put it on the motor pulley. rotate the drum to make sure that the felt is not kinked under itself, re-install the front cover bottom clips first, then the 2 screws and the plug for the door switch, pull down the lid and snap it in place, before installing the rear cover this is a good time to remove the rear cover to the lint chute and clean in there also ( it's easy to see why there are so many dryer fires). Re- install that cover and the rear cover and vent tube, turn your gas back on and check it for leaks ( even if you didn't disconnect it) plug your dryer back in and get busy catching up on the laundry that you haven't had a chance to do because your dryer broke, then smile and think about all the money you saved by doing this simple repair your self. Thanks Parts Select

After unplugging the dryer,I removed 2 bolts on the back top of the dryer, then removed the two screws in the lint box area. I used a screw driver to help force the top panel of the dryer up. When open, I removed the top screws that held the front and side panels together. I then lifted the front panel up and away from the dryer, so there would be room to take the drum out. I removed the belt from the pulley (located under the drum) and slid the drum out. I removed the old seal, cleaned up the drum and the inside of the dryer, then glued the new seal on. After the glue was dry, I put the drum back in (with the belt on the drum), put the belt back on the pulley and proceeded to put the dryer front back on. Once the front was on, I put the top back on and replaced the bolts on the back of the dryer. I plugged it in and it is working great! By the way, before this, I had NEVER attempted to repair a dryer before and I am female. If I could do it, so can anyone else willing to try :)

The (front) bearing and seal are not metal parts but a fabric and and mesh like material. It is somewhat like a fabric belt made to hold up a pair of trousers. The belt sits in a channel that goes around the door on the inside of the front panel. To get to the combination bearing/seal you remove two screws that are located under the cover of the lint trap. These have to be removed to lift the top. Then using a putty knife or screw driver you must pop the top (which snaps down on plastic clips) at the front corners. The top lifts up and folds back on hinges. The front is attached to the sides by one screw on each side near the top. A nut driver will remove then easily. Once the 2 screws are removed lift the front panel about 2 inches to disengage the front panel from the clips that hold the front attached to the sides near the bottom. When you remove the front panel the dryer drum will literally fall out so you want to get hold of it before pulling the front panel away so it isn't damaged and and doesn't damage the gas burner assembly which is under the drum to the left side. The drum is very light. I supported it with an empty shoe box while the front was off.
Once the front is off you'll see the bearing/seal on the inside of the front panel and it will be obvious how to remove the old one and place the new one. There are three pegs on the front panel that receive the three holes in the fabric bearing/seal. The seal will stay in place while you remove the shoe box and put the front cover back on. The drum fits over the seal like a lid on a jar and just slides on the fabric when the drum rotates. Low tech but the drums slides easily on the bearing material and seems to last a long time.

I also did the rear dryer seal. This is similar to the front. To do this you follow the procedure above but to get to the real seal you will have to remove the drum. It will fall out on its own if the front panel is removed. The drive belt goes around the drum. It is about 3/8th of and wide and just wraps around the drum without any teeth or channels or anything. Let the belt fall to the bottom as you lift the drum forward and out of the cabinet. The drum is light. Just put it on the floor and strip off the old rear seal which is glued on. It too is fabric. Clean up the drum a little and fit the new seal on the drum. Once the seal is on the drum you can lift the edge of the fabric seal and glue the fabric flange to the drum. This becomes pretty obvious once you have the seal on the drum. If you put the glue on the drum first you will make a mess. Put the seal on properly and the lift the edge to apply the adhesive all the way around. The adhesive sets enough in a hour or so. Put the drum back in and replace the front panel. Don't forget the drive belt. It goes around the drive motor that is located on the bottom of the dryer on the right, around or over an idler pulley (my older model does not have a idler wheel but rather a bracket with a "slide" that the belt runs over that keeps sufficient tension on the belt to drive the drum. If your belt falls off the motor and the idler pulley falls out it may be confusing how the belt goes in. My idler bracket is held in slots on the bottom of the cabinet merely by the tension of the belt - no screws or anything. I suggest that you put the belt around the drum first, then the drive motor. You will have slack in the belt and it becomes a little more obvious how the idler pulley (which is mounted on spring steel) goes in and takes up that slack and keeps modest tension on the belt. The rubber side of the belt goes against the drum, the leathery side is the outside.

replaced motor and drum rear seal as well as idler wheels, the old rear drum seal was completly worn out, since I had it all apart, I replaced lint chute and trap seals and belt and tensioner. I spent less money on parts than if I would have bought a new dryer. The motor was the main problem as the bearings were shot.

Following the instructions that came with the parts, I removed the top off of the dryer, which was very easy, two more 5/16" screws and I had the drum out. I confess, this was my second time at this repair. 1st time I neglected to replace the rear drum seal which I strongly recommend you do while you have it open. I only replaced the 2 wheels last time and it failed very soon afterwards.
Lesson Learned: Always replace the rear drum seal when you replace the support wheels!!!

Removed top and front of dryer then drum and followed the instructions in the package. It was a real simple procedure. I did additional cleaning while the dryer was disassembled.

Once I started using a bunch of clothespins to hold the felt in place and then started gluing small sections at a time I was able to complete the task. The glue comes out of the tube very quickly so don't squeeze it a lot.

I watched all the videos with Steve. He was very helpful in his presentation of the repairs. Due to the age of the dryer every thing was replaced and was very easy to do. Thank you Steve and PartSelect for making these repairs possible and easy

I removed the top panel, then the front panel.
Removed the belt and the drum.
Saw what I needed to replace. Ordered the parts then put back together. It was a really easy job.

Unplugged unit and removed top and front of dryer. Removed drum and belt. noting how belt ran through the belt tension-er. Removed old felt seal from rear of drum. Replaced broken baffle, replaced rear seal. reinstalled belt. Put unit back together and test ran.