December 05, 2004
Fixed, I hope...
If you like repairing things, you should be aware of a great site, repairclinic.com.
Our Maytag dryer started making an ugly grinding noise. On my own I couldn't even figure out how to get it open. But the repairclinic.com site had a nice picture, which with a mouse-over shows larger views of the various parts, and explanations of what they do.
I took off the front bulkhead, and spent some time rotating the drum, trying to locate the sound. (A little patience is very important...take your time, things will seem bewildering at first.) Eventually I noticed that one of the pads the drum glides on was worn away, and the metal underneath was shiny with scraping. A few more clicks, and the part is ordered, and will be shipped tomorrow. 'Till it comes, we will be living like hardy pioneers, hanging our clothes on an improvised clothesline...
Update: The new parts worked just fine. They had to be installed with pop-rivets, which is OK with me. Our dryer is running smooth and quiet...
Posted by John Weidner at December 5, 2004 02:42 PM
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John,
First, congratulations on working up the courage to try your hand at appliance repair!
Second, if I may rain on your parade, WHY was that pad worn away? The reason I ask is that, after burning up a transistor or two in the course of trying to repair a stereo amplifier, I learned that a burned-out component may not be the cause of the problem, but the RESULT of the REAL problem.
So, I ask (in complete ignorance of just how the innards of your dryer are laid out) if that pad was the ONLY pad that badly worn. You may want to check to see if something else is worn out or out of adjustment, something that would cause the drum to put undue pressure on that pad and cause it to wear much faster than the others.
My two cents' worth, and good luck, and keep up the good work!
Posted by: Hale Adams at December 5, 2004 03:05 PMOnce you start repairing things, they own you.
Posted by: Fred Boness at December 5, 2004 07:00 PMHale, there are two pads, and the other one was getting pretty frayed (I'll replace both) I couldn't see any noticible cause of wear, other than that these things have had the drum gliding on them for maybe 14 years! If the new ones wear quickly I'll know there's more going on than I realize...
Fred, that happens. I know what you are talking about. And sometimes my repairs cost more in time and bother than the damn thing is worth. BUT, the thrill to me when I can triumph over material objects is very great...Much like cave-men must have felt after they slew a Mastodon.
I'm lucky to be clueless about repairing cars. I just let my mechanic do as he pleases, and so that part of my life is easy.
Posted by: John Weidner at December 5, 2004 08:30 PM
