How to Troubleshoot & Replace Whirlpool AP2996731 / 279441 Dryer Front Drum Bearing Ring

Replaced rear seal, support rollers and front bearing ring. 

Replaced both roller wheels, roller wheel axles, drive belt, drive belt tensioner and front drum bearing ring. 

New drum seals. 

Just ordered parts and they actually showed up when promised. Took out four screws, clipped new support in, stretched felt around ring and done. Very easy fix. 

Watched YouTube on how to fix the bearing ring. Changed the part . Was really easy. Dryer sounds great. The hardest part of the project was to take the top off the dryer. 

For entertainment purposes, I replaced the wearable components of our Kenmore gas dryer. Its been ten years since I last did this job, so I ordered new drum rollers, belt, idler pulley, and the front drum slides which support the drum within the door panel. Shipment of my items was immediate and all parts were of exact specifications. The job took 90 minutes with household tools. I was already familiar with the tricks of cabinet disassembly which may have helped. The guidance videos offered by Appliance Parts Pros were excellent. 

My husband replaced with the new parts we ordered 

Before I ordered any parts, I opened the dryer and checked all parts that were worn and found the shaft with the bad roller was out of round and some of the tri locks were missing. The belt showed signs of wear as did the front bearing rings, so these are the parts I ordered. After cleaning all the lint from the chute and dirt from the motor, etc, I inspected and found everything else in good condition.The repairs took me a little longer since I'm 85 yrs old and don't move or bend as good and our laundry room is narrow and cramped. One thing I have going in my favor, my kids and I used to pick up washers and dryers, repair them in our garage and resell them. Your videos were very helpful also as reminders. Thank you for posting them. 

Cleaned cabinet interior and replaced Drum Support Roller. While I was working on the 18 year old drier, I replaced the Rear Felt Drum Seal, the Front Felt Gasket and the Front Bearing Ring. The drier is now nearly silent. The only thing that took time was cleaning the drum and attaching the Rear Felt Drum Seal as I wanted to give the glue time to set. 

I replaced the drive belt, the door end drum bearings and the drum support pulleys. I also updated my belt tightener to the pulley style. Probably didn't need to replace everything but it sure runs quiet!