How to Troubleshoot & Replace Whirlpool AP3790434 / 280114 Dryer Drum Felt Seal

My husband did some troubleshooting from the computer and found the parts that he would need to fix it. Thank goodness he is handy, the dryer was completely taken apart, looked kind of scary with parts all over the room. But it is now in 1pc and working better than it was. It is an 11yr old unit, so we expected to have some repair work on it sooner or later. 

I ordered the part, watched the how to repair it video and when the part arrived, I was able to install it very easily. 

We found Appliance Parts Pros.com after searching what the part looked like and that helped us narrow down that we needed a replacement. So we ordered the replacement part and then after further discussion, we decided if we are replacing 1, to be safe, it would be best to order another and do the other side as well! APP was brilliant in holding our order and contacting us by email and phone, to make sure that we didn't accidentally purchase the item twice. I spoke with a wonderful woman named Amber P. listened to my story as for why the 2 orders and then was kind enough to remove the 2nd shipping charge! It was a great experience working with APP and our parts were delivered perfectly on time! Thank you for being amazing to work with, I'll definitely recommend your company to others and the DIY videos you offer are amazingly helpful and that's was led me to your website! Thank you, Tracy :) 

I found your website online and proceeded to research what the correct part was and discovered you also supplied you tube videos on how to replace the seal and put the dryer back together. I ended up talking to Brittany Stevens on the phone and she was kind enough to send a video that was closer to the model we were working on. I also decided that once we had the drum out of the metal housing and tried to remove the residual felt and glue unsuccessfully that I ended up using finger nail polish remover. It worked like a charm and prepared the surface for the new seal and glue. My husband and I let that dry over night and the next evening the dryer was restored to active duty with in 45 minutes. We started to wash and dry all the loads that were stacked up, and the dryer worked like a charm. No odor or issues at all, it dried all 8 loads today. It took longer than the video indicated, but since this was not an area of expertise, I felt that the repair went fine, and my husband was happy that I was resourceful in looking for help on line (he is 21st century challenged). I am sure without the assistance provided I would have either ended up with a new dryer or it would have taken much longer. 

Wife did most of the work. Easy except for the spring at the end. Requires a little work to get it to fit. Careful if you decide to stretch the spring as it gives easily and you will stretch it way to far as I did. Easy project! 

I looked up the part I needed using the model number and watched the repair video. Decided this was something I could do myself and ordered the part. When the part arrived I watched the video again and started taking apart my dryer. Everything went well and completed the job in about two hours. The model Maytag on the video wasn't exactly like mine but it was close enough to get me though without a hitch. 

I watched the YouTube video from Appliance Parts Pros on how to replace the felt seal on the back if the dryer drum. I ordered the part and followed the instructions to remove the drum, take off the old seal and glue on the new part. After that it was just putting the parts back together. It didn't take more then an hour to complete minus letting the glue set-up. 

Swapped out the Drum Felt Seals 

I took off the old felt around both sides of the drum. Cleaned the old sealer off with sand paper. Repainted the bare metal. Then installed the new felts. Let stand for 24hrs. Then put 4 new wheels on I already had and installed the drum. It works perfect. Also have a lot more pressure of air coming out the vent. Seem I was loosing heat also. 

Initially I took a vacuum hose and tapered tool to the area beneath the rotating drum and removed the lint. I figured that the lint accumulation was caused by some blowby the felts. Also I illuminated the belt and saw multiple splits in it. I found a source online for 4 wheels, an idler wheel , clips and the proper belt for my 27 " wide Kenmore/Whirlpool gas dryer. The video online was very thorough about the felt removal and prep for the replacements. I needed 2 sets of hands to fasten the felting properly. We allowed the curing process to proceed overnite and finished the project the next day. We certainly saved money repairing our old unit over purchasing a new unit. It's running like new. Dave & Carole Anderson