Blower Wheel

couldn't get blower wheel off of the motor. really tight. rounded off the wheel's square hub while trying to hold it still as I turned the motor shaft out. No, I wasn't turning it the wrong way :) I ended up going to the back of the dryer and using the multimax to quickly cut the wheel away from the hub. I love that oscillating saw! Just for fun, I put the motor in a bench vise and got the wheel hub off (in pieces). VERY tight! Ordered new wheel, and the job was smooth sailing from there on. I am guessing that experienced repair people automatically order the motor and blower wheel at the same time(?) BTW both parts were perfect matches for the originals. Not surprised; this has always been my experience with partselect.com!

I followed this very helpful video. But when installing the dryer drum, I used a pillow underneath to keep it in place. http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Blower-Wheel/694089/686172#repairHelpVideoTabs

1. Shut off gas and disconnected dryer.
2. Opened cabinet. Easy sheet metal screws and fairly obvious how everything goes together. NB: You'll need a block (or a helper to hold things while you run to look for one) to hold the drum while removing the front.
3. The motor is connected with a single harness, so wiring is a snap.
4. Removing the blower wheel from the back was hard. I braced the motor shaft and turned with all the leverage I could muster, but it was stuck. Plan B: Recip saw to cut the shaft. Motor comes out one side and the fan comes out the other.
5. The fan, of course, was unusable because there was still a piece of motor shaft stuck in the thread. This is why I had to spring for a new wheel.
6. Put everything back together and receive wife's adoring praise...

I had to remove the back, top and the tumbler to get to the fan...there are instuctions near the motor that tell you how to remove the fan and in which direction to turn...really is easy, just keep track of how the tumbler belt is routed on the pulley of the motor before you take it off.

Followed the simple directions provided. Suggest dis-assembling the dryer before ordering the parts as it was then I discovered that the idler wheel was bad and the belt was cracking. The idler wheels should be replaced in pairs. When the unit is dis-assembled is an excellent opportunity to vacuum out the lint from all of the interior areas of the dryer. The new motor wiring was different from the old motor. The instructions should be more clear as the old motor wires were not marked. There were two red wires and two black wires in the motor wire harness. Since I have prior experience with motors I was be to determine which of the red and black wires were the primary power leads - someone with less experience may have a problem with this. Suggest changing one wire at a time and install the motor in the motor mount until the wires have been installed.