Kenmore Dryer Issues

[Toade]

We just bought a Kenmore dryer from a nice couple off of ebay. Upon getting it home and turning it on, it spun for about a half a cycle before a big crunch, and then it locked up. When pushing the start button, you can hear the motor making a humming cound like it is trying to spin, yet it was not turing the drum.

I opened up the dryer, to find that a large wood screw had somehow got into the exhaust track. When the dryer was turned on, the screw jammed up the exhaust wheel/fan, which ended up snapping the fan in half, jamming a peice, which kept the motor from spinning.

After removing the peice, i tried putting the dryer back together, however wasn't quite sure how the belt wrapped around the motor and tension wheel. The only way I could get it was to pull it under the tension wheel, and around the motor. This seems to be the way it should be. Now when the washer is turned on, it spins, but it shakes VERY violently and loudly. This is where I am at now.

Is the shaking due to the half a fan, which is inturn throwing the motor's balance off and causing the drum to shake? Or is it that the belt is on incorrectly? Or could it be that I didn't reinstall the drum correctly? It seems that if I spin the drum by hand, it starts to shake without too much speed. I really am not sure why this is.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

David

[jeff]

Hi,

Kenmore is made by several different companies....model#?

helps.

Good catch!!

*Some* common dryer belt configurations.

Washer?

Probably is, the fan/motor will be terribly off-balance with a piece of the fan blower missing.

Remove the belt and spin the drum by hand, if the drum turns ok without the belt installed the vibration is probably from the fan blower.

jeff. Appliance Repair Aid

[Dave Harnish]

Hi David,

Yes, you must replace the blower wheel to correct the vibration. If there's even one blade missing, it will cause vibration due to the out-of-balance condition.

Don't use it this way - it'll cause motor bearing failure, as well as heating system problems due to the low airflow.

I stock several of the different wheels, and would be happy to research one by model # for you if you like.

If your dryer is a 29" wide cabinet (lint filter pulls out the top), the belt is installed by putting a loop of it through the hole under the idler, then around the motor pulley. Can be puzzling if you've never seen one before. Sounds like you have it on right if it's running.

Hope that's of some help.

God bless,

Dave Harnish Dave's Repair Service New Albany, PA [e-mail]

570-363-2404

I'm a 30-year pro appliance technician, and love sharing what I've learned - in a FREE Monthly Appliance Tips Newsletter:

Acts 4:12

[J]

The half a fan could very well do that, sure could. The drum being in wrong could do that too but most likely if the drum was in wrong it wouldn't go together right I wouldn't think unless there's other problems, but if it worked well before the crunch, I'd say it's the fan, hopefully the shaft coming out of the motor that the fan is on isn't bent, that would do that too. It's most likely the fan or that shaft the fan's on, if it's not bent though it's just the fan most likely I'd have to look at it myself to be

[Toade]

Thanks guys. It was infact the blower wheel. Replaced that and all works great now. Cut the shit out of my finger trying to get the old blower off, but it was worth it.

[jeff]

Thankx for the update!

Great! :)

Ooops ;)

Thay can have sharp edges sometimes.

jeff. Appliance Repair Aid