My 10 year old Kenmore stackable dryer unit has been squeaking loudly for about 3 weeks. It is also drying much slower than usual. The vents do not appear plugged.

The high pitch squeak occurs on each rotation of the drum and sometimes briefly is quiet. Is this something I might be able to fix myself even though I have never done a repair to a washer dryer unit before. Or how much does this roughly cost to hire someone? Is this a rear bearing problem?

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Originally Posted by quinnster

My 10 year old Kenmore stackable dryer unit has been squeaking loudly for about 3 weeks. It is also drying much slower than usual. The vents do not appear plugged.

The high pitch squeak occurs on each rotation of the drum and sometimes briefly is quiet. Is this something I might be able to fix myself even though I have never done a repair to a washer dryer unit before. Or how much does this roughly cost to hire someone? Is this a rear bearing problem?

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We have the same problem with our Kenmore stack washer/dryer unit, which is the same age. Did you ever get a resolution to your issue?

Hi,we have the same problem with our stackable Kenmore.Did you fix yours ?

I still have not resolved my squeaky stackable kenmore drier issue. I have seen the posts on other brands that indicate it probably is a rear bearing issue. My ~9 year old drier is only used 3 or 4 months of the year at a summer cottage. We constantly dry a lot of heavy wet beach towels - almost everyday. I am also curious what may cause the problem with such low usage unless the bearings get affected by something like heavy loads or sitting for up to 9 months over the winter. The cottage is not winterized or air conditioned so there are some weather extremes that it might experience even though it is inside.

Let me know if you have fixed yours.

Although this is quite an old thread, I think that I might be able to help anyone that stumbles across it. I too had a very squeaky stacking kenmore laundry center (like you could hear it from the driveway squeaky). Initially I looked behind it, and saw that small metal ball bearing turning, so I hit it with a shot of WD 40, and voilà, it stopped squeaking for about a month. This became a monthly ritual until I finally ordered a new rear bearing, disassembled the unit and replaced it.

What I learned when I had it apart was the following.

1) The small metal ball bearing that I saw moving in the back (and was lubricating) exists solely as an indicator to let you know when the rear main drum bearing has worn out of limits and needs to be replaced. If (and I don't necessarily recommend this) you just need the squeaking to stop for a bit, you could just give this small metal ball a squirt of oil (then order the bearing from Parts Direct). If you just jammed a screwdriver under the metal tab and popped the metal ball out, your rear bearing would never squeak again, but of course you wouldn't have any warning of a catastrophic failure of your dryer. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure the drum completely letting go at some later date would be very bad and maybe ruin more than your dryer, I simply say this to demonstrate how things work.

2)Replacing the bearing is easier than you might think, but still harder than it should be. Just remove the metal panel over the top of the dryer, then the front of the dryer (you will have to remove the control panel to access all of the screws to do this). Next, take the drive belt off, and the whole drum will lift out of the rear bearing. Once you have the drum out, all will become clear to you.

3)If the rear bearing is shot, chances are the front bearing (I think they call this the Drum Glide) is likely shot as well. I have just ordered a new one myself, I sure wish I had ordered it from the start. A sure way to tell if this is a problem is if your dryer has developed a habit of eating zippers or putting holes in things. This is likely due to the drum not running true in the front and pinching your clothes. The glide is just a piece of felt with three plastic blocks on the front of the dryer that supports the drum (sounds cheap eh? I think I just paid $35 plus shipping for one, ah well).

4)Both the front an rear bearings are UHMW self lubricating bearings. What does this mean in real terms? This means that they are designed to wear out, that is how they lubricate themselves, by breaking down. This also means that depending on how long I have this dryer, I could very well be doing this again. I don't imagine that given the choice, and this particular bit of knowledge that I would likely buy this particular unit again. Oh well, live and learn.

Anyway, I'm just posting this because after much searching on the internet, I couldn't find this information anywhere, so hopefully this helps someone (if not the people who posted the problem back in 2006!)

sketts

Kenmore is so lame

Kenmmore is so lame

Well, you are paying it forward.
Here it is in 2012 and you answered all my questions about my dryer squeaking issue.
So Thank you.

I will concur that Kenmore is "so lame".
I will not be purchasing a Kenmore for my next washer dryer.

Wow, you paid it forward to me, in June 2013.

As a massage therapist, I work my little Kenmore stackable pretty hard, and after 10 years, I guess it deserves some TLC and replacement parts...

Thanks for the info!