Kitchen Large Electric Appliances - GE elect. dryer. I've looked, but I can't find...

:coffee: My dryer drum has stopped rotating. The heating element seems to run fine. The lint filter is cleaned by me regularly. I rotated the drum by hand and it didn't feel bound or anything. I've read about how to replace the belt, but I want to make sure I've not skipped any steps in the diagnostic process. I did NOT hear a loud bang, but that doesn't mean anything. I might have been too far away or asleep, if it occurred. The last thing I tried to dry was a bunch of jeans. If I need a belt, where do I get one? The local appliance dealer?

Thanks

On any dryer you have to get the drum up and or or out, enough that there is no blockage (like from the blower assembly) for the bottom of the belt to slide back over the drum, from the front: Plain and simple. You just have to do what you have to do. I work on too many different brand dryers, periodically, to remember exactly what you have to do for each one. But in a nutshell, that is what you have to do. There is nothing else really to take apart, once you get the front off.

First: Unplug the dryer.

Be sure to disconnect the two wires at the top right front of the dryer, inside, once you gain access to the inside, by lifting the top of the dryer. They clip onto the door safety switch. Detach them. BUT REMEMBER TO REINSTALL THEM BEFORE BUTTONING UP THE FRONT OF THE DRYER. Do not pull the front side of the dryer away from the front of the dryer without detaching those two wires, first, before proceeding with the belt replacement job!

Now as a novice, THIS is where you are going to get stumped (maybe):

It's how to re-establish the tension of the belt by looping it around the idler pulley and then the drive shaft of the motor, the correct way. All dryers have the same idler pulley (belt tensioner) set up that is in front of the motor shaft.

When replacing the belt, if the belt has grooves in one side, the groove side hugs the dryer drum while the smooth side points outward. The side with the numbers printed on it points outward. Then, under the drum at the motor shaft and idler pulley, it is the gooved part of the belt that goes around the shaft of the motor and the smooth part that goes around the idler pulley. Sometimes access has to be made through that little vented 8 x 8 ? door at the rear of the dryer, on the left side when viewed from the rear. You have to spring the idler pulley (tensioner) towards the motor shaft or else you can't get the belt to go on. No tools for this required. Just pressure from your hands.

<<I've read about how to replace the belt, but I want to make sure I've not skipped any steps in the diagnostic process.>> (my quote)

Are you saying that I have not skipped a step in the diagnostic process? I understand that I'll have to support the drum once I start working and want to make sure I'm not doing this without carefully troubleshooting first.

To be certain, positively absolutely, gain access to that access cover at the bottom (lot's of times at the rear they have a 8 x8 inch louvred cover plate) and have a look and see if the belt is still taught around the idler pulley and the motor shaft. If you see it off, then a broken or derailed belt is your problem. If you see it still attached but aren't sure if it's broke where you can't see it, just start your dryer and watch what happens at the motor shaft. If the motor shaft spins and the belt just stays there, it is the belt. If the motor does not spin, then you have another issue and I won't address that until you get back and tell me what you see.