Hi there! Not 100% sure on the age of this particular dryer, but it's definitely old lol.

I recently replaced the rear drum support roller on the left when facing the front of the dryer (there's another one higher up on the right that still looked okay). Problem is, I'm a total novice at this whole fix-it thing and thought that, since I decided to replace the roller as well as the axle, I wouldn't need any of the parts I was removing. Wrong!

I ended up using the old axle with the new roller because I couldn't for the life of me find a nut to fit the back of the new axle, and when I did, the component underneath the drum that helps hold it in place didn't fit over the front of the axle, so it wouldn't be doing its job. (The other problem was that the new axle I got positioned the roller way too far back, so it no longer fit into the indent around the edge of the drum where it had been sitting before. I may have gotten the wrong axle.)

I have no idea what this piece is called because I can't find it anywhere.... I think maybe it's just too old a part to find, and so I'm trying to figure out how I can make it do its job because it's making a squeaking sound when I first start up the dryer.

We're a household of me plus three kids, one of whom is a bed wetter, so our laundry is almost constantly going. The older machines you find on Craigslist for $50 tend to be much easier to work on and are able to take a LOT more abuse than the newer ones, which is why I stick to the older appliances and just learn what I need to when something breaks.

It's working perfectly fine right now, although we do have to leave clothes in for two cycles usually (if it's a full load), but the heat comes on, I just replaced the belt, and I'm thinking the only other thing that might need replacing is the felt backing around the edge of the drum. However, not having been able to put the drum support roller components back together properly concerns me.

There's a metal piece, one end of which goes over the front part of the axle and one end screws into the base of the dryer. To hold it in place, there was originally a metal, circular piece that looks sort of like a washer but the inside edges were sort of "frayed" evenly to make it easy to push onto the axle but it wouldn't come off and it kind of wedged that metal piece into place over the end of the axle. Hopefully that makes sense to someone! lol

I've been wracking my brain to try to figure out how I can finagle a solution to this issue without damaging anything, but I will be the first to admit that it's a little beyond me! LOL... the original wedge thing was kind of worn and I assumed I wouldn't need it (I know... total newbie mistake), so I tried to replace it but neither one of the pieces that I thought might fit actually did all the way. I ended up wedging one of them on there, but I'm about 95% sure it fell off in the meantime.

Like I said, the dryer seems to be working fine right now aside from the occasional squeaking, but I really would rather take it apart again and fix it completely than risk anything else breaking due to my lack of experience. I hope someone here can help me, because others I've approached for help haven't even known what the rear drum rollers are (oops!).

I'm entirely too well-acquainted with the inner workings of my dryer at this point.... lol

Thanks in advance for any input you can give me! I'll be continuing to try to find a solution regardless, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask the experts =).

Thanks!

Jen