Uh oh.... Dryer Problem After Cleanout

[whirlcool]

A few weeks ago as some of you may remember I cleaned out a neighbor's Kenmore dryer. This is the one that had the hard packed lint and the sticky duct work from all the fabric softener.

A few days ago the woman who owns the dryer called me to say the dryer is now "squealing" on occasion when it is run. Of course she said "And it didn't do this before you cleaned it out." I said it could be a squeaky roller wheel maybe some lint got into it? Well last night she called and said she had to call Sears because when she turned the dryer on today it made a humming sound and then turned off. So I went over and took a look and it seems the drum is locked up. Won't turn at all even with a good amount of pressure.

Is this a coincidence or could it have been something I did?

 

[DADoES]

 
The GE specimen?  Or Kenmore/Whirlpool?

Coincidence.  IMO you know your way around a dryer well enough not to have caused the problem.

GE:  Front drum support slides, idler, rear bearing (seems unlikely), bad motor bearings.

Whirlpool (27" design IIRC):  Drum rollers, idler, motor.

All these items are "normal wear" items, except the motor but they will eventually wear down, too.

Or, slight chance something could be caught in the drum seals front or back.

 

[whirlcool]

This is the one that was a Kenmore, but had the motor, idler and the belt behind the squirrel cage on the lower left side of the dryer. Aren't Whirlpool belts and idlers on the lower right side towards the front?

I hope the Sears guy lets her know this is a coincidence. She's sure it's something I did to it.

Maybe I shouldn't be so helpful in the future......

 

[rapunzel]

"Maybe I shouldn't be so helpful in the future......

Murphy's Law at work. Just remember the saying:"No good deed goes long unpunished."

And - "High fences make the best neighbors."

Terrible, isn't it?

 

[DADoES]

 
Oh, yeah, you mentioned that about the Kenmore dryer's design.  Not familiar with those but dryers are mechanically simple and the basic designs are similar.  Is it a match to an LG/clone HE washer?  Do you have the model number for look-up at SearsParts?

 

[applianceguy47]

I empathize with you. You try and do the right thing, just to be nice and neighborly, and this happens.

I would carefully explain that sometimes conincedence happens and you worked with good intentions. Hopefully they will be just as anxious to resolve this in a positive way. [this post was last edited: 12/3/2012-18:46]

 

[whirlcool]

The washer is a standard Kenmore DD rather TOL though. It looks a lot like my 1993 Whirlpool DD machine but not an electronic model. I remember the first numbers of the washers model number is 110.94 then something. I thought I was through with her stuff so I disposed of the model numbers. I would not feel comfortable going back there to get the model numbers again.

After working on dryers I discovered how simple they really are. Pretty simple stuff to work on. I just hope this neighbor doesn't appear on our doorstep with her Sears bill in hand.

OTOH, the other GE dryer I cleaned out is working just fine and that person is very happy.

 

[combo52]

27" KM Dryer

It sounds like you are describing a KM 27" dryer Allen. On this dryer and GE dryers and several other brands you have to thread the belt around the motor pulley and idler pulley almost only by feel and it is possible that belt derailed and got off the edge of the idler pulley or got off the motor pulley and was running on the motor shaft. But it could certainly be a bad motor which would have had nothing to do with it being cleaned.

 

[whirlcool]

That's exactly right. You have to put your hand around the ductwork to the back of the dryer to thread the idler wheel and pulley by feel only. In addition to cleaning the dryer I put a new belt in because the other one broke. After that this dryer was running just fine.

 

[tecnopolis]

Might want to remind her that it was better to have had it stop working then to have had it erupting in a lint fire and taking the rest of the house with it.

Obviously there was something wrong with it prior to your visit or why would you have been there in the first place?

Are you psychic and it came to you in a vision that there was something wrong with her dryer?

 

-Alex

 

[whirlcool]

No, it started out with this woman asking me to look at it because it stopped running, in her words. So I went over there and looked at it and it was as dead as a door nail.

I moved the drum around and it moved very easily. Too easily for my taste so I diagnosed it as a broken belt. I ordered a belt for it and went over there to install the belt. While I was in there I thought I'd inspect it for lint buildup.
And it had lots of hard sticky lint all over the ductwork. So after taking it apart I vacuumed the entire unit out and washed the ductwork in Dawn and hot water to get those parts cleaned again. They I dried the parts and reinstalled them along with a new belt. The machine sprung to life after that. Then a week later it started to squeal on occasion. Then a week after that it stopped working.

The Sears guy is coming today so we'll hear what happens.

 

[rp2813]

Sounds like you got the thing squeaky clean for her. ;-)

 

It also sounds like it had issues before you even touched it.  We'll be waiting to hear what the trouble was.

 

 

 

[whirlcool]

The dryer in question is a Kenmore 110.76912692 dryer.
The Sears repairman told her it's time for a new dryer because the motor went bad and it also needs a new belt(!) and pulley. He quoted her $485.00 for the repair!

Any idea how old this dryer is? The Sears guy told her "It's an old dryer, you can spend the $485.00 to fix it and have something else break next week or just go out and save yourself some money by going to your local Sears store to buy a replacement.".

When I had it apart, except for being gummed up by fabric softener lint it seemed to be in great condition. Very little wear anywhere. It's in near mint condition.

 

[DADoES]

 
SearsParts lists the motor for $151.

Another source I found recently lists $109, belt $13, idler $11.

That's far from $485, even considering labor.

I'm not having ability to interpret Kenmore model numbers for age, but someone else surely can.  Serial numbers are coded with year & week of manufacture.

 

[whirlcool]

I don't know why the guy would say it needs a new belt as I just put a new one on it!

On Ebay there is a kit for $127.00 that has a new motor, pulley, belt and drum rollers. What else besides those could go wrong with the unit?

Knowing this woman, should I offer to fix it for less, or just let her go buy a new dryer?

 

[whirlcool]

I talked to this woman and offered to repair her dryer for cost. Her response was

"I'm just going to buy a new one. My daughter said she has one of those new steam dryers and it even dry cleans your clothes. You can even wash and dry leather in them! So I think that's the way to go. Besides, the repairman who was really very nice said this dryer could fall apart tomorrow because it's so old!".

This is where I step out.

 

[launderess]

Having The Same Sort Of Problem With My Miele

Tech service came out to replace motor brushes (which they did not do), but after he left the machine developed a rattle/knocking noise upon spinning which it did't do before. A different Miele tech came out last week and said one or more of the shocks are going and need to be replaced. Have not heard back as to when or if Miele will do the repairs.

Miele techs and corporate also give one the same line about the machine being "old" and how it is really throwing good money after bad in doing repairs/new parts as the costs easily equal what one can put down on a new unit.

IMHO the only thing you did wrong Whirlcool was offering to get involved in the first place. As stated upthread sometimes the laws of "no good deed goes unpunished" comes back to hit us in the hind quarters.

If the woman is going to get herself a new dryer, leave her have at it and back away from the whole matter with a lesson learned. Just pour yourself four fingers of Bourbon and say "never again".

 

[whirlcool]

The fact that this woman thinks that a new steam dryer will dry clean her clothes and that you can now wash and dry leather in it is enough to keep me away. She'll go out and spend megabucks for a steam dryer only to find that it doesn't do everything her daughter told her it would.

Oh well, I learned my lesson now....

But the other dryer I worked on is still happily humming along....

 

[launderess]

Like I Said

Leave her enjoy her new *steam* dryer and live in blissful ignorance that it will not "dry clean" her laundry. If she complains to you later about her dryer and seeks advice, refer her back to the daughter, store, tech , and everyone else who suggested purchasing the thing, but try and stay out if it yourself.

It is like when we were back in school and one tries to "fix" a situation only to have it explode out of control and somehow we the innocent party are now being held to blame for the entire mess.

Finish the Bourbon and walk away from it... *LOL*