Samurai Appliance Repair Man's Blog

Brother nickfixit shares these observations from the field on what may well be the cause for the infamous cracked drum problem with LG dryers. Something to watch for...

I noticed something on a LG dryer the other day. It was stacked, so I ordered parts and scheduled it with a helper. We took it down and tore it apart to install new rollers, belt, and pulley, The left side roller on the front bulkhead was totally destroyed. I replaced it with the shaft/pulley assembly and just the rollers on the other 3, cleaned and lubed of course. We put it together and tested it. It had a pretty solid drum seam thump when running.

We took it back apart and I found the drum did not touch the right front roller at all, maybe 3/8" or more gap. When I checked the panel I noticed there are 2 holes in the area of that rollers shaft location. The dryer was kinda toasted inside so there was a clear mark where the shaft was mounted, so we are certain the new shaft was in the same location the factory had used. I move the shaft to the other hole and the dryer ran smooth and quiet.

I wonder how often the factory uses the wrong hole, and this might be causing the cracked drums. In the wrong position, that roller does nothing, and the left hand roller bears all the weight in the front. The excess load on a single point working on that seam could be causing the cracking, at least in some cases.

Nick

Source: Cracked drums on LG dryers

Brother PDuff gives us the inside skinny on this one-trick pony:

The Frigidaire dryer control board "runs home to mama" with the E68 fault code. It's the only fault code listed and the only one it knows. It indicates stuck button as Brother Reg advised. I've never found a stuck button, usually a bad board. Did have a Gallery dryer the other day with control board and interface. Threw an E68 at me so I ordered the main control board to have when going out. Turned out to be the interface. RATFARTS!!! P/N for your board is 134523200.

Part link for the Main Control Board with a one-year return policy.



Source: Frigidaire Dryer That Has Error E68 and stops every 30 Seconds

One of the little secrets in the appliance manufacturing world is that the manufacturers will often build appliances for each other. One example of this is certain models of GE dryers are actually built by Frigidaire but sold under the GE label.

There are two maintenance kits out there for Frigidaire-built dryers:

- part number 5304461262 for the older-style units and

- part number 5304457724 for the newer-style units.

What's the difference? Click each of the links and above and carefully examine the photos of the parts included with each kit and try to spot the difference.

Give up? Okay, Brother vee8power, one of the wise and esteemed Master Appliantologists here at the Academy, explains the difference:

Looking at the parts breakdown for that model, it looks to me like the correct maintenance kit for your dryer is this one
http://www.repaircli...4457724/1198622

Notice in the picture that the upper felt does not have the three plastic glides. That's because the plastic glide on your dryer is attached to the drum, it is the newer design.

The 5304461262 mentioned above is for the older design, with no plastic glide on the front of the drum.
Another thing worth noting is that this is a GE brand dryer but it is built by Frigidaire. The part #'s for the kits are Frigidaire numbers. You won't find them on the parts breakdown for a GE.

Knowing how parts interchange is one way us professionals can save our customers, and our fellow forum members, some dough.

BTW... gas coils... Whirlpool, GE, an Frigidaire all have part numbers for exactly the same part. Guess which one is Generally most Expensive

To learn more about your dryer or to order parts, click here.


Source: Squeeky GE Profile gas dryer model #DPXH46GF

The early stages of a motor failure exhibits the famous 60 cycle hum. 120 volts is supplied to the motor; if any of the windings begin to short; there is not enough induction, the rotor of the motor stalls and eventually locks (locked rotor amps) draws excessive current and trips the internal/external overload on the motor. Before this occurs, if a winding in the motor is shorting, you will hear a buzzing noise which is the 60 cycle frequency of the 120 volt supply indicating (perhaps) a failing motor.

Source: New dryer works great, but fills house with a hum noise

I go out on a DOTT type whirlpool dryer, order says it won't finish cycle. He leads me to the laundry room and I find the thing completely dismantled. He said he hired a buddy to fix it, but he couldn't figure it out. He had the front off, the burner tube out, he bent and broke the clips to force off the kick panel. he removed the rear bulkhead, he took the front off with out removing the blower, he even took the screws out of the door. He failed to gain access to the console, lots of bending and pry marks but he never found the clips to open it up.

The only wrong with the machine was a blown thermal fuse.

It took 3 min to find the problem, and 90 min to rebuild the dryer around the new thermal fuse.

What a tool.

Source: DOTT Dryer all in pieces