SER341AQ0 Westinghouse Dryer - Instructions

We followed the instructions for the drum glide replacement and changed the belt and drum support bearing piece, cleaned it out too. Works like a charm. Thanks for saving us a bundle.

1. Unplug dryer from outlet
2. Using Lg. flat screwdriver, pry under the front edge of the top and release two spring tabs
3. Lift up top and tilt back out of your way
4. Unscrew two phillips scews on inside of front panel
5. Lift up and out the front panel. Two spring clips at bottom.
6. Rlease tension on drum belt at the motor. Access panel at rear of dryer.
7.Unscrew 3 screws from inside, center rear of drum.
8. Remove drum through the front of the dryer. You may have to spread the sides apart a little bit for it to fit
9. Lift up on the rear drum bearing to remove it from the bearing retainer. ( U shaped plastic socket)
10. unsrew 2 screws and remove the bearing retainer, ground ball. Ball retainer is on outside of dryer.
11. Vacuum everything--duct, blower, lint trap, ect.
12. Intall new bearing retainer and grounding ball, an assistant is helpful at this time, one to hold ball retainer on rear of dryer, one to screw it in from the inside
13. reassemble remainder of parts in reverse order.

Disconect the dryer from the main power source.

1) Remove the two screws from the rear / upper panel (below the control panel).

2) Snap the front side using a flat head screw driver.

3) On the inside front, remove two screws (one on each side) from the upper side and snap the door assembly off.

4) Remove the rear motor access panel (two screws) and appying tension to the spring remove the belt.

5) Pull the drum upwards (verticaly) unnapping it from the rear wall and remove it horizontally through the front panel.

6) Disconect the four leads to the heating element and remove the four screws from the rear of the dryer and replace the heating element.

Follow the same steps backwards to put the dryer together again.

Unplugged Dryer.
Opened top of Dryer, over the drum.
Removed Thermal Limiter.
Tested the Thermal Limiter - found it was open.
Checked all vents and exhaust tube for lint build-up.
Replaced Thermal Limiter.
Closed top of dryer.
Plugged Dryer back.
Tested Dryer - it works.

The motor bearings had stiffened up – classic planned obsolescence.

I could tell the motor was bad, because when I tried to spin the drum by hand, it wouldn't turn in any direction. (Normally it can turn fairly easily.)

(Helpful hint: As you remove screws / parts, place them in a plastic baggie, and write on the baggie from whence they came. This is especially helpful if you have to order parts and then wait a few days for them to arrive.)

You can replace the starter motor without removing the drum, but it is easier if you do remove the drum. Plus, I decided to also replace the drum belt, since it was 9 years old and is a wear part.

UNPLUG THE DRYER BEFORE YOU BEGIN.

1. Pop off the top cover; it has two spring clips at the front, then it hinges up. Disconnect the green grounding wire at the back, then slip the cover off the hinges and set it aside.

2. Remove the front panel:

a. Looking down into the dryer, disconnect the electrical harnesses that go between the front controls and the body. You may have to cut a nylon cable tie to access one or more. (Note that they have shapes that won't allow you to mix them up later). Also, there are two wires that attach to connectors in the top middle of the dryer, which are difficult to get at; you may need a needle nose pliers to pull them. Remember their color-coding for reinstallation.

b. Remove the two phillips screws located about 8 inches from the top, on either side, inside the body, that hold the front panel in place.

c. The front panel is now held in place by spring clips. Pry it gently to pop it loose. It will hinge out, then you can pull it up. Notice how the front piece has felt pads that serve to hold the front of the drum; you'll line it up the same way when it goes back together. Set the front panel aside.

3. Remove the rear motor vent plate.
a. It is at the back, lower right of the dryer (which is lower left once you're behind it). 2 phillips screws hold it in place.

b. Now look inside to see the motor and belt. Memorize how the belt feeds around the motor pulley and the larger, white plastic tensioner pulley. Notice how the rear motor bearing sits in a half-round metal plate, held down by a spring clip. (Make a drawing if you like.)

c. Move the spring- loaded tensioner arm to take tension off the belt, then slip the belt off the motor pulley.

d. Notice that the tensioner pulley, arm and spring are all held in place by the spring. Note that the tensioner pulley can slip off its shaft. Note these things for when you put it all back together later.

e. Now undo the tensioner arm spring and remove the arm, pulley and spring. Set them aside.


4. Remove the drum:

a. There is a yellowish plastic block at the top front of the open dryer body that holds the drum. Take it out with a phillips screwdriver.

b. Slip the now un-tensioned belt off the drum, to the back, so it hangs over the heater element body. You can leave it there for now, so you don't forget to install it before you put everything back together. If you're going to replace the belt, now is a good time to do so. (Check the length of the new belt against the old one, to make sure they're the same.)

c. Now you can remove the drum. It uses a center ball in a socket joint at the back to hold it in place. Use a screwdriver to lever upward on the back of the drum. This will pop the ball up, and then you can pull the drum out from the front.

5. Clean it up.
Now is a very good time to vacuum out any lint in the fan area, inside the dryer body, etc. Also consider removing the lint trap assembly from the dryer front ( 2 phillips screws) and vacuuming it out as well.

6. Remove the motor.

a. First, remove the fan that's attached to the front of the motor. Use a socket (7/8", I think) to unscrew the fan from the front of the motor shaft. IMPORTANT: The fan has a plastic hex nut sh

Unpluged dryer. Removed the top of dryer by pushing in a retaining clip on both sides of the front lip with a screw driver. Remove the two screws on both sides of front panel. These screws are square head or phillips #2. Unplugged the wiring harness to front panel (make sure power has been disconnected). Support drum and lean front panel away from dryer body. Front panel will pull off of tabs at bottom. The old drum glide is fiberous and hard to remove. I removed most of it with the pliers, but had to carefully scrape the balance of the glide off with the wood chisel. The adhesive that comes with the repair part has an acetone base, so I used acetone (or you could use nail polish remover) to remove the old adhesive. Once the acetone has dried, I applied an 1/8" snaking bead of adhesive to the front panel. There is more adhesive in the tube than you need so do not use too much. Make sure that you get adhesive as close to the base of the lower seal as you can. Follow directions on adhesive tube and then attach the glide. I let it set up for about 30 seconds. Place the front panel back on the tabs of the dryer. Carefully lift the drum an fit it on the front panel and insert the two screws holding the panel to the base. Reconnect the wiring harness and make sure it is not in contact with the drum. Check to make sure that all of the electrical connectors on the timer are still in place. Reassemble the dryer. Reconnect power.

I felt ,if I was going to replace the top drum glide and lower basket seal, I might as well replace the belt ,bearing assembly and the idle pulley assembly and avoid having to replace these sooner than later. All of the parts showed alot of wear and the belt like all drive belts, should be changed every 5-6 years.
DISCONNECT ELECTRICITY and GAS LINES
1.popped top by pushing and prying at front /top clips about 2-3in. in from side edges. lifted it off
2. removed the front panel by removing the 2 top front screws from the inside, then the two lower screws from the front after removing the small white plastic hole covers. disconnected the multiplug electric connector top right. set panel aside.
3.remove small back panel.and loosened belt.(observe belt path and idle pulley assy.
4. lifted drum and slid it out the front.
5. using socket, removed rear plastic bearing housing and replaced the same. be careful of observing the small ball bearing and the small piece on outside back panel. replace the same. you wil probably need a second set of hands to hold the piece on the outside when screwing in the screws from the inside.
6. unscew the "bearing" from the rear of the drum and replace with new one.(the screws are self-tapping and go in HARD!!)
7. apply lubricant liberally to plastic bearing holder
8. place new belt around drum(rubber side against drum cloth side out.
9. idle pulley assy. is removed by removing spring and just sliding assy out of holder. replace with new
10. replace drum and belt
11. take front panel and remove top drum glide and lower basket seal.( i marked where the two seal/glide come together with a marker )
12. scrape and remove as much felt and possible. I then used "goo gone" to remove all the glue. clean well and using the provided high temp adhesive reattached glide and seal.
13. reassemble and enjoy your NEW? dryer

I found a electrical diagram and some common problems on some websites which led me to check the thermal limiters. There are two right up top near the back of the dryer - one mounted closer to the heating coils and one mounted directly to the sheet metal on the inside back of the dryer. Using an DMM on the "Ohms" setting, I checked each sensor to make sure that they were "closed" (near zero ohms). Sure enough, the sensor mounted on the back of the enclosure was open (high resistance) which prevented the dryer from starting. To confirm, I shorted the two leads going to the sensor together temporarily and wrapped them with electrical tape and then tested the dryer - it worked perfectly. The part from Part Select was ordered and shipped very quickly. Since the sheet metal screws holding the sensor on were difficult to access with the drum in place, I used small machine screws/nuts to fasten the sensor - this allowed me to tighten the nuts from the outside of the dryer, making it very easy to attach.

I followed others suggestions with numbered steps and listened to others suggestions about replacing other parts while in the dryer. I took the dryer apart and cleaned it out well. I used acetone to remove the glue from the felt and Drum Glide at the top of the Drum. It worked much better than Goo Gone. By doing the clean up and evaluation one day, I ordered all the parts that I saw were worn or difficult to get to. I replaced the Heating Element only because the old one was very brittle and to get to it again would be difficult. Also, I followed other's advice to photograph the parts before removing. It was easy to remember how things went if I had a photo to refer to.

When the parts arrived it only took about 30 minutes to install them all because the glue removal, lint removal, and parts removal had been done another day. I should add that I am a 66 year old woman and found the job quite simple. Excellent web site. Thanks to others for the step-by-step instructions. Oh, to hold the Drum Glide and felt in place while the glue cured, clothes pins work great. I let the glue cure overnight to make sure that it was really secure.

I unlatched top panel then removed two screws holding front panel on. I then lifted drum out of hanger to make room to remove element. Disconnect wires to limit switch and element. I then removed four screws on back of dryer that hold the pan. I removed old assembly and replaced with new one. Assemble in reverse.

The high pitch squeel was the result of a failing drum bearing. It was particularly evident when first turning on the dryer, but became softer as the dryer heated up. In order to replace the drum bearing, I removed the top panel and front door panel.

The top panel was easily taken off by removing 2-screws from the back edge of the panel, and sliding it back to release it from the front panel seam.

The front panel is more involved, but still relatively easy for your average "do-it-yourselfer". I removed the front door panel by first removing the control panel (4-screws; 2 on top and 2 from the back of the panel). I removed 2 cable assemblies from the control panel via connecters (different sizes so didn't need to mark) and 2-wires attached to the large control panel mode selector (I marked these 2-wires). I set aside the control panel. I removed the front door panel by taking off 6-screws (2 on top, 2 on the bottom, and the remaining 2 on the inside of the panel on either side of the drum). After removing these 6-screws, I carefully pulled the front door panel away from the front of the dryer, carefully releasing 4-alignment latches (2 on either side). The front door panel was still electrically attached to the machine so I had to disconnect a couple more wires. I carefully disconnected 2-wires from the door light assembly and 3 more wires from the door switch (I marked the 3-wires on the door switch). I set aside the front door panel.

From the back of the dryer, I removed the small motor access panel on the bottom left corner. This panel also provides access to the drum belt. I released the drum belt from the motor drive wheel by releasing spring tension at the tensioner. The belt can easily be disconnected from the motor drive wheel and tensioner assemblies.

Removal of the drum was now possible. With the front door panel removed, the front of the drum is maintained in place via a small plastic stop on the top crossmember. I removed this stop prior to removing the drum. With one hand, carefully grabbing the belt that is was loosely draped across the back of the drum, and the other hand holding the front lip of the drum, I provided a quick and forceful upward motion to the back of the drum in order to dislodge the drum shaft from the bearing housing assembly. Once this was accomplished, I simple pulled the drum out of the dryer housing via the front of the machine.

The drum bearing repair kit ordered came with the replacement ball bearing, bearing housing, drum shaft, high-temperature grease, and attaching hardware.

I replaced the drum shaft on the drum via the 4-screws accessed on the drum rear panel.

I removed the old bearing/bearing housing via the 2-screws holding it in place. I wasn't too concerned about loosing the small ball bearing as the kit provided me a new one. I generously applied some high-temperature grease to coat the interior lining of the new bearing housing. I also placed a dab on the back seat where the new ball bearing sits. This helped hold the bearing in place while reattaching it. I reinstalled the bearing housing to finish replacing the repair parts.

Reassembly of the drum is in the reverse order. I paid particular attention to making sure the new drum shaft properly seated with the new drum bearing housing.

After reinstalling the drum and while the front door panel was still off the dryer, it was easy to inspect the blower housing. I found the squirrel cage had broken loose from the molded nut that attaches it to the motor shaft. That would explain the heat problem; the heat was not being exhausted through the duct.

THE SQUIRREL CAGE IS REVERSE THREADED. I was unable to remove the nut from the motor shaft as the design encompasses a metal bushing molded into a plastic nut shaped form. The plastic would not hold up to the force I was applying trying to loosen the squirrel cage. So I ended up removing the entire motor and blower housing assembly from the base

removed the screws, disconnected the wires. installed the new elements replaced the wires.

pulled old knob off. pushed new knob on.

1) Removed Top Dryer Cover (pushed 2 compression clips on front side 1" from top and 2" in from each side) to gain access to terminal block in rear.
2) Removed 2 screws over terminal block cover and 2 screws holding bad terminal block in place. Removed 3 screws holding bad power cord,
3) Removed good terminal connectors from bad terminal block and reinstalled them in the new terminal block.
4) Cut dryer wire from bad terminal block connector and soldered (optional) them to the new terminal block connector. Installed this connector into the new terminal block.
5) Installed new terminal block in dryer with 2 screws.
6) Installed new power cord on new terminal block ensuring contacts were tight and cord had pull guard properly installed. Reinstalled terminal block cover with 2 screws.
7) Reinstalled Dryer Top Cover.

took off back vent panel, removed belt from idler pulley. tried motor again to see if it would work under no load. motor was not seized just would not run. concluded it was the motor. I removed the 2 mounting screws from the back of motor area. from there removed top of dryer and bolts for the front door panel. propped open the door panel to get to the fan housing and 2 front motor mount screws. disconnect the fan wires. pull out fan and motor assembly from front of dryer. I used a medium sized locking wrench behind the pulley and then mounted the wrench (attached behind the pulley in a vise) from there I was able to use a socket to take off the plastic nut at the end of the fan. Notice that it is a reverse thread so don't strip it. dismount motor from bracket and reasmble with new motor. all the steps in reverse. Since the motor was out it just made sense to replaced the belt at this time. took about 45 minutes to disassemble and just over an hour to get it all back together. Make sure you clean out the lint box from inside the dryer.. over the years it will accumulate a lot of nasty dust bunnies. check that all the surfaces are clear of dust and the back of the vent pipe to..