Rear Drum Bearing Kit

First thought the problem was a stretched drum belt or bad idler pulley. Ordered a new belt and idler assy plus spring. Replaced those items with relative ease following suggestions obtained at this site.However, problem persisted and I now suspected a bad drum bearing. Odered the bearing kit and replaced same using the following procedure.
1. Removed the cover from the back of the dryer (held in place via two phillip head screws)
2. Pushed down on the idler assy and removed the idler spring to release the drum belt.
3. Inserted flat tip screwdriver between the top panel and the dryer main body in the front of the dryer to pry the top loose from the two retaining clips.
4. used phillips screwdriver to remove the two retaining screws (one left, one right) that hold the front panel to the main body of the dryer. (about a foot down from the top of the dryer).
5. disconnected the wiring plug on the top right hand side at the top of the dryer.
6. lifted the front panel slightly removing it from the main body and placed it to the side.
7. lifted the rear of the drum to release it from the bearing bracket and removed the drum belt.
8. Pulled the drum through the front of the dryer body and moved it to an open work area.
9. Reached into the Dryer and loosened the two
bearing bracket screws with a nut driver. Here's where another pair of hands would have come in handy. Holding the ground bar on the back of the drum with on hand, reached into the dryer and finished removing the bracket screws somehow managing not to drop the tiny grounding ball (size of a BB) Removed the badly damaged plastic bracket, grounding bar, and grounding ball and set
them aside to be discarded later.
10. Used impact driver with phillips attachment to remove two of the three screws that hold the bearing to the back of the drum (these are on the inside) The third screw's head stripped out and I had a very difficult time removing it. Had it not been for that, the job would have taken less than an hour.
11. I had my wife hold the bearing in place while I started the three retaining screws.
12. My wife also got behing the dryer and held the grounding bar in place while I installed the new bearing bracket . (this kept me from loosing the grounding ball)
I just reversed the rest of the procedures to install the drum belt, drum, front panel, etc.
The dryer works like new now, doesn't squeal.
Also replaced the on/off switch knob (just pulled the old one from the stem and slid the new one on.

well, i started at the top and worked my way down. by taking the top off, it gave me more room to get the dryer tub out. took the two screw`s out of the vented plate on the back of the machine to undo the belt. this is a stackable washer-dryer combo, so next i took off the white plate on front between washer & dryer. took off the control panel, unpluged it, then took dryer door front off. then removed the two screw`s that hold that bracket on ,in the back of dryer, pulled the drum out & replaced the belt, but before replacing anything i took the shopvac to it , there was alot of lint in there.when replacing the Grounding Ball Clip & Grounding Ball, i took a one inch by two inch magnet and used it to hold the Grounding Ball & Clip in place so i could get the two screws started in the Drum Support Bearing & Bearing Bracket. after installing that i put the shaft in place & lined the dryer tub up with the 3 screw hole`s ,and boom, bang, pow...nothing to it. it`s easy...parts came very fast....Thx PartsSelect.com...i`ve told all my friend`s about PartsSelect

1. Unplug dryer from outlet
2. Using Lg. flat screwdriver, pry under the front edge of the top and release two spring tabs
3. Lift up top and tilt back out of your way
4. Unscrew two phillips scews on inside of front panel
5. Lift up and out the front panel. Two spring clips at bottom.
6. Rlease tension on drum belt at the motor. Access panel at rear of dryer.
7.Unscrew 3 screws from inside, center rear of drum.
8. Remove drum through the front of the dryer. You may have to spread the sides apart a little bit for it to fit
9. Lift up on the rear drum bearing to remove it from the bearing retainer. ( U shaped plastic socket)
10. unsrew 2 screws and remove the bearing retainer, ground ball. Ball retainer is on outside of dryer.
11. Vacuum everything--duct, blower, lint trap, ect.
12. Intall new bearing retainer and grounding ball, an assistant is helpful at this time, one to hold ball retainer on rear of dryer, one to screw it in from the inside
13. reassemble remainder of parts in reverse order.

I felt ,if I was going to replace the top drum glide and lower basket seal, I might as well replace the belt ,bearing assembly and the idle pulley assembly and avoid having to replace these sooner than later. All of the parts showed alot of wear and the belt like all drive belts, should be changed every 5-6 years.
DISCONNECT ELECTRICITY and GAS LINES
1.popped top by pushing and prying at front /top clips about 2-3in. in from side edges. lifted it off
2. removed the front panel by removing the 2 top front screws from the inside, then the two lower screws from the front after removing the small white plastic hole covers. disconnected the multiplug electric connector top right. set panel aside.
3.remove small back panel.and loosened belt.(observe belt path and idle pulley assy.
4. lifted drum and slid it out the front.
5. using socket, removed rear plastic bearing housing and replaced the same. be careful of observing the small ball bearing and the small piece on outside back panel. replace the same. you wil probably need a second set of hands to hold the piece on the outside when screwing in the screws from the inside.
6. unscew the "bearing" from the rear of the drum and replace with new one.(the screws are self-tapping and go in HARD!!)
7. apply lubricant liberally to plastic bearing holder
8. place new belt around drum(rubber side against drum cloth side out.
9. idle pulley assy. is removed by removing spring and just sliding assy out of holder. replace with new
10. replace drum and belt
11. take front panel and remove top drum glide and lower basket seal.( i marked where the two seal/glide come together with a marker )
12. scrape and remove as much felt and possible. I then used "goo gone" to remove all the glue. clean well and using the provided high temp adhesive reattached glide and seal.
13. reassemble and enjoy your NEW? dryer

First, I removed the top panel which is held on at the front by pressure clips. Second, I removed the entire front panel which entailed removing 2 screws and 2 wire couplings. Third, I removed the 3 screws on the inside center of the drum which turned out to be unnecessary. Fourth, I slid the drum forward in order to access the rear bearing. Lastly, I replaced the entire bearing assembly including the shaft, bracket, bearing, grounding ball and clip. Again, probably not needed but I had ordered the parts in advance in preparation for the worst.

removed top and front of machine. removed drum. replaced shaft, bearing bracket, and support bearing from inside. replaced grrounding ball and clip from outside. reassemble.
this should be available as a kit, and should include high temp grease to put in bearing bracket

I look up on the internet on how to disassemble dryer to get to the parts needed. Took off top, found screws to take off front. Removed existing drum riding seal and lower seal. Used laquer thinner to remove excess glue. Cleaned throughly with soap and water. Reapplied new seals.

At the same time removed drum and parts in the back of the dryer for ball bearing. great, expeditious help from your store. Thank you

I followed others suggestions with numbered steps and listened to others suggestions about replacing other parts while in the dryer. I took the dryer apart and cleaned it out well. I used acetone to remove the glue from the felt and Drum Glide at the top of the Drum. It worked much better than Goo Gone. By doing the clean up and evaluation one day, I ordered all the parts that I saw were worn or difficult to get to. I replaced the Heating Element only because the old one was very brittle and to get to it again would be difficult. Also, I followed other's advice to photograph the parts before removing. It was easy to remember how things went if I had a photo to refer to.

When the parts arrived it only took about 30 minutes to install them all because the glue removal, lint removal, and parts removal had been done another day. I should add that I am a 66 year old woman and found the job quite simple. Excellent web site. Thanks to others for the step-by-step instructions. Oh, to hold the Drum Glide and felt in place while the glue cured, clothes pins work great. I let the glue cure overnight to make sure that it was really secure.

The high pitch squeel was the result of a failing drum bearing. It was particularly evident when first turning on the dryer, but became softer as the dryer heated up. In order to replace the drum bearing, I removed the top panel and front door panel.

The top panel was easily taken off by removing 2-screws from the back edge of the panel, and sliding it back to release it from the front panel seam.

The front panel is more involved, but still relatively easy for your average "do-it-yourselfer". I removed the front door panel by first removing the control panel (4-screws; 2 on top and 2 from the back of the panel). I removed 2 cable assemblies from the control panel via connecters (different sizes so didn't need to mark) and 2-wires attached to the large control panel mode selector (I marked these 2-wires). I set aside the control panel. I removed the front door panel by taking off 6-screws (2 on top, 2 on the bottom, and the remaining 2 on the inside of the panel on either side of the drum). After removing these 6-screws, I carefully pulled the front door panel away from the front of the dryer, carefully releasing 4-alignment latches (2 on either side). The front door panel was still electrically attached to the machine so I had to disconnect a couple more wires. I carefully disconnected 2-wires from the door light assembly and 3 more wires from the door switch (I marked the 3-wires on the door switch). I set aside the front door panel.

From the back of the dryer, I removed the small motor access panel on the bottom left corner. This panel also provides access to the drum belt. I released the drum belt from the motor drive wheel by releasing spring tension at the tensioner. The belt can easily be disconnected from the motor drive wheel and tensioner assemblies.

Removal of the drum was now possible. With the front door panel removed, the front of the drum is maintained in place via a small plastic stop on the top crossmember. I removed this stop prior to removing the drum. With one hand, carefully grabbing the belt that is was loosely draped across the back of the drum, and the other hand holding the front lip of the drum, I provided a quick and forceful upward motion to the back of the drum in order to dislodge the drum shaft from the bearing housing assembly. Once this was accomplished, I simple pulled the drum out of the dryer housing via the front of the machine.

The drum bearing repair kit ordered came with the replacement ball bearing, bearing housing, drum shaft, high-temperature grease, and attaching hardware.

I replaced the drum shaft on the drum via the 4-screws accessed on the drum rear panel.

I removed the old bearing/bearing housing via the 2-screws holding it in place. I wasn't too concerned about loosing the small ball bearing as the kit provided me a new one. I generously applied some high-temperature grease to coat the interior lining of the new bearing housing. I also placed a dab on the back seat where the new ball bearing sits. This helped hold the bearing in place while reattaching it. I reinstalled the bearing housing to finish replacing the repair parts.

Reassembly of the drum is in the reverse order. I paid particular attention to making sure the new drum shaft properly seated with the new drum bearing housing.

After reinstalling the drum and while the front door panel was still off the dryer, it was easy to inspect the blower housing. I found the squirrel cage had broken loose from the molded nut that attaches it to the motor shaft. That would explain the heat problem; the heat was not being exhausted through the duct.

THE SQUIRREL CAGE IS REVERSE THREADED. I was unable to remove the nut from the motor shaft as the design encompasses a metal bushing molded into a plastic nut shaped form. The plastic would not hold up to the force I was applying trying to loosen the squirrel cage. So I ended up removing the entire motor and blower housing assembly from the base

Had to first remove the top of the dryer this was done by removing the clamps on the back. Next I removed the front of the dryer by removing the two nuts the frong in the inside, these are somewhat hard to reach. Next the drum was removed. then the heating element shield. Replaced, the heating element then secured it into place. replaced the drum bearing assembly, and put back together.