Also like to jump in to thank applguy for the help and add a follow-up. I did successfully replace the part as described here and got rid of the squeaking sound.

I'm now occasionally getting a rhythmic thump when the dryer is running. Not all the time, sometimes it starts with it and then it stops, sometimes the opposite.

I did take it apart again, added a bit more lube in, but I can't find where it may be hitting to cause this thump. Any ideas of where to look?

mkettelhake1, Thanks for the website for parts. Should I purchase just the "Rear Bearing Kit" for my squeaky dryer or will I need more than that?

Just wanted to say thanks to the appleguy--heres another registration from a happy dryer fixer!! Ordered the part online and it was here in two days and the dryer was fixed by myself in about an hour and 15 minutes... thanks again Appleguy from another happy mother!! :)

Hi There. My 3 year old Frigidaire dryer is making a high pitched noise like everyone else's... but no one else has mentioned their clothes burning? As soon as the squeeling started, I have had about 3 or 4 items of clothing have holes burnt in them and plastic zippers melted. Are these problems related, or do I have two different problems?

I googled "squeaky dryer" when mine started to make this same noise and found this forum. I took the advice of applguy and ordered the rear bearing kit (on amazon.com), followed his excellent directions, and replaced the bearing, cradle, and drum support post in about 30 minutes. The hardest part was getting the belt back on... it required me using both hands, one on each side of the blower, to stretch it around the wheels while keeping it all in place.

I encourage anyone who is moderately handy to take this project on! And I recommend an extra set of hands as was mentioned here before, although it would be possible to do yourself if needed.

jjperymn: to answer your question about the heat... mine was soing the same thing. I would think it's the same problem. If your bearing is worn enough it will generate a lot of heat as it grinds. I did notice a few burn marks on clothes.

I used to have the squeak and waited and waited and researched a solution and did not follow up :(
Now the squeak is gone, should I be worried?

I repaired mine (a stackable dryer) a couple years ago. It took a bit of patience, but was well worth it. The repair is much easier when the dryer is separate, apparently, but the parts are virtually identical. Here's a link where I posted comments and photos.

Definitely fix it if the squeal is getting worse. Also, when you do the repair, you'll have the opportunity to clean out all the lint that's accumulated throughout the dryer. Mine dried so much more efficiently after cleaning all the old stuff out, it was like having a new dryer.

Thank you for posting this. I was able to purchase the bearing kit for my Fridgidaire stackable laundry center and followed your step by step instructions. It was a very easy repair. The hardest part was lifting the drum off the old bearing because it was so corroded and fused to the plastic housing. I needed two people to hoist the drum out. Once it was off it was very clear cut. Great tip about seating the ground bearing with lubrication to keep it in place. The kit cost $32. And I am grateful that I saved several hundred dollars and I gained an education. Thanks again for sharing this.

OK, so I love this site and it sounds like my problem BUT- my husband says "order the parts and I'll fix it" so I go to kemore's website and can't find a "rear drum bearing" anything. I am not mechanical at all- and I can just hear it now if I order the wrong part and he has the dryer taken apart and it's the wrong part- & I won't have a dryer until the new (correct) part comes in- SO I need to make sure I order the right part... can anyone help? I have a Kenmore Elite He4 model 110.85866401 and its sqealing loud like everyone is talking about. I just want to make sure I get the right part- then I can get this squealing that is driving me crazy to stop and look smart to DH :-)
Thanks!

Any time you work on a drier and have the drum out you should use the opportunity to clean out all of the hardened on lint and dirt to prevent a future repair or fire. DrTom4444

That was a smart move to clean it out while you had it apart. I have found many driers by the side of the road where the only problem was dirt. I have never had to buy one because all I had to do was pick one up for free until the price of scrap rose. DrTom4444

Your dryer drum is supported by two wheels underneath rather than a central bearing. On the Sears site search for "support". This might be a good alternative: http://repair2000.com/tuneup.html

I followed applguy's advice and repaired my Kenmore dryer in about an hour. The part number he listed was bang-on with the part store's inventory. I also found a nice YouTube video that shows the exact steps:

YouTube - Dryer Drum Bearing Kit Replacement (part #5303281153)

Folks, Does anyone know if this fix will work for BOSCH NEXXT Dryer. Ours is sooo loud, it wakes the kids up from the basement to the second floor

It sounds like the main bearing on the end of the drum. Look at the YouTube video to see how to change it. It's not a hard thing to do. About all you need is a screwdriver set or one with several tips to change it. It's very easy to do. DrTom4444

I changed the drum bearing in about 2 hours. The only hard part was getting the drum off the old bearing because it was melted. So it needed a lot of force to pull it up and off. The new bering was very easy to install. My dryer works like new again. Any DIY er can definitely tackle this project and you will feel good that you did it at a cost of about $35.00.

You may have saved our lives and our house. Yes, the dryer was squeaking, yes I changed the parts out (2 hours). But the bottom of the case was 3 inches of felted lint. There was evidence inside of chared lint.
All clean now

I have a Frigidaire Affinity electric dryer (AEQ6000ES2). I had the squeak problem, and I fixed it with the rear bearing kit as AppleGuy suggested. I must have made some error however, as now my dryer makes a knocking sound when it runs. There doesn't seem to be anything otherwise functionally wrong, and the knocking is less annoying than the squeal, but I am hoping (begging) that someone can help me out with how this new problem may have happened... Thank you in advance. My frustration level it nearing its peak.

Your drier has overheated and melted the white grease from around the rear bearing which ruined it. Replace the bearing and clean out all parts with water except motor. This includes duct work and blower fan. This lint builds up and is like concrete which burns. Look on YouTube for instructions; it's easy to do. Look through all parts to get them clean, and replace belt, too. DrTom4444

Yes, you are right on. I changed the rear drum bearing and the squeaking is completely gone. The job was very easy to do with the correct replacement part. Thank you for your input.

Have same problem as post from 5/8/2011 - I replaced the rear bearing on a Frigidaire dryer - and now I have the "knocking" sound - I unplugged the dryer - checked that the belt looks like it's all happy and in the right place, pulleys, etc. then I rotated the drum by hand - when it gets to a certain point in the rotation - there's a loud pop - what have I done? Been w/o dryer for a week now and about to pull my hair out - please appleguy, save my hair & sanity!

Having same problem as kathymr - I replaced the rear bearing - now there's a knock. I unplugged the dryer, opened the back to make sure the belt and pulleys looked happy - they did - so I rotated the drum by hand - when it gets to a certain point in the rotation - there's a loud pop - what did I do wrong. Granted, I had a helluva time getting the rear bearing installed - ended up taking the drum out putting in on it's "head" duck taping the new bearing into place to secure the screws - then very carefully put the drum back in and popped the rear bearing into place, while attached to the drum. Aye - been w/o my dryer for a week and just about to pull my hair out now that I've made it better & worse at the same time!

Well - I just figured out my drum bearing ball fell out & that probably has something to do with the noise I have - going to get at it again tomorrow...

I've had the same problem for over month now. Turn the dryer on and squill for 10 sec. then 20 sec. and now up to 45 sec.. . I read about 10 postings or so then I thought... white lithium grease it says it can handle high temp./automotive conditions. So I tried it on the 2 support wheels I could see from the low front door and it squeaked softly for about 2 sec. and hasn't sense. Of course I've only ran 3 loads and with my luck it will catch fire soon as I think everything's run good, but figurad I put my 2 sense in way down here if anyone makes it to the bottom of threads.
Good luck with however you go about fixing your own death squeak.

p.s. it took me about 3 min. cause I had the grease.

The white lithium grease is what is used on driers. You may be able to grease all bearings and cure the problem, but it sure needs disassembling and cleaning first. You probably have two inches of dirt on everything that will catch fire. Clean it out and wash out every part that air goes through and vacuum out motor. Then grease all bearings with white lithium grease and it will be like new again. DrTom4444

Mine was squeaking too so I opened the top but could not really determine the source of the squeak- was it the bearing or felt or belt? So before I started the hassled of removing the drum, etc, I found something to try- get a bar of soap and 'lube' the belt with it. Guess what- it worked!

Thank YOU!! My dryer has made a noise (intermittent), but my wife said we have to do something about it. Even two women could do this successfully. No real heavy lifting. The drum is light. The repair was very simple, and no special tools needed. A bonus was being able to vacuum out the interior of the dryer itself with ease. Cost $25.00 and about an hour of my time. Think what the repairman would have charged, and I doubt he would have cleaned out the dryer casing or given Mrs. Homeowner the opportunity to clean it out.

I am a small woman and I did this repair without any assistance. I was easy and actually fun to see how everything works. Now I am able to make repairs to many other components of the dryer if ever needed. Plus I have a super clean dryer.

Sounds like you need to disassemble it again because the bearing is not installed right or something is loose. Take it apart and turn motor and blower and see if there is noise; if not the problem is in the drum. I have seen others make a mistake and cause the same symptom. DrTom4444

Here's a new addition on all of the great solutions noted over the last 5 plus years on this site. I had the same problem with a high pitched squeal on our Amana "commercial quality" dryer. After pulling it apart and checking the drum rollers and the tension pulley for the drum belt they all seemed to be okay with no flat spots or loose bearings. However noticing that the motor also turns a hamster cage fan that blow out all the hot air I heard a rattle in the bottom of the housing for this. When taking this apart I embarrasingly pulled out over 3 dollars in change along with small hearing aid batteries, assorted pen parts and buttons. Put it all back together and it has run perfectly ever since!

It's the rear bearing, you can BET, because THAT'S the most difficult part to access. I've done my rear bearing two or three times and front glide too. The above explanation is good, in that it explains how dirt and dust access the bearing, otherwise, it's basically the same bearing which carries a quarter ton of weight on each wheel in your car, and they last almost forever. The hardest part for me was figuring out how to get to it. Once I paid a handyman to do the job and saw how, I have done it myself. Just as well, as he dropped one of the screws holding the cap on, and replaced it with one of a different thread which fell out a few days later, I had to dismantle the dryer, which was when I found the screw he'd lost.

While I'm at it I have to add... we bought one of those energy water efficient washers from Sweden. Same dang bearing went bad, it was a front loader. I called a repair guy who said $95 to trouble shoot it which is deductible from the repair. I said it's the main bearing no need to trouble shoot. They insisted, so I handed over my credit card. They left and said the office would give me a price for repair tomorrow. Then they dropped the bomb. $500 to fix it! You can't change JUST the bearing it's a big unit with the bearing in it. So there goes my $95 down the crapper. NOT going to spend $500 on a $700 machine. I junked it and will NEVER buy a front load washer again. Don't get sucked into this scam. So.. now I'm off to the bearing warehouse where I can get the automotive version of the dryer bearing for way less money.

The automotive bearing is a good idea, and there are different types and grades of bearings that you can buy. We have several bearing supply houses in Jacksonville, FL where I learned to buy the right bearing, improving on the original many times. You should be able to buy one better than the one that came with the dryer, perhaps one made in the US, Germany, or Israel. Heat and the lack of lubrication ruins bearings. I don't know if it is possible to get a good sealed bearing to do the job, but you can ask the dealer.

Do you repair dryers in los angels?

No, I am in Jacksonville, FL. You are in a state that has too many taxes for me to work or live in. Our taxes are about 1/8 of what they are in California.

Lotta - you are a genius! Yesterday I found a piece of plastic in the dryer - tossed in the trash. Loud screech when I turned the dryer back on.

After reading one of your possibilities ("A another is where the drum rides on the upper round part of the door/opening and it has a plastic guide that separates the metal drum from the metal door/opening. Over time this wears out and the two metal pieces will squeak"), I pulled it out of the trash, looked at the rim, found where a piece was missing, and reinserted the plastic piece; peace and quiet here now! I don't know how long it will last, but now I know what the problem was!

Thanks so much!

Ann

I am glad you found the problem. You can buy that piece cheaply or just glue it on until you tear it down next year to clean it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by applguy

I don't see why you couldn't fix it yourself...it's not really that difficult, but it can really be a bonus if you can have someone help you hold things together at one point. It (the dryer) is serviced from the front. The part number you will likely need is 5303281153. This is a kit that contains every part that could possibly need to be replaced when dealing with a rear drum bearing. First, unplug the dryer from the outlet or remove power at the breaker/fuse panel. To raise the top of the dryer, insert a putty knife into the crack between the top and the front panel and push against the spring clips to release them. There are two clips, anywhere from 23 to 8 inches in from the sides. You should be able to feel the spring tension when you push on them. Push one in slightly, and raise that side, then the same for the other end of the main top. Once the top is up, you will disconnect the wires to the door switch (right side, on the backside of the front panel), if there are 3, mark them somehow to get them back correctly, if only 2 wires, no need as location makes no difference. Then remove the phillips screw holding the yellow tab-looking plastic thing front and center in the top of the front panel. Then remove the 2 screws holding the front panel to the side panels, screw heads are inside the cabinet, screws pointing towards you. Pull the front panel away and lift off the bottom clips to remove. Now remove the belt from the idler pulley. The idler is located right behind the blower/motor unit. Make sure to note how the belt goes around the idler so you get it back on right. Once the belt is free, slide the belt to the back edge of the drum and, using it as a handle (on the top side of the drum), lift straight up to disengage the rear bearing from the cradle. This can be a very tight fit, especially if it worn badly. You may have to pull relatively hard. Once done, the drum will pull out through the front of the cabinet. Now you can see the drum support ball on the back of the drum and the cradle that holds it. Simply keep note of how you remove the cradle from the back wall to reassemble it correctly (this is where 4 hands are better than 2 and don't loose track of the ground bearing from the back). Using a small drop of supplied grease to keep the bearing in the plastic cradle makes reassembly much easier. As far as the post on the back of the drum is concerned, if the new and old parts look ABSOLUTELY identical, leave it alone and just clean it up good. If you must change it (another place where 4 hands are better than 2), be very careful with the new screws, because they are cheap and the heads strip almost instantly. Put a generous portion of supplied grease into the cradle and reassemble the dryer. Good luck, and if you see something that doesn't look right or confuses you, let me know.

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APPLGUY, Do you have a similar solution for this same problem on a Kenmore HE4 gas dryer?