My dryer is a General Electric,
Model # DDE5944VHLAD, with Serial #DR203481G.

In April of 2008, I replaced the heating coils, idler pulley assembly, drive belt, and (I believe) the rear drum (polymer) bearing as well. At that time, I noticed that the (original) nylon drum slides/supports in the front of the unit were rather worn, and because I needed to get the dryer up and functional, it was simpler and less expensive to purchase a used set of slides (that had far more material left on them than the ones in my dryer, and with little apparent wear) from a local appliance recycling firm a few miles from my home, than to wait a few more days to receive a brand new pair of slides.

Once I got the new components installed and the dryer reassembled, all seemed to work well (since 2008), that is, at least until the past few months. Prior to installing the aforementioned parts nearly 5 years ago, there were no noticeable sounds that I recall. Aside from the worn out heating coils and drive belt, I replaced the other parts more as a matter of preventive maintenance, due to their age, while I could access them. What started out as an occasional squeak just a few months ago has now turned into a loud "thrum", droning on as the drum rotates. I have checked to see that the drum is not obstructed, by rotating it back and forth with my hand on one of the drum "baffles". Since I'm not moving the drum very fast, I don't detect a noise, and it appears to rotate pretty freely. When in operation, the noise seems loudest from the rear, bouncing back towards me from off the wall behind the dryer. I've listened to the lower front of the dryer, but I can't discern if the motor is at fault.

I haven't yet disassembled the dryer for inspection since I last serviced it, so I don't recall what type of rear drum support assembly is actually installed on my particular unit. I'm aware there are types with bearing plates having a pass-through for a grounding strip, like this kit (WE25M40), and a less expensive version without that feature. I've attempted to verify that the Rear Drum Bearing Kit #WE25M40 is appropriate for my dryer, but your system is telling me that it is NOT compatible. I'm not even finding my Model # listed anywhere, which makes me more frustrated. I can't see that while this dryer is admittedly old, getting parts like this would be that difficult, or at least not as difficult as locating some electrical components.

I must ask though, given that I've replaced the other related components BESIDES the full bearing kit contents, might installing a complete rear drum bearing kit (and even a new set of drum slides) solve the noise issue I'm experiencing now? I'm hopeful it's NOT the motor (as I believe you suggested to other customers with similar issues, on the question section for the bearing kit), as I had to replace the drive motor on our Whirlpool washer this year, and I would rather be spared a similar expense for an even older dryer. We're just not in a position quite yet to purchase brand new units, and don't want to buy ones we haven't fully researched.

Thanks very much for reading this and for whatever information you can provide.