WED97HEXW3 Whirlpool Dryer - Instructions

First I unplugged the dryer, then removed the back panel, this exposed most all of the wiring and I could see the heater coils.
Not knowing what the problem was I started looking at the coils and could not see any broken parts.
So then checked the thermal fuse for continuity I removed the two wires from it with a small pair of needle nose pliers, it was held in place by two screws, once they were removed the fuse came out easily, I checked continuity with a volt meter placing the meter on X1 Ohms and could not get a reading.
I replaced with a new one and put it all back together the way I took it apart.
Then I plugged it in and it worked first time, I now have warm dry clothes.

Cleaning the lint out of the whole machine took quite a bit of time--it was everywhere. Underneath the lint trap was a collection that ultimately ruined the thermal fuse where it restricted the air flow considerably.

Ascertaining the problem was the most time consuming part.

The actual repair was quite simple and didn't take but 15-20 minutes.

I started to repair this and got busy and ended up calling a repair service -- that was the first time. They repaired it for over $200 and said the cause was bad venting. I fixed the vent before using the fixed dryer but it blew again. So I ordered these parts and replaced them myself for a lot of savings. However, the dryer still overheated. Through lots of testing I found the root cause the repairman missed: The heating element had gotten so hot that the assembly holding it warped, hitting the element and shorting it. So a new element is on order. I still needed the parts I ordered here but the overall repair ended up more complicated and expensive. I was disappointed a paid repair person left without further diagnosis. If he had unplugged the vent and checked the heat on the exhaust vent (as I ended up doing) it would have been obvious more than a new thermal fuse/thermistor was necessary. Instead I wasted over $200 on his visit. So my advice is if you're at all handy, repair this yourself. The dryer has a service manual inside the front toe board that walks you through most diagnostics and tests. However, it took a little more than that for me to discover the heating element problem. This was a very dangerous situation that could have easily led to a fire, yet not found by a trained technician!

The issue was the idler pulley. First I began opening up the front panel based on a youtube video but soon realized the model was slightly different and required a lot more items to remove. I saw the pulley in the back with nothing in the way so I put the front panel crap back on and removed the rear panel. There it was, very simple to remove and replace. I'm not looking forward to drum rollers though. Hopefully they're aren't as difficult as they appear.

I removed the top cover and then the back cover, released the belt tensioner and removed the drive belt. Then slid the tub out of the unit and onto the back dack. Sanded the remnents of the old seal off. Wiped the tub lip with laquer thinner and applied the "fast" drying glue supplied with the kit. Installed the seal and re-assembled the unit...works fine

1) Disconnected power cord from wall. 2) Disconnected vent hose from back of dryer. 3)Removed dryer rear panel. 4)Disengaged tension spring on idle wheel arm. 5) Removed worn idle wheel. 6)Installed new Idler wheel assembly. 7) Vacuumed dust from rear of dryer (optional, recommended). 8) Reinstalled rear cover, vent hose and power cord. Easy repair 15-30

I purchased the dryer repair kit with the drum belt, wheels and idler pulley. I watched the instructional videos online and it seemed fairly straight forward. Breaking down the dryer and replacing the pulleys was easy enough. My problem began when I tried to feed the drum belt around the idler pulley. After finishing the job, the dryer would not turn and the sensor light stayed on. I thought something else was broken with the dryer and spent hours trouble shooting other problems that I was having. Finally I figured out that the drum belt was not installed correctly around the idler pulley. However, I could not get it properly installed from the front of the machine so I tried from the rear still with no avail. I finally had to fish the old belt out of the garbage can that I had thrown away earlier. I lined up the old belt with the new one in the kit and discovered that the new belt was much smaller, so I put the old one back on the drum. Here's the lesson I learned...make sure the belts are the same size before attempting to install. The old idler was responsible for the squeaking and that stopped but I am still using the same old drum belt. Hope it lasts.

I found that the dryer would not start turning by itself. Could manually help it start and it would run fine. Anyway, after a new set of rollers, belt, etc. found that the motor still would not start by itself. Ordered new motor and it was taken care of. You have to take the back off, remove the belt and remove the tumbler. After that, it is fairly easy. Two screws hold the motor down and then you can take the whole motor assembly out. Be careful removing the fan as it takes a 3/8 socket drive and it is plastic. Two clips hold the motor to the assembly. Needle nose pliers takes care of it. Replace and all should be good.

After determining that the dryer motor was the issue I wrote down the part number and logged on to partselect.com.

I input the number into the search box and there was the exact motor I needed.

The price was fair and the delivery quick so I figured I would give yuo guys a shot and see how it goes.

The part showed up on time and as expected. It was well packed and most importantly - it was the CORRECT part.

I disassembled the dryer which involved removing the lint trap, pulling out the blower fan and removing the motor cover. The motor was held in with 2 metal screws and wiring harness.

I took the belt off of the tensioner and pulled out the old motor. The motor was mounted with 2 clips which snapped off with ease. Reassembly was a breeze since the motor fit perfectly- the entire transplant operation took all of about 35 minutes.

I crossed my fingers, turned on the gas, plugged it in and........SUCCESS!

Since the dryer was down for over a week the backlog of laundry was piled pretty high. This replacement motor would immediately be put to the test.

It has been 5 days of non-stop drying and no squeeks, no squeels and nothing but dry clothes!

Thanks to Part Select for getting everything right the first time. It made a potentially very bad experience turn out as good as I could have ever hoped.

actually i found your site before i even looked at the dryer,thats how i knew to check for the thermal fuse.
I ordered the part and it was on my door in 36
hours,pulled the two wires off the old fuse and installed the new,put the back cover on and it has been working ever since,thanks ( your in my bookmarks)

After looking at the schematic to see what was in line with the motor, I found the fuse as the first item. I pulled the fuse out and used a multimeter to ohm out the fuse. Upon using the meter I found that the fuse was bad. I typed into Google my part number that was on the fuse and the PartSelect Website came up as one of the choices to pick from. When the part arrived approx. two days later I installed the fuse by first unplugging the dryer and then removing the bottom panel and removing the fuse from the exhaust by using a small 1/4 inch wrench and pulling out the old fuse. I installed the wires on the new fuse and re-installed and put the 1/4 inch screw back in. I started the dryer after plugging it back in and it worked like it should have. Thank you for the part and I have recommended your website to other people already.

My 14 year old son did it as I supervised! Pulled the dryer out on a dolly, unpluged the dyer, removed 9 hex head screws to remove the back cover, removed and replaced the thermal fuse, located next to the exhust outlet, set the cover back on, moved the dryer back in with the dolly. I had the thermal fuse over nighted to me for a total price of $35, figured I saved at least $150 on a service call by Whirpool.

1. Disconnect dryer from electrical outlet. 2. Pull dryer out and disconnect the exhaust tube from the back. 3. Remove the screws at the top of the dryer back ( 3 ) and remove the top of the dryer. 4. The service instructions will be in a bracket on the top right. I didn't use them because I have done this job before. 5. Continue to remove the screws holding the back to the sides. There will be a lint collector attached to the back panel by three screws. This must be removed first, then the screws along the edge of the back panel. 6. Pull the back panel up and away from the sides and set aside. You will see two lower rollers attached to this panel. 7. Look under the drum and you will see a idler arm and roller in front of the electric motor and a little to the left. Notice that the drive belt is looped around the roller. Unloop the drive belt from idler and roller. 8. Lift the drum of the dryer up and out of the dryer. 9. Replace all the rollers (4) by removing the plastic "star" on the roller shaft. This can be done using a small screw driver. 10. Once the rollers are replaced, place the new drive belt, ribbed side facing the drum around the drum. Lift the drum up and into the dryer enclosure, making sure the rollers in the front of the drum are in the ridge groove. 11. Lift the back of the dryer in to the dryer enclosure, again making sure the rollers are in the rear groove. Turn the drum by hand to make sure the front seal is flush to the front of the dryer and that the front rollers are in the front groove. I2. Install drive belt around electric motor shaft ( ribbed side facing the shaft), lift idler arm up while running the non-ribbed side of the belt around the roller on the idler arm. 13. Install the back panel using the remaining screws. 14. Install the top of dryer by sliding it into the front panel and securing with the last three remaining screws, these 3 screws go on the top of the back panel. 15. Replace exhaust hose and replace dryer into space it formally occupied.

This product comes in a bottle with a brush like Liquid Paper. It goes on incredibly easy. A second coat might be needed. I wanted to prevent rust from setting in so I covered the scratches and dings. The paint is a little brighter since my washer is 10 years old but it still looks great.

The repair was fairly easy. The most timely part of the repair was removing the twelve screws from the back panel to expose the repair.