Hi,

I have a Kenmore front loader washer that is five years old and is now making noises (periodic squealing). I removed the back panel and it looks like the belt is rubbing into the container. Can this belt be adjusted or am I looking at replacing this machine? Love the Kenmore, but cannot afford a $400 visit by a Service technician. Any feedback/pointers on fixing this issue is appreciated.

Thank you

Thresher

If the belt is rubbing on the tub, you should be able to reposition the belt on the motor pulley and have the belt follow that adjustment around the drum pulley when turned by hand. If it's the drum pulley that's rubbing on the tub, that won't be good. I have seen that before, and they got rid of it. That machine was only 2 years old. Let me know if you have further questions, and also post the model number of the machine, usually found behind the door.

Unfortunately I think applguy is right. If the belt is where it's supposed to be, the drum is not turning freely. I made a living repairing washers and dryers, very difficult. When I ran into that, I threw the machine away. Easier things to fix.

from what I've seen, the stock pulley that comes with most dryers is not a very good one, if the belt gets caught on the side it will tear it apart, you may want to look into getting the pulley with the wheel on it much safer and will reduce the chance of the belt tearing... now when you open the machine on the back end of your drum there is a gasket or liner that may have just folded over and is causing this noise, if it is not badly damaged you can just rotate the drum by hand and adjust this gasket, the noise should stop... Excuse me for not knowing the exact names of the parts but I am very familiar with fixing the older washers and dryers =]
-Mayco Torres

The pulley and attached parts are made of aluminum (spider gear), but the tub is made of stainless steel. This sets up an electrolysis reaction where the most reactive metal reacts with the water and corrodes. The aluminum is the sacrificial metal and destroys itself. You see this reaction used for beneficial results in galvanized metal where the zinc is the sacrificial metal and corrodes instead of the steel. Whirlpool and Kenmore front loading machines have this problem and should be avoided. (See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=MTKuOqWDhkI) The engineers at the manufacturers of these products are well versed in the effects of using different metals and electrolysis and that the most reactive metal will corrode. This principle is used when air conditioners are built which is why ACs with galvanized metal in their construction don't corrode like ones which have none and only copper and aluminum: the aluminum, being more reactive corrodes very fast, especially in Florida and other coastal areas. You can go to this site to get an idea of the reactivity of metals and be able to predict the failure of a product: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactivity_series (See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW6t9mxwMlU&feature=related to see results of reactivity in products.) Look on YouTube and other sites to see how products hold up. Remember: when things corrode and fail it is known how the metals will react before they are sold to consumers. Buy a top loading machine, never a front loader. DrTom4444