How to Troubleshoot & Replace Ge AP7012633 / WE03X29897 Belt Drive

Repair went well, replaced the pulley wheel, belt, rear drum bearing. Had an issue after replacement with the dryer stopping after ~5mins or so when running with heat. Fluff cycle would run fine. Details: The lock nut on the pulley wheel didn't feel tight enough so i tried to crimp it back on the pulley arm. It then became way too lose. I had to replace it with a plastic washer I had in my toolkit. That fit snug and seems to work fine. I also added some grease to the pulley shaft under the wheel. After reinstalling their was no noise, but when running on heat the dryer would stop after 5 mins and not restart for a while. i could hear the motor slow down for a couple turns and then stop. running on 'fluff' would not shut off. my first thought was that i had either damaged a sensor, a wire wasnt connected properly or something wasn't installed correctly. After some research i thought it was the cycling thermostat, the most common cause was too much lint, blocking air flow. I had vacuumed the inside of the dryer when replacing the parts. I checked all wiring, removed the thermostat and cleaned it. Tested it with a multimeter (cool) on low ohms, went to =0. I heated the thermostat over an open flame (gas stove) and heard it click, ohms went very high.. When replacing the front panel, the inside large plastic vent/plastic insert (with light at top/vent at bottom) wasn't installed correctly. I reinstalled the thermostat and the dryer front door plastic insert correctly and the dryer is functioning properly. I did not add grease to the rear drum bearing, I may add after the fact. 

I replaced the heater coil. When we moved into this house 10 yrs ago, the movers, setting up the dryer, did not properly connect the vent hose. Lint build up was significant and I was lucky there was no fire, but the inadequate air flow caused overheating on the coil resulting in failure of both coils. Disassembly went well following the video. During disassembly I noted the need for new bearing slides and the felt trap duct. I also replaced the dryer drum belt, as a precaution that probably was not needed. Reassembly was painful. My dryer is either older with far less clearance around the thermostats or the tech in the video is tiny with tiny hands. I eventually took photos of how the wires were connected to the video, disconnected the wires from the thermostats, reinstalled the thermostats and reconnected the wires. The only clarity I would have liked was when ordering the heater coil, the order came up with the "also ordered" components and I ordered the bearing slide. I wasn't clear that that meant only one slide, 4 are needed. That "also ordered" should be for 4 slides. In my youth, I was a test engineer and when one wearable part, like the bearing slide is needed, all should be replaced. I now must get around to order 3 more and take the dryer apart again. The heater coil came with 6 additional replacement insulators. 11 or so are needed for complete changeout. I really could have used 11 and would have ordered extra if I had found out how. My coil had failed due to overheat, which also oxidized the insulator metal holders and they were very brittle. Enough broke just taking out the old coil that I needed all six and as an ex test engineer would have preferred to replace all insulators due to the heat damage. It all works now though, thanks, the videos were a great help. 

A thumping sound (like sneakers in the dryer) started happening. We stopped using it so that it wouldn't get worse and potentially break more parts. Online research suggested rear drive shaft would be the problem. But also suggested while we have the dryer apart, would be smart to replace the belt and the slides/glides (green and white plastic tabs in front, attached to the door). We ordered all the parts from AppliancePartsPros.com and they arrived FAST. It helps to have two people for this repair. The videos are really great. The hardest part to do is to uninstall and re-install the belt because it's all underneath the drum in a tight space that is hard to see. Study the video carefully to understand how the belt should be threaded and how to move the pully arm. If you don't, you may have a problem with the motor switch. This is a part that is against the pulley arm/tensioner. If it doesn't engage properly or if you damage it, the dryer won't run. This happened to us. When we reconnected everything the dryer would start briefly, but it wouldn't continue unless holding the start button down. We had to look up another video about that problem (found on another site) and learned about the switch. Had to take the drum back out, fiddle with the pully arm and get it reinstalled exactly right. Then, the repair was a success. Luckily we did not break the switch, it was just not aligned. So the repair took much longer than expected. But the steps are generally easy to follow and the tools are simple. 

Ordered a new belt online, watched a few YouTube videos on how to replace the belts yourself, one I received the new belt, I replaced the old squeaking belt with a new one. I had called around town looking for a store that carried the dryer belt I needed. After watching some YouTube videos about what the problem could be and how to determine the parts you need, I had to take the front door off, which to be done, I had to take the top panel off, which to be done, I had to first take off the electric panel board. So, I gathered tools from my husbands shop, removed the Panel board, then removed the top of the dryer, then removed the front door of the dryer. I was then able to see the belt had some frayed edges around the outer sides. There was a surprisingly large amount of lint collected in some areas, my dryer is only a year and a half old. I got the Dyson out and cleaned up all the lint and dust from everywhere inside the dryer, behind the drum, and in the door that connects to the exhaust tube thingy. The model number and serial number were located on the front door. I googled the model number to determine what the belt part number would be. I was looking on the GEappliance website and saw that the belt number this dryer originally was assigned had been replaced by a different model number that was more universal. Or so I looked like to me. So I wrote down that model number. Called around town, no one in town carried the belt I needed. Some places told me they could order one and overnight it, but with a holiday being on Monday and this was a Friday, some places wouldn’t have it until Tuesday, which I could order myself online and pay for the shipping and get it just as fast. Found the belt online, that wasn’t a knock off, for the best price. The shipping was going to cost $22 for overnight shipping or $10 for two day; both options had the same delivery day. I went with the cheaper. Spent $40 and two hours of my time total for this replacement project. The new belt received was in a genuine GEbrand packaging. The belt itself was wider and thicker then the old one I was replacing. I found that to be nice. Seemed like it would be more sturdy in a way and last longer. My dryer is so quiet again I cannot hear it when it’s on, and with all the lint gone out of the exhaust exit area in the door, it’s like a brand new dryer again! Easy peasy project! 

I ended up replacing the drum belt, the front upper bearing case, four new bearing slides, and the felt drum liner. This was the first time ever attempting to fix a dryer but new it couldn't be that difficult. Having found the right parts through their very well designed Website I noticed that they had a repair video for each part I needed . I just watched the easy to follow video, and that was it! I spent maybe $80.00 in parts, and spent about 20-30 min. fixing the broken parts. If I had called in a repair person it would've cost around $300.00 for the entire service. 

This was an easy repair. The chat service on Saturday was excellent, allowing me to order my belt over the weekend! The belt arrived in Hawaii by Wednesday. The video on how to replace the dryer belt was invaluable to making sure the job when quick and easy. Thank you very much, ApplicancePartsPros! You are the best! 

Went ahead and replaced the pulley as well the drum bearing sleeve and O ring, drum belt and the front drum bearing slides. Put the unit back together and she ran like a top! 

I order the parts from Appliance Parts Pros. When the parts came in, I took the dryer apart and put the new belt on. While I was at it, I cleaned out the dryer and put on new bearings. The whole job took about 30mins. 

Checked for the problem replaces that part along with some parts as preventive maint app made it easy parts for perfect and were shipped very fast app is the only place to buy parts great place 

Purchased a new motor and belt and replaced the old one.