[houndman]

Okay.. Before I get started let me say this overheating issue is NOT due to a clogged vent or anything to do with airflow as I have completely dissaembled this POS and it's spotless, so is the duct. Airflow out the back of the dryer is very high.

With that said, wife informed me dryer will not start.. hit the start switch..zippo. Check voltage at termnial block = 244, all is good there. Find the thermal fuse is blown so I replace it with a equally rated thermistor just in case the problem is deeper, this way once it cools off it will be okay as opposed to dealing a blown fuse again.

Get the dryer started and all is well for about 4 minutes. I can feel the front door of the dryer getting unusually hot and then the thermistor opens and the dryer shuts off. Take er back apart and check:

• Operating thermostat, across reds = 0 ohms, across purples = 7K ohms
• Thermal Cutoff = 0 ohms
• Thermostat = 0 ohms
• Across terminals on the heating element = 9.6 Ohms. Also check to see if the heating element is grounded and its not, terminal to case = OL. Take apart element housing to inspect and it all looks fine.
• Note all ohm readings I have posted are with dryer cooled to room temp.
  
  Reassemble everything and it will run for ever on the air fluff mode, however when on timed drying it gets hot and dies in about 4 minutes with the exterior of the dryer getting way warmer than normal. It seems that the heating element is staying on longer than it should which would leads me to think the operating thermostat is bad but it checks out okay. Guy at local part store is knowledable and he suggests motor is faulty. This does not seem logical to me because it will run on air fluff mode without a hitch and the fact the dryer exterior gets hot suggests that the issue is with the heating element.
  
  I have run out of ideas here so any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
  
  Gary
  

[denman]

Here are your parts
Replacement parts for WHIRLPOOL LEL8858EQ0 DRYER | AppliancePartsPros.com

See the attachment for the tech sheet.

which would leads me to think the operating thermostat is bad but it checks out okay.
It checks OK in that it's contacts are closed but you did not say if you heated it up to see if it's contacts opened. Heat the face on a stove element or with a soldering gun tip to see if the contacts open. If they do open it does not eliminate the thermostat as the problem, they may be opening at too high of a temperature.

Guy at local part store is knowledable and he suggests motor is faulty.
Could be but it would not be at the top of my list because you have good air flow.

Check all the seals in the unit's air flow path. If one of them is leaking then the blower will suck in room air and the thermostat will see this as a lower temperature and run the dryer too hot

Find the thermal fuse is blown so I replace it with a equally rated thermistor just in case the problem is deeper, this way once it cools off it will be okay as opposed to dealing a blown fuse again.
This is a dangerous thing to do. If you have a run away temperature due to a clogged vent system you have no way of knowing this. Your thermistor (thermostat) will reset but the lint in the system may be much hotter than where the thermistor is located. You then hit it again with more heat you could cause a lint fire which can often burn your house down.

[houndman]

Thanks much for the reply. I took the air plenum off and there is a foam gasket that's in decent shape, however near the bottom by the exhaust port has an area where the gasket is probably not sealing completely. However this is way below where the fuse and operating thermostat are located and since the air is being sucked through the dryer and is already past these components before it would encounter this area. Access is tight but I will see if I can seal it with some foil tape. In the end though, when the dryer is running in heat mode and the vent detached, after a few mins the air exhaust is pretty darn hot. I can measure the temp of this before it shuts off however it "feels" hotter than I think it should be.

Seems like I should just take a shot and replace the operating thermostat and see what happens as unless I know what temp its suppose to open at it will be hard to ensure if its working correctly.

EDIT: I see the temp ranges for the components are listed on schematic. I can try a test using the toaster oven and a thermocouple to moniter temp to see what happens

The reason for replacing the fuse with the thermistor was due to the price and availability, its a one time fuse and the price is 50 bucks. So far I would have eaten 2 of them in testing plus the original. You raise a good point and once I get the issue resolved I will replace it with a fuse.

Thanks,
Gary

[houndman]

FYI: For anyone in the future that follows this thread. My issue was resolved by replacing the operating thermostat. Although it metered fine at room temp and it opened okay when I put a flame to it I had no guarantee at what temp it reset. I therefore placed it in my toaster over with a thermocouple and heated it to 175 deg. and it did not budge (should have done so at about 150). Went ahead and replaced it and all is well.