So, the other day I talked about things needing to be fixed around the house once we got back from our trip. Well time to add one more to the list – the dryer.
I went to get laundry out of the dryer the other day and half of it was still quite wet. So, I started it up, and it didn’t sound right. I could hear the motor running. So I opened the dryer and it was getting hot, but it wasn’t spinning. I assumed that the belt had broken. So, my wonderful wife unloaded the dryer and then I moved it out from the wall and unplugged it. I assumed there would be access in the rear of the machine for the belt. I saw some screws at the base and started taking those out, but then the entire structure started to drop down.
NOTE – we have a dryer that has a built in top drying rack as well. So it is a large machine.
Well, that was all one section and those bolts I took out allowed the entire unit to slip downward. So that was wrong. I had to pry on it to lift it back up high enough to get all the bolts back in but I did. So, then I decided to take the front off (which I have done before). As you see in the first picture this is what it looks like when that is apart. I started looking around and sure enough I found
this broken belt. So after 19 years the belt finally broke. I feel pretty god about that honestly. This is the first major problem we have had with this dryer. I also found lots of hair and lint that I cleaned out as well since I had it apart.
I counldn’t figure out how to get a new belt installed from the front since it looked as if there were no gaps to feed a new belt through. So, I turned to the internet and found a nice video on youtube on replacing the belt. The guy showed that you can wiggle the drum around enough to get the belt fed in. He also mentioned replacing the rollers in the back at the same time.
So, I got online to find the parts. The belt was easy to find, but the rollers have been discontinued. I found some 3rd party ones on Amazon and ordered those.
The rollers arrived 2 days later and I took the drum partially out and found that my rollers were still in great condition. They looked better than the replacement ones I got from Amazon. So, I just lubricated them and put the drum back on. I will return the new ones later today.
The belt arrived (a day late, grumble) and I was able to instal the belt and put the dryer back together in less than 20 minutes. I think that is a new record for a house repair that I have never done before. The dryer seems to be working just fine now, and I expect not having to worry about a belt again ever while I own this dryer.
Here is a picture of the installed belt:
