How do you remove the drum on DE606?

[cyoung]

The drum in my old reliable DE606 dryer (which we bought used 30 years ago) has stopped turning. The motor still works, but the shaft seems to have frozen (with no warning that we noticed). I'm no expert, but I've fixed a few things on this dryer over the years, so I started taking it apart to see what I can see.

My problem is I don't know how to get the drum off. It barely turns when I push on it, and it squeals loudly. I have removed the c-clip but don't know where to go from there. (I'll post a couple of photos.)

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

-Craig

 

[d-jones]

Hi Craig

With the C clip removed you should be able to push that shaft out of that housing without too much effort at all. The fact that yours is squealing like a stuck pig and is in fact stuck is very telling. The bearing that this shaft rotates in is made of bronze, and when new some felt wicking material saturated with oil(that you'll see when you finally get it out) kept the rotating shaft lubed. Over time this lube will eventually run out/dry out, and once that happens the friction generated by the unlubed rotating shaft will cause the parts to overheat, swell, and squeal. That's where you are now with this one. To get this apart without damaging anything I think you'd want to use some kind of press, like a steering wheel puller or other such device. Once you do get it apart you'll need to need to carefully inspect the bearing surfaces and be prepared to replace them if needed. I've attached a couple of pages from a DG906 parts catalog so you can see what you're looking for as far as parts go. All of the relevant part numbers will be the same for your dryer. The parts you'll need are still out there, but you'll likely have to do a bit of calling around and internet searching to find them.

 

[combo52]

Removing a dryer drum from a halo of heat dryer

You should only need to remove the C clip and pool the dryer drum forward working at back-and-forth gently apply a little bit a lubricant on the shaft if needed but a puller should not be necessary.