How to Troubleshoot & Replace Whirlpool AP3967919 / W10120998 Dryer Lint Filter

When this happens, the first thing I think of is the heating element. To me, that has been the case 100% of the time in my lifetime experience with our family dryers. BUT! It is always possible the culprit is a thermostat. You don't know until you take it apart and do a visual and/or volt/ohm meter test. A bad heating element will tell on itself instantly with a visual check when you see a break in that heavy spring wire as if some one snipped it apart with a pair of dikes / snips. HOWEVER! In this dryer's case, you have to practically take the whole thing apart just to get to the heating element AND there are 4 types of thermostatic devices that could cause the problem: thermal fuse, high cutout thermostat, and the other 2 thermostat devices. I went ahead and ordered all 4 thermostat devices with the heating element so I only have to take this thing apart ONE TIME! And vacuumed the whole thing out from lint build up to include a new exhaust vent hose out the back. The repair is not that bad if you follow the repair video. It's more time consuming than anything. So I advise, take your time and place each piece apart and place neat and in order along with the screws so you can put back together confidently. The repair video was pretty close to our model. Some minor differences, but close enough. Ok, sure enough it was the heating element for us. Once accessed, I could see the break in the wire of the heating element. No need for any thermostatic devices. But that's ok! I replaced them anyway just in case one of them was going bad to cause the element to break. Never know. Soon, I will order another heating element by itself to keep on hand for the next time and won't have a delay in washing/drying in the home. I will say, when I noticed no heat, I made the order to appliance parts pros right away that night so the only waiting was for the parts to come in. Which was 4 days total because of it being on a Friday night and weekend coming. So really it was about 2 1/2 business days. Pretty darn good! Think about this: if you call an appliance contractor or your home warranty you have to wait to get a human being on the phone, then wait to get an appointment for them to come out (another week), pay them for service fee because they rang your doorbell, let them in your house to diagnose the one part bad, wait another week for their part to come in, then wait for them to call to make an appointment for them to come out if you catch their call during business hours, then wait another week for them to come out to repair. And when technician comes out, deal with their attitude after you ask them to take their shoes off while in YOUR home. And if a home warranty, get calls from them to tell you what they are NOT going to do for you. And lastly, pay any other fees they want to include they make sure you pay your monthly fees for having the warranty. The only other way that may work for you if your not good at repairs, is if you have a local company that serves your area with a good reputation of taking care of you and they sometimes have those parts on their truck. That's ok, you will pay more for that. Appliance parts pros has been awesome for us because I have a pretty good idea of what's going on and can figure things out. I order my parts, they come to the door step, and I get to work. You want to talk about money saved and peace of mind not having to deal with knuckleheads coming into your home not knowing who or what attitude your gonna get!!! I am a BIG fan of Appliance Parts Pros! Thank you! Mr. Meyer. 

Appliance info: Kenmore Elite Oasis Gas Dryer model 110.7708*. Be sure to click on "Dryer Parts" in the website before searching with the model info. After removing the dot from the model the website found the dryer model. Preview the repair video a couple of times before diving into your dryer. This will save you lots of time. It took 5 minutes to disassemble the dryer down to the point to replace the rollers, belt, and idler pulley. Flat blade to unlock upper tongs to lift the lid. A nut driver to remove the front face place with door still attached. Loosen the belt and lift out the tub. Took longer to clean the lint from the unit than it did to install the new parts and get ready to replace the seals on the drum. Watch the video before attempting to replace the seals. Technique will make things a lot easier. Used a brass wire wheel to clean the seal contact line after removing the old seal. Some stretching on the new seal and lots of clothe pins to hold the seal in place while applying adhesive. Total time to replace both seals took about 3 hours (second seal half the time of the first seal). Had to put a new gasket seal on the blower inlet by the screen. Old seal was allowing leaks to enter and prevent good heating in the drum. Finally got the belt around the drum and reassembled. Belt install is the tricky part. After than no time at all to get the dryer back in service. I spent 6 hours replacing the rollers, belt, drum seals, inlet port gasket, cleaning the dryer, and cleaning where the dryer was operating. But I am a stickler about getting things "like new" clean. And the seal change could have gone faster but I wanted to be sure the adhesive was really dried. Overall, a very easy task. Thanks to the Appliance Parts Pros personnel for great service and skill training. 

Ordered a new lint filter from AppliancePartsPros.com The filter was 6 years old and they still had a replacement. It was perfect. Shipped fast and fit right in my dryer 

The web site showed the variety of lint filters which were available. Very easy to navigate and choose the right now. It arrived very quickly. It's was a very good experience. 

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! 

Pulled the old filter out and slid in the new.. 

1. I went online to find the parts. Found them at appliance parts pros very quickly and easily. The website displayed the internal workings of the dryer, all parts, what goes where, etc. Then I viewed the installation videos that were provided. Very helpful. I then ordered the parts I needed. Delivered within 5 calendar days. Checked on-line video again for installation tips. Removed the broken parts and installed the new ones. Easy. Quick. Very satisfying. Job well done if I say so myself. 

There are just two phillip head screws that hold it in place. There are also a couple of pronged metal sensors that pop out/in place. When I was cleaning the area before replacing the grille I accidentally bumped the electric clip for the sensors and it fell back into the dryer. I was able to bend a coat hanger to retrieve the wires. Other than that it was a very simple procedure. 

Replace interface board. The trick is, the factory adhered the actuator plate to the front panel with foam tape which is hard to see. One has to pry the plate away from the front panel and cut the foam tape with a putty knife. Mine had 4 strips of tape 2 inches long. 

First I watched videos about squeaking Kenmore dryers. Then I used that information to open the dryer, diagnosing the fact that the roller on the drum belt tension arm had broken and actually fallen off the arm. The dryer was filled with lint and dust/dirt, so I also saw that the seals on the dryer had deteriorated greatly. AppliancePartsPros website is outstanding, far better than its competitors. This made it easy to find the parts and videos that I needed. It took hours to pull everything apart, clean the dryer thoroughly, replace the rollers/belt, remove the remains of seals and then replace them. I was up past midnight and enjoyed every minute of the effort. The dryer is running well and should continue to do so for years to come.