Thread Number: 45714
Sears Strikes Again!
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Post# 668773   3/27/2013 at 19:58 (4,018 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

Got a phone call from the guy I did the ice maker job for a few months ago. His neighbor has a Kenmore dryer (417.93042300) that he bought in 2004. The dryer started to shred clothing so he called Sears out to take a look at it.

Sears diagnosis:

The drum is shot, needs a new drum.
The motor is shot, needs a new motor.
Both the front and rear drum bearings need to be replaced.

Sears repairman's recommendation? Junk this dryer and buy a new one. BTW, he also mentioned that Sears is having a sale soon.

The owner of this dryer said how could it need a new motor when it still runs?

So I went over to look at it. It looks like the front end of the drum is about an inch lower than the rear of the drum. I see a few minor scrape marks on the exterior of the drum, but the interior is just as good as new. The reason the clothing is being shredded is that on the inside front lip of the drum there is a groove that is supposed to have felt in it and it came out thereby catching buttons, zippers, etc. The drum otherwise doesn't seem damaged. If you turn the dryer on, it turns without any noises. It looks like the felt on the drum came off and dropped the front of the drum. I found that repairclinic.com had a maintenance kit that includes all the parts needed for $47.00. So we ordered that and will resurrect this dryer.

And what's this about the front drum bearings? This dryer doesn't have any at all!

Does Sears actually repair anything at all anymore? This is the third time I have encountered someone who called Sears out and was told to junk their machine and buy a new one when the cost of repair was $100 or less.

I really wonder about Sears sometime.





This post was last edited 03/27/2013 at 20:52



Post# 668779 , Reply# 1   3/27/2013 at 20:54 (4,018 days old) by pierreandreply4 (St-Bruno de montarville (province of quebec) canada)        

pierreandreply4's profile picture
its sad to say this but today stores mostly no longer repairs appliance all they went is customers to spend money on a new appliance.

Post# 668782 , Reply# 2   3/27/2013 at 21:04 (4,018 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

And they then hit the owner with a $129.00 service call charge just to tell them that they need to replace their appliances when they could easily be repaired.

Sears needs to retitle their repair men to "Sales Representatives".

You know Office Depot now has a computer repair shop inside their stores. In order to work there as a computer tech you have to work the sales floor for six months first. Uh-huh....




This post was last edited 03/27/2013 at 21:33
Post# 668794 , Reply# 3   3/27/2013 at 22:04 (4,018 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
Frigidaire Built KM Dryer

combo52's profile picture

Glad you were able to save this dryer for your neighbor Allen, The front felt that you replaced is considered the front drum bearing as it supports the rotating drum.  I am afraid that this experience is all to common, this is why it is important to find good local repair places for your car and appliances and NEVER buy extended service plans. Your neighbor probably could easily get their $129 back if they complain to Sears and if that does not work put it in writing to at least 12 different parties including local radio and TV stations congressmen state elected officials, etc, etc be sure all letters list all other people that are also receiving the letter.


Post# 668798 , Reply# 4   3/27/2013 at 22:37 (4,018 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

I haven't done the repair yet, but it doesn't look that much more difficult than replacing a belt.

The link is to what I ordered. I also ordered the nylon "bearing" that fits inside the drum lip to the dryer, just in case.

It looks like when I am done, the dryer will be like new again. I'll tell you if word gets around that you repair appliances, your phone will start ringing!



CLICK HERE TO GO TO whirlcool's LINK


Post# 668811 , Reply# 5   3/28/2013 at 00:23 (4,018 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))        
Sears needs to retitle their repair men to "Sales Repres

arbilab's profile picture
Howbout "Somali Pirates"?

Post# 668824 , Reply# 6   3/28/2013 at 02:32 (4,018 days old) by Limey ()        
Sears

whirlcool, combo52
The guy with the dryer may be interested in the comments of "IAMCERTIFIABLE" at the link below.


CLICK HERE TO GO TO Limey's LINK


Post# 668841 , Reply# 7   3/28/2013 at 06:30 (4,018 days old) by drewz (Alexandria, Virginia)        

drewz's profile picture
Sears Service,

Wonder if Sears Service is anyway related to A&E because they are bad, probably worse.


Post# 668847 , Reply# 8   3/28/2013 at 07:30 (4,018 days old) by pierreandreply4 (St-Bruno de montarville (province of quebec) canada)        
story related with sears

pierreandreply4's profile picture
here is a story related with sears one of my aunt called sears repair service to have a repair done on her 6 year old frige the tech told her she would be better off replacing it good thing my aunt keep her purchuse papers it was finaly repaired me i think if or appliance needs repair its better off using another repair service than the store repair service. My aunt fridge was a kenmore fridge

Post# 668866 , Reply# 9   3/28/2013 at 11:12 (4,018 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

Several years ago Sears had an advertising campaign letting people know that they will repair all brand names, not just items bought at their stores. A lot of people remember those ads. I just wonder how many repairable appliances have gone to the scrap heap just because of Sears?

One thought is that Sears wants to get rid of older appliances because eventually people will come back to them after purchasing new crap from Sears and say "But my mother in law's machine lasted 20 years. How come the washer I just bought from you only lasted 7?"


Post# 668896 , Reply# 10   3/28/2013 at 15:54 (4,018 days old) by whirlykenmore78 (Prior Lake MN (GMT-0500 CDT.))        
My mother in law's machine lasted 20 years, how come the

whirlykenmore78's profile picture
Because if you look on her machine it had a model number with the prefix 110. meaning made by Whirlpool in the USA. Also known as a REAL KENMORE! The new one is most likely some shitty Yuckmore made in China or Mexico by Frigidaire, LG, or Samsung.
WK78


Post# 668903 , Reply# 11   3/28/2013 at 16:51 (4,017 days old) by oldskool (Kansas City, MO)        
The Spiral Downward...

... yet continues. This individuals experience with Sears Service is one of countless thousands that occurs on a daily basis in America. 

 

Sears' unraveling began years ago and baring some mighty miracle, will continue until the day we read the headlines - "Sears - Going out of Business". Some will be in shock and awe that day but many of us, will know that we saw it coming. I won't rant further at this point, but one doesn't have to look too far in history to see the repetitious mis-guided steps of ignorance and/or greed that have thrust Sears further into their downward spiral. Hope to be proven wrong, but I don't think so.


Post# 668920 , Reply# 12   3/28/2013 at 18:59 (4,017 days old) by Limey ()        
Sears & A&E

Sears own A&E

Post# 669059 , Reply# 13   3/29/2013 at 13:29 (4,017 days old) by Iheartmaytag (Wichita, Kansas)        

iheartmaytag's profile picture
I don't know if it is country wide, but here Whirlpool factory service will Dispatch A&E. ( I didn't know they were owned by Sear's) I have mixed reviews, The tech that worked on my dishwasher was a "parts hanger" he didn't diagnose, or even look at the machine for that fact, he just started ordering new parts.

The tech that worked on my washer took time to check it out and find the problem and ended up only being a sensor instead of a much costlier control board.



Post# 669644 , Reply# 14   4/1/2013 at 13:39 (4,014 days old) by MIKESKE (Washington State)        

I think that oldskool has hit the nail on the head. My father worked for Sears for 30 years ago, I think that my father (he passed away 25 years ago) would be shocked of the poor service, poor quality and general lack of regard of the customer that Sears displays today.

The fact is Sears is a shadow of what made the store that it was before. The town 25 miles north of where I live with a fairly large population (80,000 plus residents) just lost the Sears store that had been a fixture for the last 90 years and now folks there have to travel 45 miles to the nearest Sears store.

I used to buy everything at Sears but quit 15 years ago as I saw what Sears was when I bought a Sears garden tractor and it fell apart during warranty and the fact that the tractor was in more for warranty work then on the yard. I ended up buying a John Deere garden tractor that took all the work I needed it to do and I still use it today as I could not have something that falls apart every month as I have a 5 acres to maintain.

Sorry I had to rant but I feel that Sears will be probably be gone within the next 5 years. Sears was a icon but today I think that it can not fight it way out a paper bag even with a flashlight and the instructions printed on the inside.


Post# 670120 , Reply# 15   4/2/2013 at 23:07 (4,012 days old) by qualin (Canada)        

I can certainly tell you that Sears usually uses 3rd party contractors for installations, I wouldn't be surprised if they did the same for repair people.

Post# 670144 , Reply# 16   4/3/2013 at 03:13 (4,012 days old) by Limey ()        
Sears Authorized Repairers

qualin,
One of our local appliance repairer's recently told me that they no longer touch anything 'Kenmore' unless specifically asked to do so by the local authorized Sears repairer who, incidentally, operates from his home.


Post# 670157 , Reply# 17   4/3/2013 at 06:23 (4,012 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

My parents bought quite a few items at Sears including lawn mowers and other lawn equipment.

I actually never bought too much at Sears. As a teen I tried to get a part time job with Sears. They hired all my buddies, but they wouldn't hire me. So I boycotted them. Then as years went by I forgot about that but the only thing that Sears ever had was the Craftsman tools I liked. I think in the mid 70's I bought a dress shirt at Sears and maybe a record album or two. If I ever spent even $400 my whole lifetime at Sears that may be too much.

They just never had anything that appealed to me. The only time I seem to be in a Sears store is when I am passing through to another store in the mall. And now that is being changed as they just tore down our local Sears store in our mall and are going to build a Nordstrom's on the same spot.


Post# 670315 , Reply# 18   4/3/2013 at 19:36 (4,011 days old) by bleacho ()        
bye bye sears...!

its not that far into the future...
i was a store manager for Sears for 3 years... three of the craziest years in my career... the bullying, intimidation, hostility from upper management, threats.... i couldnt believe this was the Sears, that i fondly remembered as a kid...
to this day, i am amazed they kept the unions out...



Post# 670329 , Reply# 19   4/3/2013 at 20:13 (4,011 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
Sears Kept The Unions Out

combo52's profile picture

It is interesting that the majority of the industries and businesses that this country lost over the last twenty years or so were mostly Non Union, if you listen to the nut cases on the other side they would tell you that Unions were the job killing problem, NOT SO, even though I have never worked in a union job I owe much of my success in life to the many Americans who have good Union jobs.


Post# 670484 , Reply# 20   4/4/2013 at 17:35 (4,010 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        
Done!

All the parts arrived yesterday for this dryer. I bought the overhaul kit which included the felts, rear bearing, new idler arm & belt for about 60% of buying the parts individually. Total parts cost $77.00.

What happened with this dryer is the nylon bearing around the drum of the machine disintegrated on the left side (there are two pieces, left and right). I mean the entire bearing was gone with no trace of it anywhere. The right side bearing was scratched, but it still looked serviceable and held steady. The felt that the drum rides on was totally torn up. So we glued on new upper & lower felt and let it sit while we replaced the idler pulley assembly.

So with the drum removed we attacked the machine with a Miele vac. There were some large gobs of lint & dust everywhere, especially around the burner box(gas dryer) and the motor was completely covered in lint. So we vacuumed out everything. Surprisingly the lint was light and fluffy and not sticky at all even though I spied what must have been a 5 gallon dispenser jug of Downy on the shelf above the washer. This alone took about an hour. But the machine looked like new when we were done. After all parts including a new belt were installed we reassembled the machine. We checked the ductwork for lint. It was that cheap plastic variety and the round clip that was holding it to the dryer was so weak that you could squeeze it with your fingers. I told the guy what a hazard that type of plastic ductwork is, but he said he'll replace it later. We just took it outside and blew out the lint, of which there was only a small amount. Then we used a leaf blower on the ductwork in the wall so it too was clear.

Finally after we reassembled the we discovered that the wires to the automatic dry bars were cut. Probably damaged during the initial failure. So we repaired those, cleaned the bars with vinegar and rinsed with water and dryed them off.

When we were finished with reassembly, we turned the dryer on. It was really quiet. The owner said that the dryer wasn't that quiet even when he got it brand new. It was even much quieter than our Whirlpool dryer.

All in all this dryer took about 2.5 hours to overhaul. But it should last another 8 years or so hopefully. All the parts used were Electrolux parts.
I actually had fun doing this repair.

But still, this dryer almost was sent to the scrap heap thanks to Sears service!


Post# 670503 , Reply# 21   4/4/2013 at 18:44 (4,010 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
Yay!


Post# 670504 , Reply# 22   4/4/2013 at 18:50 (4,010 days old) by mitch (Atlanta)        
Good job!

I have a "date" with my brother's Kenmore (Whirlpool) next week to do some repairs and cleaning. Glad you got her going!


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