WED72HEDW0 Whirlpool Dryer - Instructions

I moved the dryer to a location where I could get to both the front and back sides. I opened the back by first removing the top cover and then the back. It requires either a Phillips head screwdriver or a quarter inch socket. In addition, it requires removing the four power wires which connect to the computer. If you are unfamiliar with the wiring layout, take a photo with your cell phone which you can then refer to when re-assembling. Once the back was removed, I saw that the belt was still intact, but the pulley which provides tension to the belt was frozen. Take a photo of the belt route between the motor and the pulley. Try to get the spring position in the photo. Remove the belt from the pulley by reducing the tension and then sliding the belt out (this assumes the belt is not broken). The pulley arm is held in place by a single bolt which can be removed by a socket set. Remove the arm with the pulley attached. Examine the pulley to figure out why it is frozen. In my case, the pulley had been frozen for some time and the belt had actually chewed through the pulley and was sliding (polishing) on the pulley axle? I used a pair of pliers to loosen the destroyed pulley by rotating it back and forth over the axle while gripping the arm the axle is attached to. As it loosened up I worked it off the axle. I used a cloth to clean the axle of grime from the belt, pulley, and dryer lint. The new pulley comes with a washer and triangular plastic "fastener". First you put on the washer, then the pulley and then you secure it on the axle by sliding the triangular fastener over the axle so it sits in a small grove near the end of the axle. Then put the pulley arm back by replacing the bolt. Make sure you do not overtighten the arm since it is intended to rotate about the bolt. If the dryer belt breaks, the spring will pull the arm down and throw a cutoff switch. Its operation should be obvious. Once the arm is back in place, refer to your photo and replace the spring (this can be tricky and frustrating, particularly if you don't use something like needle nose pliers). Once the spring is in place, depress it and re-install the dryer belt. Refer to the photo you took earlier if you've forgotten how the belt was routed. Then re-install the dryer's back panel, re-attach the electric wires (again refer to the photo you took earlier), and re-attach the top cover. You might want to test your handiwork at this point before you reconnect the dryer vent

once the back is off remove belt from tentioner and remove v clip. smooth shaft with wd-40 and scotch brite , then install new idler replace v clip
and your done !!!

Rather than remove the front panels, door, control panel and drum, I noticed 1/4" metal screws on the back panel. There were approximately 6 holding the back panel in place. I did have to remove the top panel as well before removing the back. Once removed I had complete access to the broken idler pulley assembly. I immediately saw the broken pulley. I installed the new one with very little effort. Reset the belt according to instructions from the video. Reassembled, plugged in, hit start and enjoyed the sweet sounds of success. All told it took me about 20 minutes from start to finish.

I replaced the thermistor earlier, but the code was still flashing. I noticed the heater terminals were charred and pretty well covered in carbon. So, I replaced the heater, the thermostat and thermal fuse and replaced the 3/8" spade terminals on the heater wires. (These are hard to find - most electrical spades terminals are .250. Also, I crimped and soldered these for a connection with the lowest resistance possible). After all that, the code still flashed! I let the explatives fly, calmed down, and ran the control board test. (This is done by pressing "more time" "less time" "more time" "less time" in succession.) The control board was passing all the tests, but the thermistor test, and the only thing is in this circuit is the thermistor, the wires, the connector to the control board, and some circuit on the control board that involves a few resistors and the "brain" chip. So, I checked the terminals at the thermistor, the wires up to the control board and the connector at the board. The control board connector was fairly dust encrusted, so I unplugged it, cleaned the control board terminals and sucked away all the lint and dust. Finally, I carefully removed earch crimp terminal from the Molex connector (the white female connector) and cleaned and bent them to yield a better connection to the terminals on the control board. I put it all back together, and thus far it is working fine.

I'm still waiting on my idler pulley. It arrived at Fed EX depot in Tracy CA on December 14th and has still not been shipped. So it is pretty fucking hard for me to install it! Maybe if you had customer service that would answer their phones or reply to my Emails would be helpful

I just followed the videos I received with the order and everything went really well. This dryer was a little different than the video, but the process was the same. The HE3 does require 4 drum rollers and I had only ordered 2. However, there was only one bad roller, so I installed both on the back of the drum. The two front rollers are pretty easy to get to if they go bad. The idler pulley was completely worn out with an 1/8 inch groove worn off to one side. PartSelect made this an easy project!

My dryer starter squeaking in December 09 and the repairman told me that it would cost between $200-$500. I did not let him fix it as this machine is only 3 years old. When the part finally broke in April 10, I was ready to junk this and just buy a used dryer. My husband went on line and quickly figured out the part he would need to do the repairs. It cost under $20.00. Now my dryer is fixed and running and there are no squeaks. Thank you

We watched the video at whirlpool.com! Made it so simple anyone could have done it!

I followed the repair Vedic and took the drum out and replaced the pulls and bracket. Very straightforward job. Dryer is now as quite as the first day we bought it.

Just watch YouTube videos. They show you how step by step. Easy to install. Clean all the dust out while dryer is apart if you can with a vacuum.

Used my Whirlpool Dryer User Instructions Manual and followed instructions and used the Cabinet Parts page to see the diagrams.

Unscrewed the bottom panelof the dryer and located the thermistor through the schematic for my machine. Removed the old one and put the new one in the same way. No more E1 problems and all cycles now complete themselves.

BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE UNPLUG THE POWER AND TURN OFF THE GAS SUPPLY 1. unscrew the 3 nut screws at the back to remove the cover lid. 2. pull the control console cable from the electronic board. (only 3 wires on it).3. unscrew the 2 nut screws of the control console then remove it by pulling up.4. unscrew the 5 screws to remove the door. (pull little up to unhinged then remove). 6. unscrew the 5 nut screws to remove the lower siding. 7. unscrew the copper 4 nut screws then remove the lint suction fixture 8. unscrew the 4 nut screws to remove door fixture ,then just lay next to the machine.(the wires are long enough so you don't need to unplug and separate it from the machine.9. remove the belt by pulling the idler pulley towards the motor pulley (against the tension spring) 10. remove the drum by lifting a little bit upward. 11. remove the plastic triangular lock using a small screw driver then remove the idler pulley wheel then install the replacement. (clean your machine using a vacuum cleaner and remove all the lints). 12. install back the drum, be sure to set the drum belt to the right position. (groove on drum side). 13. install back the belt to the pulley the same procedure as to remove it. 14. assemble back what you have removed. end.

Removed the back panel and saw that the idler pulley was worn out. It only took me 5min. To replace, it was very easy to replace.

By watching the video it made the job much easier than I thought it would be. I was very pleased with the speedy delivery of the Dryer kit I had ordered. I had called a local repair facility and they wanted twice as much for the same parts.