Thread: Front load dryer struggles

We have a Samsung front loader, 5 years old.
Started rumbling and vibrating and got progressively worse over the last few months.
Moves plates kinda vibrations.

First go to was the black/blue rollerblade wheels, 4 of them, that supports the dryer drum in operation.
2 of the wheels can be seen in the above.
Most say it’s either those or the belt idler.
Well did all that and nope still possessed by evil demons upon start up.
So I got it to the condition as above and jumped out everything to find that the main motor was the cause. It has destroyed its end bearing as shown.


This is the front bearing, the side connected to the air impeller, not the belt end. I can only surmise poor rubber, and or heat build up caused the rubber to soften,, but damn, only 5 years old and the kicker is that you cannot buy the bearing sleeves alone.
Motor, with new sleeves, about 150$ CDN on Amazon with seemingly more robust end bearings..
I think the key may have been lint build up in the impeller as during removal I took a lot out from between the blades that were completely blocking air flow.

Moral of the story is that if it seems to be taking longer to dry your clothes,, may be worth pulling the front off or however yours is built to clean out your fan. Even if you clean the lint trap regularly stuff clearly gets by. The stagnant heat, not blowing through to the drum, and clothes was the tell, I just ignored the signs I think..

If this post can save some dough for others, I’m happy..

Ever notice how the machines tend to fail big time just as the warrantee expires?

Our washer has to be replaced because the door hinges, digital stuff and the water pump failed. Parts and service are almost half the price of a new one.

Yes ours was a 5 year warranty snd we are in year 6.
Also funny how many company’s push ‘old’ as being anything over 5!
Our pool heater is 13 now and I had circuit board issues. Everyone’s fix was replace the entire heater($3k) vs troubleshoot properly and find the issue which was circuit board($120)….

Boy Mike, your one handy guy to have around! Any idea what would cause a electric stove's temperature to be off? Seems to be off by 50 to 100 degrees depending on how high it's set.

I'm in NY and the local PC Richards used to sell 10 year warranty. And I bought it every time. Nothing ever lasted 10 years here. One dishwasher only made it to 18 months. Everything is engineered with one weak link to guarantee replacement.

If the temp gets more wrong as the heat goes up it’s related to your Thermoprobe/thermocouple most likely.
Depending on brand it’s usually along the back wall or under the splash pan.
Can sometimes scour them with emery cloth to get them working but that’s more for reading low.
Also sometimes just plugging and unplugging them cleans their contacts. They work off changing resistance and there is resistance at the connector as well. So sometimes just getting them jostled, or tightened works.

Originally Posted by tintin

Boy Mike, your one handy guy to have around! Any idea what would cause a electric stove's temperature to be off? Seems to be off by 50 to 100 degrees depending on how high it's set.

Is it off hot or cold? Where and how are you measuring it? You should be able to calibrate it if it was less but 50 to 100 is a lot.

Originally Posted by 32t

Is it off hot or cold? Where and how are you measuring it? You should be able to calibrate it if it was less but 50 to 100 is a lot.

It is colder than it reads on the display. i measured it with a regular oven thermometer toward the front of the stove as well as my IR thermometer shined on the back of the stove. Maybe it isn't as much as 100 off but it doesn't seem to be a consistant amount from low to high.

There's a probe type thing sticking out of the upper left back corner. Is that the thermoprobe?

Sounds like your in the right place on cleaning the probe. Some people dont ever clean the probe. Too much buildup and its just not going to read right.

I just got done fixing my samsung gas oven last Thursday. It would not light up on the bottom but the top would light. The igniter is electronic and wouldnt heat up enough to light the gas so the safety valve wouldnt allow the gas valve to open.

300 bucks to have a service guy come out, 170 bucks for factory igniter, or do it myself buying an igniter on ebay for 33 bucks.
It took me 15 minutes to fix.

Our dryer is starting to squeak so Im tempted to just by new rollers and cross my fingers that is it.

Nice fix Jerry. And yes that’s the thermoprobe sounds like.
Maybe clean it off, see how it’s connected and where. If it’s bendable possibly move its position slightly to force a different result?