Amana Dryer - Replaced belt and now unit gets hot hot hot

Sorry for the detail but don't want to misdiagnose.

----Short version: Amana Dryer, replaced a belt, now smelling very hot----

----Longer version:
Amana LEA30AW electric dryer unit came with the house and has never been maintained really. (Shame on me, I know.) Despite the fact that there was something dead in the vent tube and the inside was pretty dusty and linty, no fires or heat issues in the past. Discovered how bad it was inside after going to replace the belt.

Cleaned out the motor a bit with a compressor and vacuum. Applied a bit of lubricant to a stiff idler wheel and it now spins smoothly. Replaced the belt with one picked up locally. Put it all back together as best as I could following the manual.

Plugged it in, started it up, and immediately could tell the unit was HOT. Settings were for Perm Press and hot etc. but it "seemed" hotter than normal and smelled hot near the top of the front bulkhead. Shut the unit down as my wife agreed that it smelled hot.

Since then, have taken the heater panel out of the dryer and blew it off with the compressor and got inside better around the heating elements etc. Top of high-temp therm was a bit dirty so I wiped that off as well. Put it back together again and ran it on "No Heat" mode and let it run just for a minute or so. Seemed to be working fine and no smell of heat near the bulkhead.

Turning the dryer by hand now is noticeably stiffer (than with a broken belt lol) but not so much so that it feels bound or anything that I can see.

---Questions:
1.) Could the heat / smell have been partly due to the new belt being a bit more "snug" and the heating elements being dusty?

2.) Is there a possibility I put the front bulkhead on incorrectly and it's the issue? I tried to be careful that the "cylinder glide bracket" was positioned correctly but the manual talks about removing the glide etc and to me it seemed the barrel simply rests atop the glide?

3.) Anything else I need to check before firing it up? Do i need to use a meter to check the high limit and such? Just fire it up and watch it?

Appreciate any looks and replies! -Tommy

Hi,

Fire it up and observe.

Vent get crushed when putting the dryer back into place?
Tried the dryer with the vent off ( removed ) from the dryer?
Drum seals didn't fall off (sometimes the glue dries out)?

Yes the drum sits on the front glides.

jeff.

Jeff: is the wheel nylon "Applied a bit of lubricant to a stiff idler wheel "

nealtw said:

Jeff: is the wheel nylon "Applied a bit of lubricant to a stiff idler wheel "

Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies!

I'm in Minnesota so this is actually an insulated (wrap of some kind) 3" aluminium pipe with a 90deg at the bottom where it fits over the exhaust from the dryer and one 90deg at the top where it goes out the building. About 4' straight pipe in between. Since it's (relatively) stiff pipe, I'm sure there's no kinks but it it probably full of junk.

Just had my wife pick up a brush to clean it out with and will do that before I fire it up again. Hoping that cleaning out the heating elements did the trick.

----
Also, the wheel is nylon I would suspect. Tried not to get much lubricant (wd-40 type, probably not hi-speed) on it and made sure it just a shot on the bolt. I do have some marvel mystery oil I could put on instead? Before applying it, the idler wheel would barely turn, and it moves very well now.

Again, many thanks!

EDIT: Believe I used JB80? Have to grab the can, but similar to wd40 / anti-seize type solution.

don't know about wd40 but oil will make nylon swal and seize. Jeff will let us know I just wanted make sure he saw what you said about it.

I'm in Minnesota so this is actually an insulated (wrap of some kind) 3" aluminium pipe with a 90deg at the bottom where it fits over the exhaust from the dryer and one 90deg at the top where it goes out the building.

Click to expand...

Dryer venting should be 4".

Idler pulley is plastic/nylon with a metal bearing sleeve...


Idler pulley wheel and bearing assembly Manufacturer Number Y54414

Drum wheel is rubber with a metal sleeve bearing...


Drum support roller Manufacturer Number 37001042

Front glides shouldn't be lubed...


Drum glide pad, Replace in Pairs, Manufacturer Number 37001298

I'm sure there's no kinks but it it probably full of junk.

Click to expand...

Should be cleaned out then for sure!

jeff.

jeff1 said:

Dryer venting should be 4".

Should be cleaned out then for sure!

jeff.

Click to expand...

4" yes, my mistake. The duct was dirty and has lots of accumulated lint grime so I'm thinking I may get a new one just so I don't worry about burning the house down.

Fired up the dryer without the vent attached and ran it again on No Heat mode without any apparent issue. Turned on Gentle heat and immediately smelled a burning smell that went away within 5-10 seconds.

I don't do much of the laundry, so I don't know how how these things are supposed to be when you open them mid-cycle, but even on gentle... opening the door I was hit in the face with heat. I'm wondering if there could be a problem and the unit is heating too much? Limit? Switch? Worth pulling it apart again to check or am I being paranoid?

I started it back up and let it run the cool down part of the gentle cycle on gentle heat and it cooled down as I would expect. Hoping I'm just nervous as I always feel the same way about my natural gas shop heater getting hot as well.

Safe to try it on the perm press with a load of towels/jeans? I can grab a meter and check the resistance if necessary. Thanks again for all the help!

EDIT: If it's too hot, might explain me shrinking some clothes hehe.

Worth pulling it apart again to check or am I being paranoid?

Click to expand...

Probably paranoid...but worth checking the exhaust temp now the vent is removed.....should cycle approx 140-160ºF without clothes inside.

so I'm thinking I may get a new one just so I don't worry about burning the house down.

Click to expand...

Good idea!
Solid metal is best.

jeff.

Closely inspect your heating element. Excessive heat can be caused by shorting out (see http://www.repairmydryer.com/dryer-heater.html ). For your element, that is generally not a problem, but it is pretty common on Kenmores where the element can work free from the insulator. At any rate, if it is a short, do not operate it until fixed.

Check to make sure vent is not clogged. Its the same idea as putting you hand over a hair dryer. No place for the heat to go so it builds up and overheats.