abadfish66, thank you for your reply. I mentioned, I think, that I opened the top of the dryer to observe its operation and noticed that the felt bearing pad was missing one of the plastic bearing pads. I recall that the other two and the pad looked rusty. That may be the source after all. I wasn't aware that the pad was accessible to the tumbling clothes.

I just went downstairs and looked at the dryer. I felt around the inner lip of the drum and I could feel the pad. As an experiment, I took a white paper towel, folded it, and stuck the edge in the gap between the dryer front piece and the drum. I then slid the towel around the circumference of the drum, part way. A tan powdery mark was on the towel! So as the clothes tumble, especially collar tips, can poke their way into that gap? Wouldn't have thought that could happen. Learned something new, thanks!

I will still check the vent pipe for any lint obstruction and I will also check the outlet temp with a thermometer just to be sure. I intend to do some long-needed maintenance to the dryer anyway, I'm just wanting to proceed correctly. As a long-time mechanic and fix-it guy, I don't think there are any real obstacles, the dryer seems fairly straight forward as far as accessibility. The front looks to be held on fairly simply by screws and clips. My real concern is the peeled and discolored paint on the back of the inside of the drum. I also need to replace the rear bearing as it has been squeaking this last year or so and demands a regular drop of light oil weekly. Figure to remove the front of the dryer and remove the drum and give the inside a general cleaning and replace the rear bearing and the front felt bearing pad. If the t-stat is ok, I won't bother replacing it. Will the drive belt that goes around the outside of the drum pose any problem repositioning the drum back into the cabinet?

Thanks for your timely, experienced post! Much appreciated.

abadfish66: just to give you some feedback. Finally able to tackle the dryer project. The rear bearing was so bad, couldn't get it to release. Unscrewed the bearing plate from the dryer back and removed the drum, no problem. Very filthy inside the cabinet. Vacuumed everything, used canned air to defuzz the motor. Oiled the belt guide roller axles as they were dry. Installed the new bearing with generous lube. Found we actually had a light for the interior, replaced the bulb for a bonus benefit of the project. Tackled the felt ring last. Not a real big deal. Took the dryer front to the open garage and used an old toothbrush and acetone to remove the glue residue after putty-knifing the old felt ring off. The old upper support felt pad was missing two of the three plastic bearings, the remnants of which were on the bottom of the cabinet. Thoroughly vacuumed all air passages I could get to removing gobs of lint from the air duct just under the filter. All back together and running famously! Thank you very much for your advise and to Appliance Parts Pros, all parts fit just right. That doesn't happen too often these days!

Regards,

RogerB
Southern Colorado

I can honestly say I have not heard of this model dryer reversing itself, nor any other dryer reversing. Is this in the owners manual that says it reverses. Does this dryer have a glass door that lets you watch the drum turn?