Watched on-line video, then applied those steps. 1. Pop the front of the deck loose using putty knife to depress clips; 2. Disconnect wires from light and door switch; (Before I disconnected wires from door switch and light, I made wiring sketches to make sure I reconnected in original manner.) 3. Remove lint filter mount screws and mount from bottom of door opening; 4. Cut drum belt with wire-cutters and removed it; 5. Remove drum support clip from top center of front panel; 6. Remove (1) screw from each side of dryer body that hold front to sidewalls, removed front panel; 7. Remove drum by lifting the rear out of the bearing, then moving it forward through the machine front; [While I had the dryer disassembled, I thoroughly cleaned it of lint, dirt & metal filings. The metal filings were from the worn ball hitch and drum support bearing cup. I spent as much time cleaning it out as I did working on it.] 8. Stand drum on gallon paint bucket while removing ball hitch (Use a #2 drywall phillips apex to obtain sufficient seating & torque to remove and reinstall ball hitch screws at rear of drum.); 9. Have a second person hold the new ball hitch in position while starting screws, if necessary; 10. Use nut driver w/5/16" socket to remove bearing retainer & ground ball clip; 11. Install new bearing into retainer clip, insert attachment screws through the holes in both, stick grounding ball in depression on back of bearing as screws are fed through back panel; 12. Hold ground ball clip in place to start one screw, then the other & tighten with nut driver; 13. Start drum belt on motor shaft and position against tensioner pulley; 14. Feed drum through front of machine and loop belt over rear of drum; 15. Slide belt forward on drum as drum moves to rear to keep it aligned with position of tension pulley; 16. Lift rear of drum to place ball hitch on top of bearing, then press down to seat it into bearing; 17. Turn drum to ensure belt alignment, then re-accomplish steps 6 thru 1.
Unplugged the dryer, removed the top of, disconnected the electrical connectors, removed the front panel, disconnected the belt, removed the drum, removed the old Safety Thermostat, installed the new Safety Thermostat and assembled the dryer again.
Have done this before - dissembled, cleaned everything, re-assembled with new parts - rear bearing, idler, and belt. Hardest part is getting the spring back on the idler pulley. You take the top lid off, remove the front panel and then the drum. remove the access panel on the back to release the spring tension on the idler pulley, then remove the drum. Vacuum clean everything, then reassemble with new stem and bearing, new belt, and idler pulley. Test spin drum by hand - if belt comes off it's likely twisted. Put belt back on and try again. Try operating with air mode to spin drum. If belt stays on, complete re-assembling and make sure you have no screws left over!
May not have to take out the whole drum to replace the limiter!
After lifting the dryer top and finding the location of the thermal limiter on the back of the dryer, where it is difficult to get at, I carefully cut through the dryer cabinet with the multimaster on three sides to form a 'flap' upon which the limiter was mounted. By prying this flap open from the back, the two wires and two screws are easily accessible to replace the limiter, without having to remove the whole drum. Afterwards, I just bent the flap back into place and taped the seams. If it ever blows again, the fix will take all of about two minutes.
First of all, the folks at Part Select have been terrific. I balled up my address and they were great in correcting my error and getting the parts promptly to me. They provide directions with the parts. And You Tube, is a wealth of information too. The process is to remove the drum and replace the nylon busihing that supports the drum at the back of the machine. Getting it out was no sweat. Getting the drum back in was a bit more challenging single handed. If I was going to make any suggestion it would be this is a good project for two sets of hands with the second set needed for about ten minutes. The You Tube video I watched said putting the front cover with the drum attached to the back of the unit would be the challenge and they were right. Otherwise, super easy and the results are it's back to "new" condition. Thanks again to Part Select!
Found the promblem as described at this site while looking for diagrams for the dyer. Repair went as described. Once I removed the old upper drum glide I used acetone to remove old glue. Cleaned up fast and easy. Once installed I let cure for about an hour and then reassembled. Let it cure for about an hour more and then I used the dyer. I could feel that the gap around the front of the drum was again narrow so that my finger tip would not slide into a grove. So far so good.
After changing the drum support bearing, and the front felt ring, the noise continued. It turned out to be the tensioner pully. The harmonic vibration travels throughout the dryer box like an instrument so you can't tell where the sound is comming from. Before you do anything, spray a little wd40 between the bushing and the shaft on the belt tenioner pully. If the squeel goes away, you have found your smoking gun.
Removed two screws in the inside of the front after opening the top by releasing the two clips. Front comes off of bottom clips easily. Drum can be removed and repairs made. Takes less than 30 minutes Be sure to remove door switch wire & unplug unit first. Drum belt can be re-installed easily thru the back access panel.
