Question about Drum Glides on 1985 GE Dryer

[pbwhitney]

I have a 1985 GE Dryer (match to the 1985 GE Filter Flo) that I bought new in 1985. I've only had to have it worked on 3 times, and all 3 times were just to replace the belt. The belt was just replaced (the 3rd time) two weeks ago. I turned the dryer on for just a couple of minutes after he was done, and it sounded great. When I turned it on the next day, I could hear a soft rubbing sound as the drum was turning - not continuous but like it was just one brief second with every rotation. The repairman came back a few days later, took everything apart, and tried moving the drum. He did mention that there are 2 parts at the bottom front that the drum rests (?) on. Are these the drum glides? I didn't catch what he called them. The one on the right looked good, but he said the one on the left was just about gone. After he put it back together, the rubbing sound was a lot worse. He tried a couple more times but it was still worse than the soft rubbing sound initially.

Last night I tried drying some clothes, and the sound was a lot worse - lasting longer and louder. Now I'm hesitant to use the dryer as I don't want to damage the drum or anything else. He said he would look for the part. Does someone sell these drum glides? I'm going to call him to see if he can come back and try to fix this but not sure what he can do. The dryer was NOT making any noise before the belt broke and was replaced.

I'm having back surgery this coming Tuesday (May 3) and really need to have the dryer fixed since I won't be able to haul laundry to a laundromat. Please let me know what I can do to fix this! Thanks!

 

[thatwasherguy]

At this point...

The glides should be replaced. G.E. dryers can be permanently damaged if you continue to use it with bad glides. I’ve never actually worked on a G.E. dryer, but I’ve seen the inside of them through the internet, and the way that they are set up, if the glides go bad, the lip of the metal drum will rub against the metal of the door opening that the drum fits over. If it runs for very long like this, it will be damaged beyond repair. I’ve heard reports of holes forming in the top of this opening from the metal door on metal contact caused by running one of these dryers with bad glides. It doesn’t look that hard to change them, and I believe the parts are still available. Hope this helps,
Thatwasherguy.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I hope that your dryer repair is resolved promptly and that your healing from your surgery is quick and complete.

 

[pbwhitney]

Thatwasherguy - Thanks so much for that information! The repairman is a young guy with his own company. He seems knowledgeable, but he thought it would be okay to run the dryer as is. Common sense was telling me that the noise did not sound good, and metal rubbing on metal doesn't sound like a good idea to me, so I stopped the dryer last night and will take my clothes to the laundromat tonight to dry them. I did dry 1 load when the noise wasn't as obvious, so I hope I didn't damage anything too much. The repairman didn't think he could find the drum glides though. He said the new ones are thinner than the old ones.

I did find these this morning on Part Select. The repairman had said mine are blue, and this one has blue glides. Does this look like what you've seen?

 

[DADoES]

 
You haven't referenced the model number of your machine.  Presumably you searched it at PartSelect or other online sources that have breakdown diagrams to identify the needed items?

ETA:  As others have said above, do not continue to run a dryer with bad drum support glides or slides ... the resultant metal-on-metal contact will destroy the drum and possibly other parts, leading to a much more expensive repair or trashing the machine if some required parts are no longer available for an older unit.

 

[combo52]

GE dryer front drum glides

A visual examination is all that it’s necessary to decide if these are bad, once they wear through the Teflon coating and felt backing and get down to metal it destroys the drum pretty fast.

This is also what causes the belts to break because of the excess friction.

The drum Clydes you found are probably what you need, but check the front of the drum if it’s Ruff and worn it’s time for either another drum or another dryer it won’t last long if the drum is rough in the area where it runs on the glides.

A dryer this old should also be thoroughly checked for the rear drum bearing and for the idler pulley the motor cleaned and lubricated if you expect to get much more use out of it.

John L

 

[pbwhitney]

tomturbomatic - Thanks!!

 

[good-shepherd]

checked for the rear drum bearing

Yep.

Rear drum bearing is a nylon sleeve and probably well worn on dryer pushing 40 years old, (very easy to check with the drum removed)

Probably should be replaced as preventive maintenance.

 

[pbwhitney]

Thank you all for the information! I wish I had posted on here sooner. The belt actually broke last December, so I've been going to the laundromat to dry my clothes since then. I just finally got a chance to have someone come out to fix it. I don't remember the dryer making any unusual noises (rubbing, squeaking) prior to the belt breaking. If it had been, I would have quit using it since the current noise has already made me quit using it.

I'm at work at the moment, so I'll have to get the model number as soon as I get home. I should have watched the repairman closer when he took the dryer apart so I could do that too. At least I'll be able to see if the parts I've seen on-line will work for my model!

I was there when the repairman pointed out that one glide looked good but the other one was pretty much gone. I didn't get a chance to look closely at them or the drum though.

If I did need to replace the drum, would I need to get that from another old dryer?

Pam

 

[thatwasherguy]

I’m afraid so.

If the drum is damaged, that’s pretty much you’re only option. It might be possible to sand the surface smooth enough to work, but I honestly doubt that there’s any serious damage since you were smart and turned the dryer off when it started squealing. My uncle actually has the same style dryer from 1992, and I looked up the model number from his dryer to see the parts diagram. That part should fit yours, but I’d check the model number to be sure. It should be located on a sticker inside the door (at least, that’s where it is on my uncle’s machine) It may also be on a metal tag located at one of the bottom front corners of one of the sides (I think it was the left one). (I had a hotpoint rimflo that had it mounted here.). Here’s a video of how to open up the dryer.
Thatwasherguy.

 

[pbwhitney]

Thanks again everyone!! I did find the model number inside the door last night. It's DDE 7500GALAD. The slide kit that I posted above does work for that model. I found another slide kit with the same part number (WE25x60) on another site, but it looks different from this one. Both are made by GE and both are listed as working for my model number. The other one is from Appliance Parts Pros and is $42, whereas the one posted above is $62.29.

I also checked the date of manufacture with my serial number (LS2 50419G), and it was made in June 1985. I bought it in October 1985, practically fresh off the factory floor! LOL.

Thatwasherguy: I just checked the beginning of the video, and I see he's replacing the same part I listed above. You're good!!

I just watched the video, and those are the 2 glides that the repairman was looking at. I feel a lot better about this now, having been able to see exactly what's going on. The slides in the video match the ones from Appliance Parts Pros. It's funny that he didn't show replacing those in the video. Thanks for posting that link! I really appreciate being able to call the repairman and know what I'm talking about now! I may have to wait until later next week or the following week, after I'm home from surgery to have this done, but I could get the slides in the meantime.

Thanks again!

 

[good-shepherd]

I could get the slides in the meantime.

Order the drum bearing as well. If the slides are worn out the bearing can't be far behind.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254130372380?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201210111314%26meid%3D53ea04739f9d4fc4a191c82d18e17fcd%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D255056472002%26itm%3D254130372380%26

 

[DADoES]

 
The color of the slides probably is insignificant.  PartsDr has it $30.26.