1106072010 Kenmore Dryer - Instructions

Follow the advice given in the partsselect website. However, while removing the blower, my hand slipped into the housing and cut my thumb. Connected the wires to the junction box on the motor but didn't realize that the contacts would hit the drum when reinstalled. The original junction box was at a 90 degree rotation relative to the new box. When trying to test the breaker tripped. Using the multitester I found out that I burned out the thermal fuse, and froze the door switch. I replace both those parts and started the dryer and could hear a grinding sound. Inspection revealed that the housing of the motor was rubbing against the drum. Removing the drum yet again, I rotated the housing and replaced the drum. The dryer was finally working well.

My wife reported that the dryer was not working. I checked it and it seemed to work fine. This went on for about a month or two. Every time I checked it, it started just fine.

Well, she threatened to go buy a new dryer, I took her more seriously. I thought perhaps a thermal protection was the cause. But when I dug into it, I learned that when those trip out, they are permanent (have to be replaced).

I finally noticed loud humming sound the motor made at start-up, when it failed to start turning on one occasion and eventually tripped out the motors thermal protection.

I ordered the new drive motor form PartSelect.com.

Replacing the motor was fairly easy if you like to take stuff apart. One thing that I had not anticipated was that the two foam gaskets on the exhaust duct were dry rotted. I went to my local part supplier to get them. They did not have them in stock. :( While I was there, I asked how much the motor was, they wanted $50 more than PartSelect.com :D

I put it back together without the new gaskets, and it runs like new. I ordered the gaskets from PartSelect and will add them when they arrive.

My wife is happy again, she can bust out the laundry in one day; it had been taking here all weekend.

I learned to take her at her word.

**** Remove power cord from the wall****

As said earlier, you will need to lift the top. Drop the two screws holding the lint shoot and pop the top by sliding a screw driver into the corner on the front. Lif tthe top and rest against the wall behid the unit. remove the two (4 total) screws at the top and bottom of the front door assembly.
Place sometin under the front portion of the drum. At this point you'll see the need to clean everything! :) Slide the belt off and around the drum, (take note of the routing it takes.) Remove the drum by gently pulling it towards you. Set it aside. Clean more. :) (It is nice to have a vacuum handy.) At this point you really need to get to the rear of the system. So I tipped the top back down, and spun it around. Removed the rear panel and cleaned some more. (15 years of a lot of lint in there!) Then you'll need to remove the rear cover on the left side, covering the blower impeller. Get read for a whole lot of debris. Vacuum again. So now you have the motor exposed in the front and rear. You need to remove the impeller by turning that clockwise to loosen it. The trick is holding the shaft in place from the front at the same time. I used an old rag and wedged it into the impeller edges and worked it around until it jamed up. Once the rag was wedged pretty good, I went back to the front spun the shaft. Then you can remove the impeller by hand. Vacuum more. You may get by without having to remove the lint shoot completely, but I did just to clean it up more. I did have to remove two screws in the upper corner near the top of the lint shoot. (Basically the hold the back in place.) I took a few notes at this point about the wiring harness. Used a heavier screw driver (standard), You can push down on the clips that hold the old motor in place. Then work it out the front. Clean more. The new motor is not an exact replacement slightly differnt but the instructions with it were ok. Follow them for the correct wiring. You will need to remove one wire and cut and recrimp a spade lug or two. I used ty-wraps to secure the lines back in place. Look closely at the diagrams and make sure you set the motor down in the same direction the instructions say, if you twist it slightly it will sorta lock in place where it needs to be. Re-install the hold down clips to the front and rear of the motor. Clean up your impeller, and reinstall it too. Then basically reassemble the dryer...tracing your steps backwards. This isn't really difficult, it just takes time and as you can see, you will/should clean as you go !

The dryer motor quit working. Learned, if you are changing one that is old, get the blower wheel fan too! I could not break mine loose from the motor shaft, and had to bust it off.

To un-screw the blower wheel fan from the motor shaft: from the front of the dryer, grab the plastic fan on the back of the motor with an adjustable wrench, and the motor shaft on the front of the motor with vice grips. Turn the motor shaft CLOCKWISE holding the fan still to un-screw the fan. If you have to remove the pulley, grab the shaft and turn the pulley COUNTERCLOCKWISE with a wrench.

Just make sure to pay attention to the orientation of the new motor in the instructions. If you match the old motor, it will not fit. It is all spelled out in the directions.

We were able to look at the diagram of the dryer to figure out how to access the part and then replace it. Fantastic! Your site is wonderful. The suggestion for the repair for not starting was right on the mark. The parts came very quickly, as well.

If you were to do the Belt Replacement only, here is the quick synopsis:
1. Unplug dryer;
2a. Open lint door on top of dryer and remove the two phillips head screws that hold the lint bay to the metal dryer top;
2b. Next remove the two brakets holding the metal top to the dryer back (one screw on each bracket);
3. Use a flat-blade screw driver to pry off the top of the dryer (leaving the timer and start button area attached);
4. Lift off top and push back to expose just enough area so you can get to the two screws holding the dryer sides to the dryer front;
5. Unplug door switch;
6. Unscrew screws from #4;
7. With door open, lift dryer front (only about an inch) and then pry bottom of dryer front from dryer sides. The bottom of the dryer front is not screwed, just siting on Front Panel Clips;
8. Once the front is off the dryer, simply remove the belt and install the new one. Please note that while you are in here, you may want to inspect the rear drum seal and replace if it is worn to the point where metal is rubbing on metal. This is also a good time to clean out dust from inside this cavity to help extend the life of the bearings on the rollers and prevent dust from accumulating and gunking up the motor, etc.
9. Re-assemble tin the opposite order.
If you have any mechanical sense at all and you don't know anything about dryers, you will be surprised at the simplicity of the dryer.

First I unplugged the dryer for safety, then I removed the top of the dryer, then removed the 2 hex head screws holding the font door panel onto the dryer. Then I disconnected the door safety switch. the rest was cake. I removed the old bearing and cut the new bearing and seal to the exact size of the old one. I used contact cement to glue the new bearing and seal into place. Reassembly was a breeze. End of job. Success!!!

Put high temperature glue on first, then put door gasket over the high temperature glue and then let it set for 24 hours. It worked fine....

Came to Parts Select. Looked for door switch. Read what other people did. Part came in a few days took a few minutes to take old switch out (had to pry the plastic connection apart with little thin screwdriver). Everything was easy

PartSelect sent me three different door catches with instructions for choosing the correct one. I did choose and simply inserted it into the slot and voile! All finished and it works great now! PartSelect had the part delivered the day after my order was placed. I would suggest doing business with them to anyone asking who they might contact for a part. I especially appreciated the ease of identifying and ordering from them. I was able to do all of this on-line via their website.

I opened up the dryer as per the instructions I had received from PartSelect tech support. It was very easy to do. The only unexpected thing was that the original belt had snapped and in doing so the idler pulley was actually laying on the floor of the dryer's bottom. I had to figure out how it went, but that only took a minute and I popped it back into place. I held the drum by hand while pulling the dryer face away so it wouldn't fall and then I slipped the belt over the drum and quickly closed the front up again. I aligned the belt on the spot where the old one had been, pulled it through the idler pulley and over the motor and voila. Done. I closed up the dryer and was on to another "Honey Do" project within 20 minutes.

I lifted the top of the dryer cabinet, like the hood of a car using a screwdriver to pry it open. I removed the two screws in the upper right corner of the cabinet front. I disconnected the safty switch on the front door. The front of the cabinet can then be removed by lifting up the front off the pins in the base. With the drum exposed you can place the belt on and thread it through the two pulleys on the motor. Consult the diagrams provided on the PartsSelect website for the proper positioning of the belt on the pulleys. After the belt is installed spin the drum by hand one turn to make sure that it is seated properly on the drum and pulleys. Reassemble the dryer in the reverve order.

I used a screwdriver to remove the old part and pushed the new part in with my fingers, it was very easy. If I could do it, anyone can. I was a lot cheaper then having a repair man come to house. I am very glad I found your site online, I will definitely be using your company again.

When the problem first came up, I took the dryer apart without first looking up any instructions. This wasn't difficult, but didn't realize when removing the fan from the motor, there is a square lug as part of the fan hidden by the rear clamp securing the motor. I was able to remove the fan by holding the motor shaft with a crescent wrench and removing the fan by hand, but was difficult and gloves were necessary in case the fan loosened quickly and my hand came in contact with the sheet metal (very sharp).

I took the motor out and attempted to clean it as it was loaded with dust as was the dryer internals. I tried to lube the motor bearings and appeared to free up, but the sight of metal shavings on the rear bearing seal had me concerned. This ultimely did not work and was trying to buy some time until the new motor arrived.

This is when I looked up the motor part number and found that Parts Select had the part number in stock. I ordered the motor on a Saturday afternoon and got a quick response acknowledging my order. The motor shipped that following Monday from Fresno and arrived on my Southern California doorstep Tuesday. These guys have their act together and are helpful in making the repairs. In my case I did not have to make any adjustments to the wiring or the pulley for my model and replaced the motor the following weekend in about 45 minutes. Since I had the unit apart several times before replacing the motor, the installation went quickly.

The dryer is again working fine for a unit 12 years old and my wife is once again happy that we didn't have to purchase a new dryer.

Half of my pulley was broken off so there were no wrench flats to take it off. I was able to remove it using Channel Locks and the 7/16 wrench shown in the video.

Hint: Use a one gallon ice cream bucket to hold up the drum while connecting the belt. It makes it much easier and gives you more clearance.