# Anyone familiar with fixing clothes dryers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2010, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-fixing-clothes-dryers/541750 "2010-06-03T09:30:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-fixing-clothes-dryers/541750/1 "2010-06-03T09:30:43Z")
I have a four-year old clothes dryer that was squeaking very badly. I finally got around to opening it up and found that the front bearing was shot – worn away and broken up. Based on internet searches, this seems to be a common problem. I replaced the front bearing, the felt, the four gliders (or sliders), and put it all back together. The parts that I ordered all resemble the worn parts in both size and detail. The fit was really snug, but not impossible. I noticed that the drum was hard to turn by hand, but it always has been. I ran the dryer on timed dry with no heat and no load. After 15 minutes the drum slowed down and shut itself off. I tried to restart it and it would not start. I waited a few minutes and restarted it. The dryer ran for 5 minutes or so and shut itself off again. I assume that the motor is over heating and this is the automatic shutoff valve. It seems reasonable since the drum is so hard to turn by hand. As far as I can tell, the drum belt is fine – it doesn’t look worn. I don’t think the motor is dying. It would be too much of a coincidence to die right after fixing the bearing. Instead I assume that I have something wrong with the front bearing. I am going to verify this by running the dryer with the belt disconnected to make sure that the motor does not overheat, but I haven’t done this yet. Any ideas what could be wrong? Anything I could have done wrong with the front bearing repair? I don’t have a repair manual and guessed on how the felt goes in. I even temporarily removed the felt and the drum is still hard to turn. If I remove the front panel (and the front bearing), the drum is easy to turn by hand – it is not ‘stuck’ on anything inside. Do I need to lubricate the front bearing? Do I also need to replace the rear bearing? Something else? My dryer is a GE Profile DPSB620GC4CC. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-fixing-clothes-dryers/541750/2 "2010-06-03T11:56:47Z")
Will the drum turn easier if the drive belt is disconnected? It’s easy to run the belt the wrong way, and create excessive tension, which translates into a stiff drum. The drum should turn by (one) hand, but not freely, nor require you to lean into it. Having to fight excessive tension will shorten the service life of the motor. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-fixing-clothes-dryers/541750/3 "2010-06-03T11:58:35Z")
Sorry CaveMike - can’t help you. When my clothes dryer breaks I just tie another knot in it. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-fixing-clothes-dryers/541750/4 "2010-06-03T12:16:28Z")
Thanks **VunderBob** , I haven’t removed the belt yet so I don’t know for sure. On the other hand, this means that I haven’t reconnected the belt incorrectly either. FWIW, the drum turns easily with the front bearing off (if I just hold up the drum with one hand and turn it with the other). Thanks for your description of how the drum should turn correctly. It is definitely too tight then; I have to push pretty hard to get it to move. The thing is, I have always noticed that it was hard to turn – much harder than other dryers I have used. Is it possible the belt has always been too tight and that the worn out front bearing is a result of that? I have also read of a lot of people replacing the rear bearing. Is it possible that I need to do that as well? **6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast** , that’s my dryer right now. I am having an issue with that one too. The clothes aren’t drying because the chamber is leaking water. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-fixing-clothes-dryers/541750/5 "2010-06-03T12:24:23Z")
If you disconnect the belt then the drum should turn fairly easily. If the belt was too tight that definitely would have caused some extra stress and strain on the bearing and could have easily caused it to wear out faster. You said if you removed the front panel that the drum spun freely. That makes me think the rear bearing is ok. If something isn’t installed right or lining up right then it could be causing the drum to be hard to turn too. It isn’t necessarily the belt being too tight. Is anything bent? ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-fixing-clothes-dryers/541750/6 "2010-06-03T12:54:16Z")
The rear bearings are a pair of wheels that look like those used in inline roller skates. They need changing whenever the centers wear out; you know this happens because the dryer makes a thunk-thunk-thunk noise when running. They’re cheap, and the actual replacement is trivial, but the bad news is that you have to take the drum out to get to them, which is bad in the time-consuming sense. Back to the other issue: are you absolutely positive the front of the drum is properly seated on the rim? ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-fixing-clothes-dryers/541750/7 "2010-06-03T16:18:15Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > Back to the other issue: are you absolutely positive the front of the drum is properly seated on the rim? I am as positive as I can be without having a manual or anything. Along the front of the drum, the top part sits on top of the front bearing (and the sliders). The sides and bottom of the drum fit within a ‘track’. I’ve re-assembled it a few times while investigating it and it always fits together the same way. I don’t have to bang, force, or use excessive force to put it together. Once it is assembled and turned on, the drum moves smoothly and evenly. It looks fine except that it seems to be taxing the motor. The front bearing itself slid into the same place as the old one. Maybe I have it up too ‘high’? That would make the fit ‘tighter’. I’ll try to force it down, but I am not hopeful. There is no lubricant involved, right? ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-fixing-clothes-dryers/541750/8 "2010-06-03T16:30:28Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > There is no lubricant involved, right? There shouldn’t be, but powdered graphite wouldn’t hurt anything. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-fixing-clothes-dryers/541750/9 "2010-06-03T16:41:34Z")
Go to a store that sells the same kind of dryer. “I’m looking for a dozen dryers for some apartment complexes I own. I was doing some research on that there internets, and it said this one was pretty good, but they changed to front bearing from steel to plastic and now it ain’t worth spit. And you can’t tell from the serial numbers which one you’ve got. Can we pull the front panel off this puppy and see which one it is?” Then take pictures and go home and put yours together the same way. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-fixing-clothes-dryers/541750/10 "2010-06-05T02:00:59Z")
Thanks for the help everyone! The front bearing was a little bit high. It needed to wrap around the aluminum frame, but the frame was bent and preventing it. I got it on completely and things seem to be working.