Idler Pulley Spring WP56076

Removed lower front panel.

Removed door assembly* making note of the wire positions on the door switch
* When removing the door assembly DO NOT LET IT DROP DOWN! Doing so will destroy the door switch. Swing the door assembly upward from the bottom toward you as high as it will go then pull it free.

Removed the drum and belt assembly.

Removed the idler pulley and idler pully spring.

Vacuumed up the interior dryer floor and blew out the motor w/ comp air. Also cleaned the ribbed motor pulley with a nylon brush and brake cleaner sprayed on a shop towel.

Removed the drum tires and cleaned their shafts and internal bearing sleeves with brake cleaner sprayed on a shop towel.

Reinstalled the drum tires after lubricating their shafts with a very light coat of general purpose grease.

Replaced the idler pulley and idler pulley spring after cleaning and lubing shaft and pulley bearing as done on the drum tires.

Reinstalled the drum with the new belt (ribbed side down) roughly in place.

Reinstalled the front door assembly after reconnecting it's wiring making sure to insert it's top locking tabs with the bottom of the door held up high then swung down into place

Tensioned the belt by positioning the flat side of the belt that comes down the right side of the drum over the idler pulley flat side down and then the ribbed side of the belt over the motor shaft. You will have to move the idler pulley arm to apply full tension against the spring in order to have the slack to get it around the motor shaft.

Reinstalled the lower front panel.

Checked dryer operation OK.

This repair was rated a bit difficult because I didn't know the trick for removing/installing the door assembly and destroyed the switch. Furthermore, putting the belt back on is a somewhat difficult challenge because you have to do it mostly by feel

Loud squealing noise coming from the idler pulley. The pulley was not spinning freely on the shaft of the idler pulley lever to the point of putting a groove in the pulley and damaging the belt. To fix the problem replaced the belt, idler pulley, and idler pulley lever. Because I had the dryer apart also replace the following items. Drum support roller and drum slides.

I followed the instructions found on this site. The hardest part was figuring out how to release the clamps at the front of the dryer so I could remove the top.

The key was to unbolt the clamps at the back of the dryer first, then to use a putty knife to release the two clamps at the front of the dryer that hold the top to the front.

The rest was easy by following the steps already listed on this site and removing the two front pieces, then the drum and replacing the parts. Putting it back together was simple since I placed things in order and had taken pictures with my cell phone as I went through the process.

The time I took, included vacuuming the inside of the dryer thoroughly. Now it runs like new.

Removed the front dryer panels (lower & upper), front drum support and drum. This gave me easy access to the idler pulley and tension spring. I also took the opportunity to vacuum all of the lent that had collected over the years. After installing the new parts and aligning the belt, I reassembled the panels, plug it in and it worked like a champ! Locating the parts on your website was fast and easy. I appreciate it and thank you.

I removed the bottom panel, then the larger front panel that includes the door. After that, removed the top 2 screws so that the top would swing up (but not lift off). After that, I removed the front "bulkhead", and the drum. Then it was just a short matter of sweeping everything out, and replacing the parts one by one. Most came off with a socket, or snap ring pliers. Pretty obvious at this point...

Be sure to label any wires - I removed 5 wires all total, and wrote down the colors and where they went.

It's great to have help when working with the drum. BTW, you CAN replace the belt without taking out the drum, but you better have strong fingers to move the belt tensioner and slip the belt on it - all with one hand. I did it, but that was the least "fun" part....

I found a shrieking noise repair on this website, followed their instructions (winging it a bit) and was able to fix my dryer for the price of those parts - excellent!!! As the other instructions said, mark EVERY wire.
I have additional instructions - MARK EVERY SCREW you remove. I had 4 extras when I was finished and now I'm a bit worried about where they belong :)

I unplugged the dryer then removed 2 sheet metal bolts on the lower front access panel. The panel was removed and this exposed the duct for the hot air exhaust. I had to remove the duct to access the package for the motor and worn out pulley. I had to the remove 2 bolts in the bottom corners for the upper front of the dryer. The upper panel was then easily removed, 3 phillips screws had to be removed from inside the drum area on the back of the exhaust duct where the lint filter is inserted.
Once these are removed the duct cowms right out.
This exposes the motor and tension pully platform. I then reached in and moved the tension pulley to relieve pressure and took off the belt that drives the drum.
There are 2 botls at the front base that need to be removed then the platform can be slid forward and the rear tongue comes out of the groove. Rotate the platform 45 degrees and you can access the bolt and nut that mounts the pully arm to the platform. Once removed the spring can be removed and the assembly taken out of the dryer and parts switched over, There is a spring clip you will need to remove normally with a special tool but 2 needle nose pliers will work. Once the parts are replaced reverse the process. Putting the belt back on can be confusing lying on your back with one arm inside the dryer but persistance overcomes resistance,

Unplug dryer. Remove lower panel.Remove dryer lent duct. Remove Thermostat fm fan housing. Remove Fan.Remove Fan housing. Remove Motor assy by sliding out, wires lay toward front, allowing room to replace idler pulley and spring. Use lock ring pliers to remove pulley from shaft. Grease pulley/shaft w/high temp grease [I used ultra-hi temp ceramic brake grease-can get in small packets at auto stores].Noise/slippage has all but stopped. Lesson: replace rear rollers and front felt/glides. Belt looseness also caused by worn rear rollers [smaller overall diameter from age]-even though they spin freely

I removed the covers, released the belt, pulled the drum, replaced rollers, glides, idler pulley and motor. The motor was the main issue but I replaced the rollers, idler and glides while I was in there. My biggest challenge was the clips that hold the motor in place. The hooked over a metal ear. I was able to use a big strait slot with downward pressure to release and reinstall.

The illustratations on the web site made ordering the correct part easy and the part fit perfectly so this repair job could have been accomplshed by anyone with very basic mechanical understanding.

Thank you