How to Fix a Noisy Whirlpool Dryer - Idler Pulley Replacement

[@chinof3]

I needed to write and say thank you, my dryer sounds like when we first bought it. I took a big leap of faith in trusting you because my wife doesn't trust anyone who is not an expert, but boy you were so right.

[@NashwaukSteve]

Thanks for the kind comment! I’m so very very glad to hear it helped you out! This is why I make my videos. God bless!

[@Randomdaredevil]

Thank you for this video. With it, I fixed my dryer for $10! Truly appreciate it!

[@NashwaukSteve]

Great! Thanks for the comment!

[@Jordan-hr3yz]

Thank you for the video. I have my part ordered and just waiting for it to arrive. I wanted to see how easy it was to do myself and it looks pretty straight forward.

[@NashwaukSteve]

Hi Jordan- thanks for commenting! Yeah, it’s not a very hard job. Good luck!

[@Ewandabbles]

Thank you watched another video first where he went through the front your way was a million times easier thank you thank you

[@NashwaukSteve]

Glad it helped

[@robkoons1891]

Great video. Exact,y the repair out dryer needed. Simple and cheap fix

[@letsgobrandon7112]

Hey Steve. Well, I bought the pulley last month and have been dealing with the noise because it’s been intermittent plus I’ve been busy with life. Well,…..today the damn thing let go and the noise was loud as hell and it wouldn’t stop so it was time. Took the thing apart and all is good now. My pulley would not spin! It was shot. Just wanted to say thank you for taking the time with making this video and helping us all out! Appreciate it bud!!

[@NashwaukSteve]

You’re welcome, my friend! I can relate. There were times when I felt like I needed hearing protection to be in the laundry room! God bless!

[@KarenDager]

Outstanding... couldn't have done it without you ❤

[@NashwaukSteve]

Thanks for the comment! I’m so glad to hear it helped you out!

[@ebeb516]

Thanks for the helpful video 🙏. I tried oiling mine and it didn’t scream for about a month.

[@NashwaukSteve]

Glad it helped!

[@larryjohnson3047]

Thank you for the video! My dryer is quiet again!

[@NashwaukSteve]

Glad it helped!

[@stevemcgill4328]

COMMON PROB.. THANKS FOR THE VID.. AND TELL UR DAUGHTER TO HOLD THE SCREW GUN STRAIGHT W THE SCREW, ANGLING IT LIKE THAT CAN STRIP THEM. BUT ITS SO COOL UR TEACHING HER AND WILLING TO LEARN. :)

[@NashwaukSteve]

Thanks for the comment!

[@gpicks7942]

felt same way...and great video

[@kylenguyen5055]

Great video! Got mine taken care of. Thank you!

[@NashwaukSteve]

Glad it helped!

[@k72stow]

Thank you! Did this myself for $20

[@NashwaukSteve]

Awesome to hear that! Thanks for letting me know!

[@Hannahsdaddy777]

Appreciate it man…got the pulley today

[@NashwaukSteve]

Sweet! Good luck!

[@joelobosco]

This is a great video, def my problem. How do you take off the back, you skipped over that can’t seem to figure it out and no vids for this model, any help would be appreciated

[@NashwaukSteve]

Hi Josh LoBosco- oh sorry! It’s just 10-12 little sheet metal screws. I just zip them out with a drill. There is one pesky one right above the exhaust pipe. Once those are out, the top tips back and the bottom can be gently lifted out of its groove. Good luck!

[@saiyanjon]

99% sure that's what wrong with mine I'm going to change it tomorrow, great video

[@NashwaukSteve]

Good luck! Must be pretty common as my friend just had to replace his idler last month.

[@saiyanjon]

@Nashwauk Steve I changed it and yep it was bad 👍

[@dmdavis22]

Just in time video tutorial! Thank you

[@NashwaukSteve]

Happy to help!

[@ahigh5guy]

Top tier. Thanks brother.

[@NashwaukSteve]

You’re welcome! Thanks for the comment!

[@taraogburn493]

Thank you so much for this video. I disconnected my idler pulley and tried to start the machine and it will not start. Any thoughts?

[@NashwaukSteve]

Hello! That is strange. If the door is closed and the unit is plugged in, the motor should spin, with or without the belt attached… sorry I don’t have any other pointers.

[@Ndub1036]

Make sure the pulley arm is up and not resting on the red switch it can lay on. I had this issue until I moved the arm up to take pressure off that switch

[@jasoncochran7354]

Mine is making a heck of a screeching, repair man came over turned it on said - need to replace your belt, etc etc.. said $400 i said.. thanks for your posting.

[@NashwaukSteve]

Yeah, those pulleys seem to be a huge failure point on these dryers. Repairmen should take note of these models and this problem. It’s not a hard fix at all. Thanks for watching! God bless!

[@stefaniedwyer2885]

Thank you for your video. Mine has a squealing sound but not consistently. What happens if one waits? Can it get better again? Does the noise affect the dryer to work? Are lighter loads helpful?

[@NashwaukSteve]

It might get better on and off, but ultimately it will only degrade over time. Eventually ours had a hard time even starting a big load (motor kept stalling out) so we did smaller loads until I could get the pulley replaced. Good luck with yours!

[@stefaniedwyer2885]

Would replacing the pully asap prevent other issues with the dryer or the only down side of waiting is the dryer not moving eventually? Thank you so much for helping. My washer and dryer are in a very small space and both would need to move to get to the back of the dryer…

[@Ndub1036]

We have the same dryer and I wish I came upon this video sooner. A bunch of videos, including from professional parts companies, said take it apart from the front and pull drum out. I did, and wished I hadn’t when I saw this. Put back together, took back panel off (easy), and found same issue. My idler pulley bearing was shot and the pulley wouldn’t turn at all. Had the same squeaky sound before totally seizing. $10 part off Amazon fix. Thanks much!

[@NashwaukSteve]

Yeah, the back panel removal is definitely the way for this model. Unfortunately I’ve had mine off way to many times😅

[@nickbonvino]

Great video.. thanks for sharing the information!

[@NashwaukSteve]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tiffanyholden752]

We had ours replaced, and it is doing the same thing after 2 months!

[@NashwaukSteve]

Oh sorry to hear that! This machine is a frustrating one for sure!

[@MichaelMorris-ox8wg]

Did you ever figure it out mine is the same way i replaced it and it still makes noise

[@p_ricojl2875]

Very helpful, thank you sir

[@NashwaukSteve]

You are welcome! Thanks for the comment!

[@codyallen5197]

What size belt did you use. I have a 92.25 long an its so tight i cant get it on

[@NashwaukSteve]

Hello- I did not replace my belt, just the idle pulley. You should be able to use your model number from in the door jamb to Google your belt size. Good luck!

[@sfgosha]

That did the job. Thank you!!

[@NashwaukSteve]

Glad it helped! Nice work!

[@AshleyLopez-Fixingthings]

Hi! Love this video thank you. I have the same model dryer. Mine just started making the same noise as yours between loads. Same sound coming from the back. Was your dryer also creating a smell of hot plastic when it's making that noise? I am now assuming that the belt or this pulley needs to be replaced. The dryer is still working perfectly fine, but a bit scared to use it because of the new friction smell, from what I am guessing is the belt tension.

[@NashwaukSteve]

Hello- I would bet your pulley is messed up and sometimes locks up, making the belt slide across it, rather than roll. That would make the plastic pulley wheel pretty hot. It is a really easy fix, so don’t be afraid of it. I recommend taking a picture of how the belt winds through the pulley, so you can easily restring it. Good luck!

[@AshleyLopez-Fixingthings]

Thank you so much for the reply! This may be a silly question, but when you say "pulley" you mean the same "idler pulley" you replaced in this video, correct? We opened up it this past weekend, and unhooked the idler pulley and checked the belt to see if it was shredding anywhere, but the belt looked fine. Makes sense now that it is probably the idler pulley that needs to be replaced. Took us a few minutes to figure out the belt re-winding, but thanks to your video, we were able to put it back together. Thanks! @@NashwaukSteve

[@NashwaukSteve]

Oh yes, I mean idler pulley. Sorry I didn’t specify. I think you’re on the right track now! I’m curious to hear how it goes from here! Can you keep me posted?

[@AshleyLopez-Fixingthings]

@@NashwaukSteve Thanks for the clarifying! Yes, I will update you as soon as we install the new pulley this weekend. We opened up the back and checked the belt, looked fine. We released the belt, and attempted to start the dryer to confirm the sound was the idler pulley, but the dryer didn't want to start. It was powered on and the lights were on, but it wouldn't start like it did in your video, not sure why. But that was why we couldn't confirm it was the pulley like in the video. Once we put the belt back together it worked normally, but the sound is still there. We did initially notice though, that there was one of those metal circles that had popped out and was semi-leaning on the pulley. So we placed that back in the open hole and tried the dryer again. There's no more plasticy burning smell, but the loud noise is still there. We stopped using the dryer when the noise and smell started, even though the dryer was still working fine. But after checking the parts, we resumed using it normally for the past few weeks.

[@joanjackson8287]

Mine doesn’t sound like that but when it comes to a stop it has a loud screech,a d white blower wheel is loose

[@NashwaukSteve]

Hello Joan- thanks for the comment! I haven’t had that problem with ours yet. Which is surprising being that I’ve worked on this thing many times in it’s short life so far! I wish you luck in fixing yours!

[@scottturner8789]

Howd you get the back off?

[@NashwaukSteve]

It’s about 10 little sheet metal screws holding it on. There’s one in the lower middle of the unit also. That one’s easy to miss. Pull those out and the back lifts right out.

[@408haven]

Ever changed a heating element?

[@NashwaukSteve]

No- fortunately that’s one thing I haven’t had to touch yet. I do have a video that shows the internals of this dryer with the drum removed. If you have to dig into the element, it may help to see that first. Good luck!

[@mz6954]

Can yo get to the heating element from the back?

[@NashwaukSteve]

Hello! I have not done any actual work on my heating element, but here’s my thoughts: you can access the wires and plugs, but I don’t think you can get the element out from the back. Here is a link to a video I made while I had things torn apart. You can see the heating element well and could maybe determine your answer. Good luck! kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHuVgZV4i7OekMk

[@gregb.5796]

I just replaced mine. You have to approach it from the front.

[@tyler19966]

How do you open

[@NashwaukSteve]

It’s about 10 little hex head sheet metal screws on the back panel. Remove those and the whole back side comes off. Unplug first!

[@teddygroven7537]

Thanks very helpful.

[@NashwaukSteve]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Smh85]

That noise its making now is the noise it makes right before it completely breaks. Ask me how i know. 😢 My dryer just brrrroookkkkeee this morning. 😫

[@NashwaukSteve]

You can make the fix and be back to drying in no time! No time, once the part arrives, I guess! Good luck!

[@Smh85]

@NashwaukSteve I fixed it yesterday! It took me about 4-5 hours because I was caring for my 8 month old and picking up my school age kid from the bus... but I did it! Amazon has a great kit for 25 bucks that was available for overnight delivery, so I had my husband order it for me. 😆

[@NashwaukSteve]

That’s so great to hear! I’m proud of you for tackling it with everything else going on!

[@Smh85]

@@NashwaukSteve thank you!

[@johndawson7145]

Thank you great video

[@NashwaukSteve]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sean4229]

I had the noise problem with my dryer, but my problem was there was a piece of tissue paper stuck in blowing fan.

[@NashwaukSteve]

Haha! At least you got it solved!

[@gregb.5796]

I hate this dryer.

[@NashwaukSteve]

Haha! I so feel the same way!

[@Ndub1036]

I love mine

[@letsgobrandon7112]

I’m having this issue of squeaking squealing now! My question is this, you said the first time the issue was the Support Roller Wheel? Did you mean “Drum Roller” little wheel? Thanks!

[@NashwaukSteve]

Hello- yeah, it was the little 3” or 4” diameter black rubber wheel that the drum rolls on. I’m not sure of the technical name. Does that help?

[@letsgobrandon7112]

It does thank you! I ordered the Idler Pulley the other day and it literally just got delivered by Amazon 20 minutes ago. I’m gonna pull the Dryer out and go through the rear as this seems like the easier way to go. 👍🏼

[@gpicks7942]

@@NashwaukSteve why you buy the kit for $5 more..