Thread Number: 45182
Whirlpool/Admiral Dryer Belt & Pulley Problem
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Post# 661980   2/23/2013 at 21:43 (4,050 days old) by hydralique (Los Angeles)        

For the last ten years I've had an Admiral ADG7000AWW dryer. It's been a good workhorse with no problems until last Saturday night when the original belt broke. I pulled the belt and sourced another OEM Whirlpool belt that I installed this afternoon. It has to be done mostly by feel as you can't see the pulley end of the motor with the drum in place. Before starting the dryer I rotated the drum a few times and everything looked good, then buttoned up the front panel and tried it out with the top open. Again it looked good, the belt was in the same place on the drum as before. Before doing any wash I ran the dryer empty a few minutes, then ran a load. Once the dryer was full it popped the belt off after a few turns. So I pulled the drum and found that the pulley on the motor had fractured. I'll buy a new pulley this week but wondered if anyone here has done this repair on a Whirlpool made dryer, and if there were any issues removing the remnants of the old pulley from the motor shaft and putting the new pulley on. From the pieces left on the shaft it looks as if it is screwed on to a threaded part of the shaft, is it safe to hold the plastic blower blades to keep the shaft stationary while doing this? Thanks very much for all replies!





Post# 661990 , Reply# 1   2/23/2013 at 22:50 (4,050 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        

redcarpetdrew's profile picture
You can hold the blades as long as you don't really wrench on them. Sometimes, I will use a pair of needle nose vice grips to hold the motor shaft in place. Pulley part number is 31001535 and will get you around $30-40 as well as being very much still available. By the way, this is a Herrin made dryer all the way. Pure NorgeTag.

RCD


Post# 661996 , Reply# 2   2/23/2013 at 23:56 (4,050 days old) by alr2903 (TN)        

RCD, you confirmed what I suspected. The Crosley, Performa, Admiral family were Herrin built machines at one time. I have new Admirals that are DD Whirlpools. I am sure Hydralique's assessment with the motor pulley is accurate.
Does he have the correct belt for this norgetag dryer? alr2903


Post# 662046 , Reply# 3   2/24/2013 at 10:28 (4,050 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)        

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I worked on my sisters Jenn Aire dryer about a month ago. What a PITA! Had to replace the rollers that support the drum. That was all well and good, but try putting the belt on, with one hand, and just by feel!


Post# 662054 , Reply# 4   2/24/2013 at 10:53 (4,049 days old) by hydralique (Los Angeles)        
RCD and Alr,

Thanks very much for your replies. Based on that I took the remnants of the pulley off this morning by holding the blower blades by hand and using a big vice-grip on the pulley end. It had fractured in two, surprising given that there is an automatic tensioner and the belt had never been replaced before; I usually associate pulley failures with incorrect belt tension.

 

I should have the right belt, part number 341241. When I checked on the internet it looked to be used in a lot of Whirlpool machines, and sure enough a local parts house in Van Nuys had it - their counter man didn't even have to look it up when I called. Now to see if they have the pulley! The belt is branded FSP, though it says "Genuine Whirlpool Quality" on the package so I guess they are an OEM supplier. I don't care who made it - brand snobs shouldn't own Admirals anyway, LOL - but don't want some piece of Chinese crap that will break in two years.

 

I had guessed that this dryer was Amana-Tag based, though didn't know Herrin made it. It's a good performer and hopefully will last another ten years. It's paired with a Whirlpool Design 2000 washer that has never had a repair, though I suspect the coupler is on its way out so I keep a new one handy. Whirly DDs may not be the sexiest washers around, but IMO they're hard to beat for reliability. Of course the poor extraction of the DD may have been a factor in overworking the dryer!

 

Goatfarmer - I tried putting the belt on with one hand and couldn't do it, but found that by removing the little horizontal strut that goes leftward from the blower housing I could get two hands in there. It's only one screw to remove it, and with two hands putting the belt on was easy. Your sister's dryer may not be exactly the same, and if you managed to install the belt with one hand you're better than me at this!

 


Post# 662084 , Reply# 5   2/24/2013 at 13:27 (4,049 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

I found when changing belts on dryers is also a good time to pull the drum and completely vacuum the dryer lint out, and to remove the duct work from the drum to the blower motor (3 screws) and clean that out. You'll be surprised by how much lint is in there!

Then you can see how things are set up so when you do have to thread the belt around the pulley's you'll know where things are. When a belt breaks I usually find it somewhere under the drum near the right side of the machine. I have never seen a portion stuck on a pulley. But then I am not a professional repairman.



Post# 662099 , Reply# 6   2/24/2013 at 15:29 (4,049 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        
Admirals and FSP belts...

redcarpetdrew's profile picture
Whirlpool is doing what they always do. Buy a company and then find parts that they (W/P) make that are the closest to the other co's parts and substitute it. Makes economic sense for the most part but when the WP part only comes close to matching but not totally, it can make for headaches. Makes lives for the service people simpler but much more a PITA at the same time.

Maybe it's just because I'm in the 'business' (almost sounds mafia-ish, no?) but I just reach both hands in with right going in between the drum and the top of the blower and the left to the the left side of the blower and put the belt on by feel. I'll admit to putting the belt on with power still on (very occasionally!) but all in all this design dryer really isn't bad to service.

Once, I had a tech who was training me explain that to be really good in the field, a tech should be able to close one's eyes and be able to visualize where your hands are. The really good ones can 'see' what they're doing but 'looking' at the picture from the other direction ie seeing what you're doing looking from the back of the dryer forward...

RCD


Post# 662103 , Reply# 7   2/24/2013 at 16:14 (4,049 days old) by hydralique (Los Angeles)        
Power off or on . . .

I learned one thing about this dryer when I whipped the front panel off for the second time to see why the new belt came off: there are uninsulated terminals on the door switch backside that are live whenever connected to power. I grabbed the switch to remove it from the panel and got a small but annoying 120v shock. One of the three terminals is insulated, and I stupidly assumed that the other two weren't connected to the hot. It wouldn't have cost much to insulate these terminals, but evidently too much for WP.

 

The rollers and glides look to be in good shape, but one of the rollers moves much more freely than the other. I'm going to remove the sticky one and clean the shaft. Do you ever put lubricant on these, and if so do you recommend a silicone or oil based lube?


Post# 662129 , Reply# 8   2/24/2013 at 18:15 (4,049 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        
Shocking discovery...

redcarpetdrew's profile picture
Well, I didn't say that power on was for everyone... LOL!

I use Zoom Spout, a turbine oil, for cleaning and lubing rollers, etc. WD-40 can leave a smell when the dryer heats up that customers find annoying plus it can evaporate. The turbine oil just seems to do the job every time.

RCD


Post# 662152 , Reply# 9   2/24/2013 at 19:49 (4,049 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

As for FSP parts, I like them. They seem to be made a higher level of quality than the original parts are. Once I replace a part with an FSP part I never had to redo that repair again.

A good example was when I replaced the ice door panel on my old Whirlpool refrigerator. The door flap originally was just a piece of cheap plastic. The FSP replacement part was much thicker plastic and had a gasket around the edges of the door. Whenever I fix any appliance I check to see if the part is available from FSP first. I've had very good luck with them.




This post was last edited 02/24/2013 at 23:01
Post# 662211 , Reply# 10   2/25/2013 at 00:48 (4,049 days old) by alr2903 (TN)        

Best of luck with your repair Hydralique. In reply #2 I forgot the Magic Chef branch of the family. That would be about right for me as we owned a set of them. Good Service and they lasted a long time. alr2903



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