ohmigosh...I fixed the dryer!
The Dilemma
The dryer broke. Pretty clear cut. One moment, I'm doing the laundry so critical to my sanity in this house. And the next moment...nope.
I had immediately run for the internet...for repairclinic.com. I needed the sketch of how a dryer works and how to get one open without making things worse.
From the information about gas dryers, I was able to comfirm my guess that it was a belt or a roller...the heat was still working, the blower was still working, but the "drum" wasn't turning.
Being an non-practicing, insecure engineering tech grad (first degree was from Purdue), I immediately placed an emergency, geeky call to my dad to confirm my diagnosis. The phone call went somthing like this...all in a very rapid-fire, clipped tone:
Me: Dad? Hi, it's me. Are you in the middle of something?
Dad: Hi! I'm in the car driving to a client...what's up?
Me (all serious): We have a dryer problem. I just need to confirm the diagnosis...drum's not turning, but the heat and blower are working. I think it's the belt.
Dad (a practicing engineer, gets all serious): How's the timer? Is the door closing correctly and triggering the cycle?
Geekism. It's genetic.
Options
After I opened up the dryer and found the broken belt, there were really four options:
1) Call the Sears Repairpeople.
2) Find the parts in Chicago, get them and fix it myself.
3) Order the parts online, wait until they arrived and fix it myself.
4) Go into denial and live with dirty laundry.
Our Solution
Based upon the diagrams at Repairclinic.com and the minimum estimate I received from Sears for a visit ($189! Minimum!), I decided to try it myself. The parts weren't in stock in any Sears store near Chicago. So, $30 later, I had ordered the "kit" for replacing rollers, belt and idler pulley directly from Sears. And chewed my nails wondering how long it would take to arrive.
I ordered the parts on October 20th. They arrived on October 25th (because I decided against paying for overnight shipping...too expensive so soon right after the laptop meltdown.)
So...I took the dryer apart with the blind faith that somehow I would be able to put it back together. (I turned off the fuses and the gas connected to the dryer first.)
I used a block of wood to support the drum after I took the front of the dryer off. (Before I took the drum out.) And to support the drum again after I put on the belt and before I looped it through the idler pulley and around the motor drive shaft. (Are you sufficiently geeked out yet?)
And it worked. I was completely surprised! It was actually relatively easy. If you can follow directions, remember the phrase "righty-tighty, lefty-loosey" and tie a ponytail using a scrunchie, you can do this. You can put a new belt in your dryer.
Tools Used
-Internet
-Phone
-Replacement parts: belt, idler pulley, roller wheels
-Screwdriver
-Small wrench
-Putty knife
Lessons Learned
Maytag Repairman who? I guess the lesson learned was to give it a try. If I hadn't been able to do it, I still could have called in a repairperson to use the parts I purchased!
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Comments
Congratulations! That is so great!
I have a Sears (Kenmore) dryer too. I'll have to remember this, just in case.
Posted by: tully monster | October 26, 2004 3:19 PM
Ooh, I'm back here practicing my task avoidance and that dryer's looking like a saint again. Hooray for fixing it yourself! Another problem to be aware of in malfunctioning laundry systems: My friends have a front-load washer and dryer and the washer wouldn't drain all the way and wouldn't spin. The Sears guy (it was under warranty so there was no cost involved) came in and pulled out the culprits - rusted underwires that had wrangled themselves free from their bra imprisonment during their swim in the washer tub and gotten jammed in the machinery. He found a couple while doing maintenance on the dryer, too. ("Didn't you feel a little lopsided?" I asked. I mean, how do you not know you lost an underwire?) We watched him the whole time so my friends could do it themselves should it happen again. This was just as summer was starting, which he called his busiest season for jammed washers. Why? THONGS! Can you imagine? My friends since have purchased a lovely lingerie bag for the wash.
Posted by: Kristen | October 26, 2004 3:45 PM
Congrats on conquering the dryer monster! I knew you could do it.
Joy
Posted by: JoyM | October 26, 2004 5:52 PM
Congratulations! That's awesome! :D
Posted by: fearthainn | October 26, 2004 5:52 PM
great job ! Dad
Posted by: Anonymous | October 27, 2004 8:05 AM
Clearly, you rock.
And based on Kristen's post, we'll be getting a lingerie bag. Today~ I REALLY don't need a dryer adventure of my own.
Posted by: Nathan | October 27, 2004 8:37 AM
Nice job, J! I love to hear stories about women fixing their own appliances. :)
Posted by: emily | October 27, 2004 11:39 AM
Piece of cake!!!POPS"30"
Posted by: POPS | October 27, 2004 12:15 PM
Kudos and congrats...irasali
Posted by: irasali | October 28, 2004 10:30 PM