[Dobermann]

Okay, I put in the new glides and felt. They formed a nice little arch. How peaceful and quiet the machine sounded when it started up. I thought I was in heaven. Five minutes later, and she started squeaking. It came on gradually, building up as she ran. It was like the hotter she got, the louder she cried. I finally shut her off before I burned out something.

When I tried to move the drum, it was stiff. I had to wait for it to cool down and force the drum to move in one direction (one way was easy, the other was stuck - this should be a clue), then I could start it again. The same process repeated itself.

I know I was going to take Mom up on her offer of her machine, but when I looked at it tonight, it is about half the size of mine. Now that I have a 4.something CF washer, the last thing I want is a smaller dryer.

The belt looked good the last time I had the drum out, the rollers rolled freely, and the poor motor seems to be trying (or so I think).

What's a girl to do???

Thanks,
Dobermann

[SublimeMasterJW]

Now that you know the dryer will run smooth, replace the old motor. That dryer is worth more than any of the newer crap.

[Dobermann]

I'm trying to learn here..... what's the clue that it is the motor? Is it that it locks up the drum movement? Or that it locks in one direction? Or that it works for a few minutes? Something else?

Thanks!
Dobermann

[SublimeMasterJW]

If it runs fine for 5 minutes then shuts down then the motor is shutting down on overload most likely due to a bad bearing.You could try to revive this motor by drilling some holes in the cotton wells on each side of motor. These cotton wells hold oil. The oil seeps down into the oilite bearing onto the shaft and forms a barrier between the the shaft and the sleeve bearing. If you looked at a sleeve bearing under a microscope, you would see 10,000 tiny holes in it; that sucker is dry as a bone, getting hot and quitting. The best stuff to oil the motor is zoomspout oil. It does not disapate under heat conditions and is non flammable. To get the oil into the wells you must drill because no holes are provided in the sealed bearings. I use a 1/8th inch drill bit being careful not to hit the shaft.
NOTE: This method works depending on the severity of the bearing wear.

[Dobermann]

I looked for cotton on each side of the motor, but all I found was a lot of lint .

Seriously, you lost me on what cotton wells were, but I did take your advise and pick up a new motor for it. The motor mounting brackets took a special tool (what a pain in the lower back!), put it all back together and and it is working once again. She's so quiet, she purrrs! I have not heard her this quiet since I can remember.

On a funny side, after reassembly when I was testing it, when I opened the door from the last test, the dryer light lit like it should, then it flashed at me and went out. I could not help but laugh at that!

It will run just fine with no open door light... although, how hard could it be to change the light bulb after virtually disassembling the whole machine's guts (and no jokes about how many people it takes to change a light bulb)?

Thanks for all your help,
Dobermann

[SublimeMasterJW]

Glad to hear you got that wonderful machine back all propah!!
Those cotton wells hold oil look on each end and you will see where the bearing mounts. and atop the mounts are humps that hold the cotton and the oil.

[Dobermann]

Ah, well now I know where to look.

I've been a major task master on her all day, with her still working hard and doing her thing. She just might be good for another 10+ years. If not, I have my trusty Dewalt handy.

Thanks again!
Dobermann

(Oh, my dog misses the drum - we were using it to play in and around when the machine was tore apart. Never miss a good dog training opportunity! )

[SublimeMasterJW]

There is an extra a drum in my back yard you can have, I will throw it in a garbage bag and send it bulk

[Dobermann]

Why bother with such elegant wrapping !

Thanks again for all your help. She is working beautifully once again, so quiet, so peaceful.

Dobermann