AEM397 Whirlpool Dryer - Instructions

I had already taken the dryer apart prior to changing the felt seal. Had oiled the rollers, greased the bearings & vacuumed the whole inside of the dryer out. Had used a high temp lubricant on the seal & had stopped squeaking for about a month. I ordered 2 seals & when they arrived, I popped the top of the dryer off using the putty knife to pry the spring latches. I opened the top up & leaned it against a wall. I disconnected the wiring to the light & the switch in the door, making note of the wiring order. Then used a nut driver to take the 2 screws from the inside out, that holds the front cover in place. Then the same for the 4 screws holding the front bulkhead in place. Then lifted up & out from the unit. Then used the putty knife to scrap the adhesive & old seal off the bulkhead. Cleaned as much of the adhesive off, then applied some high temp silicone adhesive to the bulkhead, placed the new seal on, using some clamps to hold it in place. After making sure it had adhered to the seal & bulkhead. Did the reversal of the above mentioned steps. Moved the unit to laundry room, plugged it in then started it & voila no more squeaking dryer.

took frount off ,then filter, pulled drum out, then blower plate & spun impeller off. went back together easy ,except belt . that gave me a little problem but finally got it thanks

I first unpluged the dryer. Then I
Removed two screws and removed bottom cover, Then removed the door assembly.Here I had to unplug the light and door switches. I then removed the four screws that holds the tub mount in place, Then I removed the eight screws that hold the blower cover in place, then removed the blower. replaced blower and reassembled in reverse. I started the dryer and it worked fine.

Dryer stopped tumbling, so bad belt was my first thought. Dryer is in vacation home so did not have immediate access to it to diagnose. Ordered belt and discovered that the poorly designed motor pulley had broken and the belt jumped onto the motor shaft and burned through the original belt. Week 2 after ordering pulley, installation went per YouTube video. Glad I also replaced the belt because it was brittle and cracked. Suspect it had been slipping because sheets would ball up into a log, possibly because the drum wasn't spinning fast enough. Anyhoo, after repair all seems OK.

I followed the instructions and it went very well. The only confusing part was the drive belt for the tumbler barrel I just had to visualize the threading arrangement to get it right. Much like a car fan belt.

I first watched the video and disassembled the dryer to see if I could determine what part was squeaking. All looked good except the wheel on the Idler lever which was tight. I vacuumed up the years of lint and reassembled the dryer and waited for the parts to arrive. I ordered the idler lever and also the 2 drum support wheels, belt and 2 drum guides since I thought that is was a good idea to go ahead and replace these parts once I had the dryer disassembled again. Good choice on the belt as once I removed the old belt there was a crack on the underside of the belt. I bought snap ring pliers at home depot but the tips were too big to fit the holes on the snap rings on the drum rollers. I bought another snap ring plier set from an automotive store that came wth 5 snap ring attachments - but again all were too large to fit the snap rings on the drum support rollers. I used a nail and small screwdriver to expand and pull off the snap rings but this approach was frustrating and time consuming. Not sure where to get snap ring pliers that are small enough to fit the holes on the snap rings - so hope that you have better luck locating a set thats small enough! I was able to return the pliers that I purchased - so all good. I was surprised at how easy the dryer came apart and how easy it was easy to work on. When disassembling the dryer - we took pictures of the wire connections before we disconnected them, however at one point we tilted the dryer back to clean behind it and the top slipped a little away from the side panel of the dryer and one of the wires that was connect to the wire block that is up by where the power cord connects cam loose - and it took some time to find and figure out a wiring diagram for this connection. Suggest that you take a pictire of this wire connection block once you lift the lid - just in case a slip occurs and a wire may disconnect. When replacing the idler lever -
have a little grease available when you install the new idler lever (between the arm and the bolt area as it constantly moves and the old brease has probably worn away) . After making these repairs I dont think I will ever buy a new dryer as any part , including the heater and motor would be easy to replace and cheaper than a new dryer.

I removed the dryer front and replaced the door switch.
Next I replaced the drum glide reassembled the dryer.

Removed lower panel, door assembly, belt and drum.
Removed blower wheel cover.
Used dremmel tool to cut plastic from metal that attaches the blower to the motor shaft.
Used adjustable wrench to keep motor shaft from turning.
Used vise grip to clamp on metal and turned to loosen blower wheel.
Attached new blower and re-assembled.

The repair looked simple enough until it came time to take the out wheel off. Because you can not hold the motor shaft(and the wheel screws on) it was necessary to remove the whole motor assembly and then grind the out shaft down, then use a small screwdriver to take the remaining shaft off.
I must say it was nice to recieve the part in as fast as I did we live in a very rural area and things like that are very hard to find

Removed front panels and swiveled lid upwards. Loosened tensioner, removing belt and then carefully extracting the drum. Replaced 2 drum glides on underside of front panel. Next 2 rollers, which appear to unscrew, but do not do so. You must remove the retaining ring (surprise! ...and 2 screw drivers later). This was the longest and most frustrating part of the whole ordeal. Then just reverse the process for reassembly. This was my first electric dryer repair and it really wasn't too bad. Online docs I found were somewhat helpful, but really luck and perseverance. I did save probably $300 in replacement costs, which is quite satisfying. .

Parts that were recommended for the noise issue were spot on. Instructions were very helpful and made the job go very smooth. Replaced the belt, rollers don't forget to order (2) felt pad and idler pulley replaced.
The part suggestions for the heat problem did not fix the problem. The burner flame would come on for 2-5 min. then go off. A few min. later the burner would try to ignite but would not start. The igniter would get cherry red but no activation. I end up replacing the coil kit. Turned off the gas removed (2) screws and wala done 5 min. and it fixed the problem.

Well first of all you get to the back of the dryer from the FRONT.. after lower panel was removed location of the heating element was right in front of you. Two 7/16 sheet metal screws hold the heating element in place very easy to remove.. upon removal you will have plenty of room to pull element out and switch out the wires you need to do.. Upon examination I think my trouble was a high limit fuse that burned out, so I propably did'nt need to buy the whole element ( you might want to check that first it is the ceramic one ) cleaned everything out and dryer is as good as new Good luck

Idler was the noise source. Drum support rollers were failing also. I almost spent $500.00 on a new dryer, glad I replaced the parts instead. Sounds and works like new. Watch the video,its very helpful. Thanks Parts Select. You should advertise your services on TV or radio. I am glad I found you.

Make sure to unplug the power cord.Pry the front,top of the dryer up with a screw driver. Carefully disconnect 3 wires and remember where they go, top right. Remove 1 top bolt on each side of the front cover, inside.Pull up slightly and towards towards you to remove the front cover. Disconnect the light wires if applicable and remember where they go from the front drum support. Remove 4 bolts on the front drum mount cover; the lint catcher will come off with it. If needed, pull up and towards you on the drum to lower the it off of the guide rollers to allow slack in the belt. Reach under the drum, raise the idler lever, slide belt from under the idler lever pulley, remove the belt from the the motor shaft. Carefully remove the drum. A 7/16 wrench and ratchet can be used to remove the idler lever from the mount. Remove idler lever from the spring. Reverse these steps for installation of the new idler lever. For installing the belt, actually fold the belt and put it under the idler pulley and back onto the motor shaft. The idler lever should sit on top of the belt when on properly. Make sure the belt is lined with the wear area of the dryer drum. Roll the drum manually, counter clockwise several times to help insure belt alignment before reconnecting the wires and re-installing the front cover and top. A belt replacement will not require removal of the drum.

did basic diagnostics to narrow down the problem to be likely one of the three parts include w/ the kit. removed front panel and confirmed that part looked like the one on the web page. part arrived 3 business days after ordering.
used nutdriver to remove two screws holding old part in place. pulled old part out still attached to wiring harness and assembled new part and attached wires the same way as the old part. installed new part, plugged in dryer and confirmed that it was heating. replaced front pannel and dryer is now working as well as ever. hardest part was reaching to the back of the dryer from the front while lying on the floor. total cost was cheaper than a service call, let alone paying for parts and labor from a service tech.