Repairing mid 90's Whirlpool dryer -- Question

[mattl]

I tore apart my Sears electronic 90 dryer, from '96 to replace the failing motor. Pain to have to disassemble the whole unit to do this.

Question, I notice for some of the older units there is a rebuild kit with rollers, belt, and tension roller, for this model there is not, is it not needed due to improvements, or just not old enough? I priced out the various parts and it is too expensive to replace them at this point. Is there any thing that is critical to replace while it is torn apart? Should I lube the rollers with lithium grease?

Got the motor on eBay, $59, not bad,, but can't get the blower off so I had to order one. Sears said about 7 days to get, not stock item, Repair Parts Plus got it to me overnight for a $2.00 up charge, great service. I ordered it online at 5PM yesterday, std. shipping is $6.95, FED EX next day was $8.95, not a bad deal. Any easy way to get the old blower off? Thinking of using my Saws All to cut the shaft.

 

[nmaineman36]

Now is this dryer the one with the filter on the top or the newer filter in the door area ? try this link to find the repair manual you need before you go a hackin into a drive shaft...http://servicematters.com/tech_ref/JA/ja_main.htm

 

[mattl]

Filter in door. The blower is marked with arrow indicating how to install and remove, it's just had 12 years of use and is on there very tight. I tried using the 1/2 ratchet extension to loosen it, but the plastic just expands and the extension rotates in the opening. The motor is almost dead, no reason to salvage it so if all else fails I'll cut the shaft.

Thanks for the link, it appears it's possible to replace the motor with the drum in place, but it looks much more difficult. This will give me an option for a good cleaning and lube.

 

[xyz]

Just take yourself a huge pair of channelocks and put clamp them to the square plastic piece right behingd the motor (with tub out of course) then take a pair of vice grips and you will see a squared off area on the metal motor shaft. put your grips thee and turn the grips while you hold the channelocks. I usually have to hold the locks with my foot if this is an older machine. Careful not to destroy the plastic part of the blower that you have ur locks on.

 

[SactoTeddyBear]

Your Dryer Blower:

Has opposite Threading, in other words, you turn it Counter-Clock Wise to remove it from the Motor Shaft, not Clock Wise, in case you might not have known.

"BTW" I'm not sure about Lithium Grease, but I've used for several years, either what is called Turbine Oil, or Zoom-Spout {similar products} and they come in a Pliable Rubbery Bottle, with a pull-out Straw to get into hard to reach places for Lubricating the Drum Rollers and Belt Tension Pulley Shaft. They don't break-down in extreme Heat and it seems to last quite a long time.

Good Luck with your Repair, keep us posted as to how your doing with this project...

Peace and Great Laundry Drying in a Kenmore, Steve
SactoTeddyBear...

 

[pturo]

I replaced the motor on a "Goes with anything Kenmore Dryer" which is older, but the blower wheel had to be sacrificed and cracked off the old motor's shaft. They tend to weld themselves with heat to the metal after decades of use.

 

[mattl]

Update---

I ended up cutting off the blower, no way to break it free. After I did this I took a close look and could see some rust had formed on the center bolt and it appeared to be rusted on. Got a replacement, popped the new motor in and ----- same problem!

Did some research and ended up back at Appliance Samurai site, hadn't been there in a while and followed a few suggestions, one that was telling was to run the dryer with the belt off. Under no load the motor stopped about 40 minutes into the cycle, of course this was on the AIR setting. It also smelled like it was overheating.

Contacted the seller on eBay and he sent out a replacement and a return shipping label. After I get done on the site I'll pop it in and see what happens.

 

[mattl]

Well, I dropped in the new motor last night and all seems well. I ran it for 40 minutes empty and no problems. I'll do a load of towels today and give it a workout.

 

[goatfarmer]

Success!

 

[mattl]

FIXED!

Yes, success! I tossed a full load of towels in and it's been running for 70 minutes and it just switched over from AU to display 29 minutes remaining.

What are the odds of getting a NEW bad motor to replace an OLD bad motor? The original motor was marked "Made in Mexico", the new --where else--China. Overall the unit seems a bit quieter, though it's still pretty noisy for a TOL machine. The dryer it replaced, a '73 TOL Lady Kenmore was much quieter.