Kitchen Large Electric Appliances - Kenmore Dryer Rumbling loudly

HELP! I have a 2002 Kenmore Electric Dryer that recently started to rumble loudly and I am surprised because the dryer is only 5 years old. What is causing the dryer to rumble very loudly? Its like shaking like a washing machine that is on the spin cycle but its not quiet like its supposed to be.

What can I do to fix it???? How hard is it to do it? Do I have to take the drum out? Or can I leave it in and repair it?

Many thanks!!!!

Sounds like it turns on rollers and one or two are probably shot. You have to take out the drum on models with rollers in order to either spray solvent/lube (like wd-40) into the shaft to get rid of the goo that causes the roller to be sticky on the shaft, or best to just not take chances and replace the rollers. Either machines use rear rollers or don't have rollers and rely on a center bearing and socket assembly (that usually does not rumble - but rather squeeks loudly instead). At the FRONT of the dryer usually the drum is supported and turns on teflon-plastic slides that are built into the felt.

If you need any guidance in the dismantling process just ask. Be careful to observe and fully understand how the belt wraps around the motor pully and tensioner idler arm pulley, and if the belt is a grooved type, upon reassembly the grooves always go against the motor pulley. The belt has to come off, you see, to get the drum to come out.

I've taken an older Kemore apart and it was the front seal that ecman described. While you have it apart. Lube everything in sight.

big job with low dollars invested.

Just the way I like them.

Bob

How heavy is the drum???

Does it have to be unscrewed anywhere in order to lift the drum out or is the drum "freestanding" but with the support of the belt and wheels?

While waiting for the response, I'll be cleaning out the tons of lint that I notice is inside the blower fan....looks like heavy duty cleaning is in order...

Thanks
Ptolemy1964

No dryer drum is screwed in place. They freely rotate, resting on either the rear bearing or 2 roller wheels. In either case, the drum lifts straight up some - then out toward you. To get them out you pull them out through the open front. They are relatively light weight.

Folks-

Thanks so much for your help with this matter. Wouldn't you know...I fixed it. Since the dryer is relatively new (4-5 years old), the wheels, belt, and all still looked new. I even checked the drum belt (I was shocked that the belt was so thin) and found there are no cracks or worn out areas. Additionally, the belt was pretty firm and tensioned. Next, I checked the wheels...they were working fine and not in a shape to be replaced.

What happened was when I took apart the blower fan assembly/cover, the ENTIRE blower fan was packed with lint (The lint screen does not do a very good job of grabbing ALL the lint that goes through!!!!). So I carefully removed ALL the lint from the blower fan by scraping it off from between each fan blade....I also removed all the lint from the bottom of the dryer (I highly recommend that people vaccumm the lint from the bottom to prevent a potential fire from happening in the future.)

After putting the blower assembly/cover back on, I plugged the machine back in and pressed the start button. Lo and behold, the machine's heavy rumbling was gone and the purring returned. The machine was so quiet that I was amazed how such a small item can be the source of the problem.

Thanks to all who helped!!!!
Ptolemy1964

One more thing: After taking off the dryer fan assembly cover, I had a hell of a time trying to pull the dryer fan wheel off and it would NOT come out so I left it in and just cleaned it right there. Do I have to take the entire blower assembly off in order to get the fan wheel off?

Thanks once again!!!!

Often the metal housing will not let you take off the wheel as the hole is smaller than the wheel. You have to unscrew and pull back the motor to have the wheel come off the shaft.

You have no reason to do this. You did good.

Thank you!!! If it wasn't for this forum, I'd be screwed and at the mercy of the repair people!!!!

Well. The repair people are necessary sometimes. Sometimes for the work you can't do. Sometimes for the parts they have on hand. And sometimes for some important information they can pass on to you. But the more you can learn to do yourself the more you'll save, that's for sure. Especially after a while when you learn how the stuff works and can get faster at it. Otherwise, if you figure your time, sometimes, it's not always worth it if it takes them 15 minutes because of their know how, and you 4 hours-2 days, or whatever.

Exactly right on the mark!