Rear Drum Support Roller Kit

I opened the dryer from the front by pushing in on the two clips just under the top. I then had to remove two screws on each side and took the front panel off. I reached around underneath on the right side to slip the belt off the pulley. I pulled the drum out and then I could see the roller that was squeaking (the left one). The wheel had sheared some of the support off and that was the cause of the squeak.

I took the locking ring off and removed the wheel and support. I put the new support in, attached it, and then the wheel, washer and lock ring. I used pliers to push the lock ring onto the support.

Then I put the drum back in making sure it was in all the way (it fits snugly between the wheel and the back of the dryer). The belt is a little tricky to get back on. I put it around the drum and then reached underneath and behind again. The pulley is on a spring, so you have to pull it up and put the belt on all one-handed and blind. Once that was on, I gave it a few turns to make sure everything was working again.

It is quiet as can be now!

First I made sure the unit was unplugged. I popped the top of the unit with a slotted screw driver, lifted the top up and rested it against the wall behind the dryer. I removed the two screws - one on each side in front on top of the dryer cabinet. Then I tipped back the front panel of the dryer slightly with the door of the dryer closed. I unclipped the door switch with a slotted screw driver and then lifted the entire front panel including the door off of the the two floor clips on bottom. I set the front panel aside. Next I lifted the large drum slightly to dislodge the rollers in back and slid the drum back slowly while sliding the thin belt back on the drum until the drum was out of the unit and the belt was detached and loose. Then I cleaned the unit thoroughly, vacuumed all lint and dirt and wiped down the outside of the large drum with mineral spirits to make sure it was totally clean and smooth. Then I removed the two rollers and the roller shafts at the back of the unit following the directions enclosed. My slip-ring pliers came in handy to remove the retaining rings on the roller shafts. I replaced the rollers and roller shafts and the supplied washers and spacers as per the instructions. I sprayed a little WD-40 on the surface of the rollers and it stopped all squeaking and vibration of the drum. Next I replaced the front drum pads and runners as per the instructions. I then slid the drum back in place taking care to slide the new belt back around the drum in the same position as the old belt. Now came the difficult part - laying on the floor and reaching under the drum I positioned the belt around the motor shaft and tension pulley. This must be done by "feel" and must be done correctly!! Follow the instructions on the positioning of the belt very carefully and make sure it is in the correct position on the drum, motor shaft, and tension pulley! Next, get up and rock the drum up and down slightly to make sure it has engaged the two rear rollers properly. Rotate the drum manually one or two turns to make sure the belt is in the correct position. Then replace the front door panel by dropping it onto the two clips at the base of the unit and taking care to replace the door switch in reverse order of taking it out. Then replace the two screws at the top front on each side of the unit to secure the front panel. Lower the top of the unit back in place, plug in the dryer, turn it on and enjoy the lack of noise you have created.

I was replacing the rear drum support wheels and the felt gasket in the back of the drum.
Since I had this done by a repairman last time 6 years ago for $180 I decided to try it myself this time. First, this job isn't hard, just very inconvenient to do.
You have to remove the drum by taking off the front panel of the dryer. Then lift up slightly on the drum and remove. Then you unscrew the existing drum support wheels in the back and replace. The instructions for installing the new drum wheels are in the package with the wheels. Replace both even if one looks ok. The trick to getting the retaining clips on is to get them placed on the groove in the front of the wheel shaft and use plyers to clamp down on the clip and shaft - then they just snap into place.

The other thing I replaced was the felt gasket at the rear of the drum. Getting the old worn one off was easy. Scrape off as much of the old adhesive as you can, clean with some Goo Gone or similar adhesive remover and dry. I used the hi-temp adhesive from this website to attach the new felt gasket - this stuff is runny! If it gets on your hands or other surfaces, miner spirits or goo gone will get it off. I found it easier to apply a bit to the felt then hold it on the while the stuff started curing (a few minutes). Once you have glued the felt all the way around the drum, let it sit for an hour or so before trying to put the drum back on. Before you reinstall the drum, gently fold over the felt toward the back of the machine so it forms a "U" shape. Then carfully put the drum back on, making sure you have it sitting on the new wheels. Since the felt is new, you will have to work the drum a bit to get it seated evenly on the wheels and the new gasket.

Since there were no instruction on the tube of hi-temp adhesive about cure time, I waited a full day before running the dryer. It's been a week and 4 loads of laundry later and everything is running fine. I saved about $120.

Took the front of dryer apart removed belt and drum replaced my parts and reassembled.

The top was hard to figure out but I found that it pops off at the front with a flat screw driver. Be careful not to scratch the paint. I found that a rear drum roller was bad and the drum seals were deteriorated. I ordered a new belt, roller kit, front, and rear seals. This way I hoped I will not have to take it apart again. The seal were the hardest parts to replace. Make sure you look and remember how they were on before removing them. The directions were not to clear on the seals. The rest were good. It is much better to do it once. Take a picture if possible, it might come in handy as I took mine apart a week or so before the parts came in. I also cleaned out all of the accumulated lint buildup with a shop-vac, including the vent pipe, heater area, and front door. When I was done with this it worked like brand new.

unplugged unit, opened lid, removed 2 screws & door switch from front panel, removed front panel & drum.
Removed clips & washers from rear roller shafts, removed 2 screws (each) attaching rear roller shafts to rear of unit. Replaced rear roller shafts, thrust washers, rollers & clips. Removed clip from belt tensioner idler arm, replaced idler pulley wheel & clip.
pulled tensioner toward motor side and locked in place with broomstick. Placed new belt over drum & installed drum/belt into unit, engaging rear drum lip over new rear drum support rollers. Guided belt
over motor shaft and slowly released broomstick to
tension belt. Turned drum by hand to ckeck belt tracking. Reinstalled front panel & door switch, installed 2 screws holding front panel to case. Closed lid. Plugged unit in & tested for proper operation-OK.

removed front cover 2 lower screws. once front cover was off, the front drum support bracket was visable. removed 4 screws that hold that in. the drum is now loose and not supported in the front. pulled drive belt tensioner back to release belt. removed 2 top cover screws to get more vertical room to lift drum out. once drum was out, i used a snap ring plyers to take retainer ring off to remove damaged rear drum support rollers. replaced both rear rollers. also replaced drive belt and door lamp. the bearing in the left roller had seized and torn a big hole thru the roller . assembled in reverse order. now drum is nice and quiet

I followed the directions from a post on parts select that somebody had previously written and my repair worked out perfectly. I removed the top / lid of the dryer by placing a flat head screwdriver underneath both top front corners which was relatively simple. I then removed the entire front door of the dryer by disconnecting the electric wires for the door which again was a very simple procedure. The tumbler was now exposed at which time I removed the belt (I took a picture of the belt setup for later reassembly) and lifted the tumbler off giving myself easy access to the rear drum rollers and front drum pads. I was able to see that the wheels were worn and definitely the cause of the squealing. I changed out the wheels with replacement wheels which was self explanatory. The front pads were in good shape but I figured that at this point it would serve me well to replace them also which I did. I then reset the new belt (another part that I opted to change while I had the opportunity) on the tumbler with the picture in hand and had no problem. This step did require two people but still not a difficult step. I then put the door and lid back together and now had myself an extremely quiet dryer and a piece of mind that new parts were installed. All in all pretty easy repair.

It took me a bit to figure out how to get the outer case to come apart (there are two spring-loaded latches under the front edge of the lid, had to insert a putty knife at just the right spot then lift up the lid). Once it was taken apart, I manually spun the drum to see where the noise was coming from and it was obviously coming from one of the two wheels that support the rear of the drum. Took out the drum after sliding the belt off and replacing the wheels was a piece of cake. They are held on by E-clip style retaining rings, which I destroyed when removing them with a pair of pliers. Luckily the new set comes with new retaining rings, along with the required washers and spacers. I also replaced the metal pins that the wheels spin on, since mine were showing wear and I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to keep squealing after I was done! All in all it was pretty easy! Before you take the belt off, make sure you take note of how the belt winds around the tension wheel so that you put it back on correctly! My girlfriend was VERY impressed that I was able to fix her dryer for about 1/10 of what it would have cost to get a new one!

The support roller broke and that made the noise as the rubber came off the wheel. It took about 8 months before the belt finally broke. Since I had it apart I decided to change both the drum felt seals and idler pulley wheel. I had trouble finding high temperature adhesive for the drum felt seal. Lowe's and Home depot didn't have anything that indicated it would take the heat. Finally located an adhesive at a craft store and the label claimed it was good on washers and dryers. Although I was able to glue and stretch the felt onto the dryer by myself if you have two people it will be alot easier. My dryer had made so much noise for so long I couldn't believe how quiet it is now.