How to Troubleshoot & Replace Whirlpool AP5988716 / W10837240 Dryer Idler Pulley Assembly

I watched videos on the disassembly of my dryer model, and got the model number hiding on the upper dryer door jamb. After calling AppliancePartsPros.com for help, then ordered parts with the help of APP. It took almost a full day to disassemble the dryer I have, as it is a little more complicated than some models, and I went very slowly on purpose to not lose screws, or break plastic parts. Getting the wiring harness apart was the hardest thing to do, as the screwdriver shown in the video was way too big to get under the plastic edge and release the tab, so I had to use a very small screwdriver for this, and still, it was a fight. The plastic housing cracked in the process, but only on one side, so it did not prevent proper reassembly. When I got the dryer drum out, it was obvious what the problem was obvious, as the Idler pulley assembly had frozen and would not turn, which had caused the belt to burn a bit. So I was glad I followed the recommendations of the APP rep, and got the entire assembly, since just the roller would not have been able to go on the frozen old hardware. I had to watch the placement of the belt pulley which looks so simple online about 10 times to be sure I got it right since the view shown in the video is the reverse angle from the view I had when doing the repair. I was careful when vacuuming out the dryer cabinet not to let static build-up, up since that can damage the electronic control board- I kept touching the motor housing during the vacuuming to discharge the static and didn't use a brush on my vac hose. The dryer works much better now, and I will keep it for a long time, since I can repair or replace most any part of it, now that I have had it apart and put it back together. Parts cost about 150.00, and included the idler pulley assembly, 4 drum support rollers, and a new belt. 

To try and figure out what was wrong, I turned the dryer on. All it would was make one click. All the lights lighted normally. I left it on for a few minutes and the timer was counting down. This indicated that it thought it was running. After calling a few repair places, none of which would come out New Year's Day, we decided to order the parts and do it our self. Our neighbor let us use her dryer. we only had a few loads left to complete our laundry for the week. I suspected the belt or the idler pulley wheel. Our dryer is 10+ years old so I ordered the dryer repair kit. This comes with an idler pullet wheel, but I saw an idler pulley assembly was available, so I purchased that as well. The parts were delivered on 1/6. I got started on the following Saturday morning at about 8:30 AM. I watched the video that is available. I had two difficulties. The first was that the model shown on the video had a one-piece control module that was easy to remove in the video. My model number appeared to have three separate sections. After spending about an hour on the internet, I discovered that what appeared to be one piece that surrounded the dryer door was only a plastic shroud that just popped off. The other difficulties were some of the connectors and I had to prop up the front to remove and reattach the bottom cover. The three-pin connectors for the door switch and the moisture sensor were hard to disconnect. Access to the screws holding the lower panel was difficult with just a ratchet wrench. The bottom of the dryer was too close to the floor, so I just propped it up on a 2x4. After I got everything disassembled, I decided to replace the idler pulley assembly. The roller wheels were still in excellent shape. The belt was broken and shredded. I needed help to hold the drum while I fed the belt through the idler pulley and motor pulley. Since I only opened the front of the dryer, feeding the belt correctly was a little difficult. I put it all back together and reconnected my gas, water, and electrical. It worked like a charm. I finished about 1:30 PM and took about an hour for lunch. So overall, not including the hour of lost time and an hour for lunch, it took about 3 hours. 

Turned off the breaker to the dryer. Unplugged the dryer cord from the wall. Removed door stop and entry door from the laundry room (tight working space). Pulled dryer away from the wall and vacuumed workspace and back of the dryer. NOTE: You may need to detach the dryer vent tube from the dryer. Wearing leather gloves, removed back panel from dryer using drill driver with 1/4" socket. Vacuumed inside of the dryer. Took a photo of the idler pulley/drive belt to have a record of how the belt was threaded and how the spring was attached. Moved the idler pulley assembly to loosen the belt tension and remove the belt from the pulley. Used socket (5/16"?) to remove the idler pulley bolt. Removed idler pulley assembly and spring. Verified that the pulley was barely able to spin. Sprayed lithium grease into the new pulley 'bearing' area, keeping it off the belt area of the pulley. Attached new idler pulley assembly to the frame with a bolt. Tightened bolt with socket (hopefully to the correct tension...don't want it to come loose but don't want it too tight to move). Attached spring to the new idler pulley assembly and frame. Pulled idler pulley against spring and rethreaded belt around the motor drive pulley and idler pulley. Verified that everything looked correct and moved as expected. Reattached the back panel. You may need to re-attach the dryer vent tube also. NOTE: I also removed the small panel at the top/back where the power cord comes out of the dryer. Found a very loose-ground connection. Tightened all connections before replacing the panel. Glad I checked! Plugged in the dryer, pushed the dryer back into place, and turned on the breaker. Took about an hour, including rounding up tools, removing the laundry room door, and cleaning the work area. Have run several loads through the dryer so far with no issues or noise. 

I looked online for "squeaking noise" for my duet clothes dryer. I can across several websites on what the check. So I checking what was stated and it came out, the belt pulley was bad. I then went to AppliancePartsPros website to look for parts. I went here since I had fixed my computer board for my Duet washer and worked great (thanks to video). Never go any ware else to buy parts. So I watched the video and it helped out ALOT. Your videos make me want to fix more and more since without them, hard for DIY's. Just took off dryer top, natural gas line and water line (steam dryer) and vent. Take off back panel and look inside. Un-do tension off belt. Remove bad pulley and reinstall all parts in reverse order. Old one was not even turning! Thanks! 

Replaced idler pulley and belt. Works like new. Thanks. 

Replaced the idler pulley and belt. Difficult because no exact youtube video for a Maytag Bravo XL dryer. Had to remove all back and front covers in order to tilt the dryer top and replace the belt. The squeal was from the idler pulley's bearing froze up. Ended up having to replace the assembly and did the belt while I was at it. Parts were very good quality and prompt delivery. A plus 

Replaced idler pulley assembly. 

We ordered belt switch pulley with bracket and fixed the problem. This saved us hundreds rather than calling a repair person 

Looked at https://www.appliancepartspros.com, read the reviews, watched the video then ordered the recommended parts. Thus fixed the issue. It was an in-depth repair, but CHICKS' doable after watching the video. Took about " 4 hours, " but everything was a new experience - probably 2 hours for those experienced. Note: the video on the https://www.appliancepartspros.com was NOT the same for my Dryer, but it was enough " repair education " to grasp how to apply it to my dryer. 

I replaced the entire idler pulley assembly, not just the pulley itself. This was a straightforward repair. I have a Whirlpool Duet gas dryer, so I was able to remove the back panel by rotating it over the gas nipple. This way, I didn't have to disconnect the gas line from the dryer. Out of an abundance of caution, though, I still closed the gas shut-off valve to the dryer. The idler pulley assembly was far more accessible from the back of the dryer than it was from the front when I changed the drum belt. The only finicky piece that I encountered was re-attaching the spring to the idler bracket. I found that it was easier to attach the spring, first to the top arm of the bracket and then to the base.