Drum alignment on gas dryer

Dryer Repair
1

Long story short, my belt broke today and I thought “I can repair that.” I got the appropriate diagrams, bought the belt, etc. Everything seemed to go smoothly. All panels are aligned. But I noticed when I spin the drum, it does seem to wiggle forward and backward a tiny bit - less than a centimeter, but still. The rear seal is over the lip in the back, but when I had the top panel tilted up, the rear seal was letting in some of the overhead light.

The dryer is fully functional again, and I dried some clothes in it for a half hour. But I’m concerned because the belt instructions made it sound like an imperfect seal could basically cause an explosion. Sorry for such a vague question, but is it common to have a little “jiggle room” when it comes to the drum? The front panel is as tight as I can get it and the drum’s resting on the rear rollers, so I have no idea how I could possibly get it any tighter. Thanks for any and all insight.

On another note, does the 110.87 that starts my model number mean it’s a Whirlpool from 1987?

2

There is no adjustment, just make sure you get the front on correctly since that is what takes any play out of the drum. The problem with the gap is that lint will get inside the dryer, which is potentially a fire hazard so check it occasionally to see that this is not happening.

The 110 indicates this is a Whirlpool dryer but the age is determined by the serial number, not the model number.

3

Thanks for your response. I wasn’t aware that the hazard lied in lint getting into the inside of the dryer. I will say, there was a shocking amount of lint inside from the past 20 years, but I vacuumed most of it out and will keep an eye on it.

4

20 Years of service, that’s great. Just check it every couple of months, and if lint is not building up you are ok. If it is, clean it out.