a photoblog of what i did today.....

[classicman]

the bottom

[Gravdigr]

[glatt]

Productive weekend. Among other chores, I
-Washed the old car in preparation for selling it, including removing bumper stickers.
-put new wiper blades on the new car. We learned on Saturday that the old ones sucked.
- fixed our dryer

I'm going to document the dryer fix.

The problem was that the lint gasket at the rear of the dryer drum was falling apart. A gap was opening up back there and stuff was falling down in the back of the dryer. Coins and stuff from the pockets, and also socks and underwear. I ordered the parts a month or so ago but had been too busy until now to focus on it. I got a new drum belt too because when I replaced the motor a year ago I noticed the belt was getting old and cracked.

We start by pulling the bottom panel off. A screw driver as a lever probably would have been smart, but I just pried it off with my fingers. Broke a nail. Annoying.


Then I know from working on this dryer in the past that the duct is going to get in the way, so I remove it now. Just wiggle it off.


Then I pulled out the lint trap.


And removed the two little screws that hold the lint trap body in place.

[glatt]

Now it's time to lift the top up, so I felt with a putty knife for the two clips that hold the top panel to the front panel. Grabbed a screwdriver and used it as a lever to pop those clips at each side of the machine.


Then I lift the top panel up, just like opening the hood of a car. This is where it's good that I got the ductwork out of the way. I used some twine and a clamp to hold the top up and out of the way.


Then I need to remove the front panel (which is the frame that holds the door.) I remove the sheet metal screws from the top.


And loosen the ones on the bottom. It just rests on these bottom ones, I don't have to take them all the way out.

[glatt]

There are wires connecting the front panel to the control board at the back, and I don't want to bother with those, so I just disconnect the clip holding them in place and leave them attached.


Then I lift the front panel off and lean it up against the side of the machine.


The door opening of the front panel normally supports the drum, and since I removed that front panel, I grab a nearby hiking boot to support the drum while I remove the old drive belt. I have to press against the tension pulley to get enough slack to slip the belt off the drive shaft.


And then I pull the drum out.

[glatt]

I cut the felt gasket and start to pull it off. Some of it comes off really easily because the glue it brittle and old and just falls off. And some of it is stuck real well and the felt tears apart with a lot of it still adhering to the drum.


So I scrape away at any felt that adheres to the drum. I need a pretty clean surface for the new gasket and glue.


And then I switch to sand paper because I think it might be easier.


Finally I vacuum it clean so the glue will stick.

[glatt]

Since I have the vacuum out, I clean the inside of the dryer. I find some coins as I do this, but not much because I had cleaned this not too long ago when I replaced the motor.


Then I open the new gasket and read the instructions.


The new gasket and glue.


It's hard getting the new gasket onto the edge of the drum until I grab some spring clamps to clamp it as I go.

[glatt]

You are supposed to apply the gasket first and them jam the tip of the glue tube underneath and start squeezing the glue in there.


But it makes a hell of a mess as it drips out. That indentation rides over the rollers, and the last thing I need is big glue bumps in there.


So I put some gloves on, and tip the drum on its side. This is much neater. Was that in teh instructions?


And I clean up my mess.

[glatt]

Done.


I put it back together in reverse, except I use the new belt. The new belt seems about a half inch shorter than the old one, and I really have to strong arm the tension pulley to get the belt on.

[Clodfobble]

Very nice job!

There's something about handyman jobs like this--I look at all the steps and say, "Yes, yes, I understand that step, yes, I see how that works, all very straightforward..." but somehow the job as a whole still just makes me shut down and decide, "Nope. I can't do that, hire someone."

I hope your family makes you something extra good for dinner.

[Undertoad]

Right; the scary bit is always what if I get to step 4 and I fuck it up?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Good job replacing the belt while you had it apart. If you hadn't you know it would fail in a month.

[glatt]

I routinely fuck stuff up, but then I fix my fuck up and learn from it. All that dripping glue was a minor fuck up on this job. A professional wouldn't have done that.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Or would have done his best to talk you into a whole new drum, and failing that not cleaned up the glue, thrown it back together, taken the money and run. Whirrrrr thump Whirrrrr thump Whirrrrr thump

[BigV]

Well done.

I agree about the perils of the unknown after step four. But I'm perpetually in some degree of unknown. And some degree of fuckup, sometimes self imposed. I most always have embarked on a journey like this because the degree of fuckup was already a problem, and my post four problem is small by comparison.

Learning from my mistakes, sometimes repeated mistakes, is part of the pleasure I derive from such work.

Good job glatt.