Whirlpool WP6-3033630 Idler Pulley Arm OEM Part

I removed the front panel of the dryer by removing 2 screws and lifting it up and out. Then I removed 4 screws from the bracket holding the tub in place. I had previously removed the 4 screws from the rear inspection cover so I reached in and released the spring loaded belt that turns the tub and then removed the idler pulley wheel. The tub just lifts out at that point, exposing the 2 Drum support rollers in the rear. I removed the 2 rear drum support rollers and decided to order 2 of those plus 1 new retaining clip, an idler pulley wheel and a new idler arm. I also ordered 2 new tumbler bearing kits, the plastic and cork strips the front of the drum rides on. I placed my order online and was told I would have the parts the next day. I received an email the parts had shipped about an hour later and they arrived the next morning at 9 AM. After I placed my order I decided to ask a technician if the bearings on the 3 rollers needed to be greased as I installed them. I sent an email and received my answer in minutes. "No grease is advised because they would gather lint and wear out even sooner." Full Disclosure: I did apply some dry spray lube to the shafts and let it dry before installing the rollers. In my 80 year old world, metal to metal always needs some sort of lubrication. It was a little difficult for me to reach back inside of the dryer to replace the retainer clips on the drum support rollers so I laid the dryer down on it's back on a couple of 4" x 4"'s and let gravity give me a hand with the clips as well as placing the drum into the opening and replacing the tub bracket. (Replacing the plastic and cork tumbler bearing kits in the tub bracket requires a pop rivet gun.) I stood the dryer up, reached back in at the top on both sides to position the belt in the proper place and went around to the back to hook up the new idler arm and pulley wheel. After checking by hand to make sure everything was turning properly, I put the front back on, plugged it in and turned it on. The machine was, once again, running silently, good as new. Outstanding service and support from Appliance Parts Pros.com!

Knowing that several things could be causing the noise, I ordered parts to cover all possibilities; once I got inside the dryer, I found the Idler Arm and Idler Pulley were worn and loose; replaced them and the Tumbler Bearings; the dryer now runs quiet again. Was going to replace the Drive Belt but believe it to be the wrong model, it was narrower and had 4 ribs whereas the old one seems to be OK and I believe has 5 ribs. The Drum Rollers and Shafts were OK Also replaced the Door Latch.

I replaced the motor and all other moving components along with the felt drum seals.drum glides and drive belt. The wiring instruction is where i had the most problems. Because my wiring had only 4 wires in the harness not 5, and one was a different color then the instructions call out, I believe was because it might have been and older model. the instruction called for a gray wire but mine was white with a blue piggy back wire attached. but after finding a few videos on line i figured that the white wire was indeed the gray wire and the piggy back wire was the 5th wire meant to be attached to the blue terminal.

Fix was trivial. Took less than 30 minutes to change the old parts out. This dryer is about 20 years old and now we hope to get a few more years out of it.

Took the front panel off (the door front), disconnected the connector to the door switch and used a wooden clothespin to bypass the door switch. Turned on the dryer to locate loud squeaking sound and found it was coming from the motor area. When I started to take the blower section apart from the motor, that is when I saw the "blower wheel" slipped off the motor shaft. The blower wheel has a "C" clip retainer and compression ring to keep it snug on the motor shaft (but it was loose). Now I also know why there was a lot of lint on the clothes and not on the lint trap filter. The blower wheel was not really turning on the shaft. I bought this Maytag dryer back in 1981 and the only thing done so far was the replacement of failed "dryer gas valve coils" back in 2001. So, I cleaned up the inside of the dryer (removed all the loose lint and bugs, and stuff). Checked over all the parts inside the dryer to see what was worn out and made a list of parts to replace. Total cost was less than $200, but when I got done it was as good as a new clothes dryer. The replacement parts were: a new belt, blower wheel (main problem), dryer gas valve coil kit (backups -- just in case), Front rubber seal for the door, Two -- dryer drum felt seal, blower seal, high temperature adhesive for the felt seal and blower seal. Everything else was good. Motor and its parts. I cleaned up the old grease and greased the motor bearings and other parts that I removed the old grease from.