Do-It-Yourself, Repairs and Fixes

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Share tips and tricks to keep people from throwing out that broken item. Repair before replace!

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Long shot, dryer is making weird noises (leminal.space)

submitted 3 weeks ago by Azzu@leminal.space to c/diy@lemmy.ml

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It's still drying fine as far as I can tell, the noises I attach here a recording of only happen around idk, 5% of the total drying time. They start, then stop again after a a few seconds or a minute, throughout the whole drying process.

Mainly I was just wondering if anyone could imagine what it might be, what I could take a look at, or if it's nothing to worry about. I understand it's probably a long shot :D

Thanks for whoever takes a look at this, here is the recording, first half is the noise, second half is normal running: https://gofile.io/d/RyWmFq

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[–] greatwhitebuffalo41@slrpnk.net 5 points 3 weeks ago

Look up your dryer by manufacturer and the serial number, go to a parts website (not Amazon you'll get burned) and order a repair kit that includes the pulley, tensioner, belt, and rollers. Watch a few YouTube videos, some of the repair sites have them on there, and you're good to go.

You can do this yourself but it's so much easier to put the drum back in with a second set of hands. Also, you'll probably want to have a shop vac handy because you'll wanna clean all the lint from inside since you have it open anyways. As far as appliance repair goes this is about a 3.5/10 on a hard scale. If you can turn a screwdriver, understand directions, and have a bit of strength for that belt (not a lot just some) you can absolutely do it.

[–] nathan@piefed.alphapuggle.dev 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

I had a very similar noise on my dryer. The tensioner was a friction pad instead of a wheel. It had worn through and was running the belt on metal before the belt wore through and snapped. If you're digging into it might as well replace them both while you're in there

Worn through tensioner

[–] Azzu@leminal.space 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I have no idea what those things are, but I'll be sure to look for something like this when I open it up :D thank you so much!

[–] nathan@piefed.alphapuggle.dev 2 points 3 weeks ago

Should look similar to this; it tensions the belt to the drum so it has the grip drive it. If yours is a wheel then the bearing is probably shot. You can manually spin the drum and listen for where the sound comes from to see it's a different part failing (this pic is from a video of me doing exactly that)

installation location of tensioner

[–] mos@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I think that noise means you have to find a bomb shelter.

[–] Azzu@leminal.space 1 points 3 weeks ago

When I first heard it, I thought something was super wrong :D

[–] paddythegeek@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

With noise like that it makes me think belt or bearings. With most dryers the back panel is easy to remove so you can check the belt and motor area. If the edges of the belt are worn or frayed, it should be replaced, same if the teeth (if it is a toothed belt) on the inner surface look worn or nearly flat.

Many parts can be found on amazon - start by looking up your dryer model number and go from there. There are tons of helpful YouTube videos as well, many by repair pros.

Good luck, you’ve got this!

[–] Azzu@leminal.space 1 points 3 weeks ago

Thank you so much, I will try to see what I can find out with this basic guidance and report back :)