How to Troubleshoot & Replace Whirlpool AP3094233 / 279787 Dryer Drive Motor

New motor 

Youtube is a time saver for sure. I found a video that gave step-by-step instruction to replace the motor. Appliance parts pros.com made it simple to locate the part based on the Maytag dryer model number. Ordering was easy and the parts were delivered quickly. I also changed the belt and cleaned it while I had it apart. 

Found the offending part (thermal cutoff) and then down the rabbit-hole of why it tripped. Turns out the motor was failing and could not spin the blower wheel fast enough to move the air out of the dryer resulting in an overheat condition, thus tripping the cutoff. 

Replaced motor, replaced heating element, repaired burned wire. 

Followed Appliance Parts Pros repair video. Clean removal and install 

Replaced the motor, seals and blower fan 

After trying all the simple things like thermal switches, fuses etc. I isolated the motor and applied 110 volt AC power directly to it, and was able to determine that the start windings were not functional. So - replacing the motor was the successful fix. 

The motor on my 2002 Kenmore clothes dryer made noise but wouldn't start, even with the drum belt removed and the pully held up with a wood block to close the broken-belt switch. The shaft was hard to turn by hand so I lubricated it the best I could. Then it would run but only about 10 minutes or less, probably stopped by a thermal switch. So I decided to buy a new one. As usual, I first looked for the motor on Amazon. They have several, mostly made in China, but in most cases their reviewers said the motors would run for a week or two and then die. So I looked elsewhere. The best option was AppliancePartsPros.com. I ordered it on Saturday, it was shipped Monday and arrived Wednesday. It was made in Mexico. It came with detailed instructions to remove the old motor and install the new one, including how to deal with possible slight differences between them. The pictures of old and new wire connections could have been better but no matter. I found it quite easy to replace the motor. It ran well and not as noisily as the old one. I put the dryer back together, washed and dried some clothes and it worked perfectly. I doubt that it will die in a couple of weeks as some of the after market ones did. 

The dryer showed an f-22 code and when I tried to start the dryer nothing would happen other than a slight click. Rather than running out to purchase a new replacement dryer, I decided to try and fix it myself. I disassembled the dryer and found a frayed belt, broke motor pulley. The code suggested that it was a thermistor. I decided to order a new motor, belt, thermistor, and other sensors since I was in there. Everything arrived quickly and was easy to replace. Reassembled and worked flawlessly. The total repair cost is around $300 in parts which is a win compared to a new dryer. 

Online the AppliancePartsPros.com pro tutorial was awesome. The dryer is humming along like brand new thanks