I have an older Kenmore Gas Dryer that came with the house. The belt broke a while back, and was easy to fix. Even updated some of the pulleys while I was in there.
This weekend, something happened and I got no heat. I cleaned everything up, checked the coils, wiggled some wires, and presto, it fired right up.
I think this sucker will live forever.
Well, until they quit making parts for it, forcing you to buy a machine shop or a new dryer.
well, the three things that really fail in driers seemt to be belt, motor, and heating element. All 3 are relatively easy fixes if the parts are available. gas driers (dryers?) have a far more reliable heating element than electric. hell, my gas water heater at the house is from 1978 or so and its still working fantastically. My fiance's house appears to have been through at least 3 electric ones since its construction in the early to mid 80's.
The problem is that once parts arent' available you have to find used parts or retrofit. and it ends up being way more work than buying a new drier, since they aren't all that expensive, really. Plus new stuff has really dumb planned obsolete designs. I've had a handfull of friends buy touchscreen washers or driers only to have the touchscreen fail and learn that the replacement is the cost of a new (non touchscreen) washer and drier. (Hey, who would have guessed a sensitive piece of electronic equipment would fail on machines who primary purpose is to combine high heat, lots of water, and heavy vibrations?) and my mom bought a "calypso" washer a while ago (in the late 90's maybe) and the belt started squealing, so my brother and I decided to replace it. We could not remove the old belt without loosening the pulley on the motor. As soon as the pulley was loose, gear oil leaked all over the floor. Mom called an employee repairment and he said we had drained a "sealed for life" gearbox that could not be refilled and the only solution was a whole new gearbox. The part cost more than she paid for the washer. We never did figure out how the hell you were supposed to change the belt on the damn thing. We just bought a new washer.
I replaced the belt on our dryer at the last house we lived in. I had called the repairman and was told it was min $150.00. I said no thank you. I took it apart saw the broken belt replaced end of problem. I had never looked inside one and was amazed how simple they are.
Chris
I bought a used Kenmore dryer when I moved into my house 30 years ago, and it's still working fine. I really should replace the drive belt one of these years.
i have a basic w/d setup that came with the house. one day doing laundry the clothes come out with detergent still in them and not nearly as close to dry as usual. turned out that it wouldn't spin. did a bit of research after almost buying a new washer, and found out that the coupler between the motor and gearbox is a common failure, ordered one online, then found a place local that also had one, picked it up and within 20 minutes of getting home i had a working washer. total cost for one coupler and a spare for next time: $25.
Mr Valve: Before you replace anything, check to see if the piezo ignitor is working. Nine times out of ten, that's the reason your drier won't light. The part should be around the 20-dollar area. If that's the problem, you'll get another ten years out of the Kenmore.
I think he got it working again. I thought that was the purpsoe of the thread.
Jeez, I read that whole post but somehow the lights weren't on. Anyway, consider the ignitor fix as a lesson for the rest of you. Keep moving. Nothing to see here.....
I wish I could take credit for fixing it, but it basically fixed itself. Nothing from the glow-plug and no gas turning on when I started. Vacuumed out all the cobwebs and lint, wiped down the little window that watches the flame, played with the little circular things (apparently they are magnetic coils because they grabbed my screwdriver when I plugged it in). It just fired back up with no problems. My hope is to "fix" it like that for another 50 years.
wow I think you could be a maserati mechanic, you should help the future purchaser of that biturbo off craigslist in the challenge section.
We have an old Kenmore Gas Dryer too! We experience the same issue of not heating. Might be in the temperature setting switch. We just switch to a different temperature and we get heat. Then switch back to the desired temperature. They do seem to run forever!
+1 for the ignitor. My oven stopped working a few years ago, it turned to be a weak ignitor. The gas valve won't open if the ignitor doesn't draw the right amount of current.
It started as an intermittent problem, with the oven not holding a steady temperature, then it would not light off at all, even though the ignitor was glowing.
I thought it was the valve, but luckily I found information in an online appliance parts companies FAQ section explaining to always change the ignitor first. The ignitor is wired in series with the gas valve, which is current sensitive.
A gas drier probably has a similar system.
Tip: Always make sure you pull the right plug. I unplugged the washer and then started to replace the dryer belt. I got one hell of a shock before the breaker finally popped.
hehe.. Sorry to hear that Wally.. nothing like an electrical love bite to wake you up
there seems to be a lotta appliance gremlins/ failure lately... wassup w/ dat? 
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