The next day, I stopped at the appliance parts store after work to get the parts I needed. I bought the front bearing housing and just in case, an idler pulley. Fifty dollars later, I was on my way to my daughter’s, Iret, house.
Again, I started immediately to take apart the dryer when I got there. I really did not want to remove the drum again, but I needed to replace the idler pulley. My forearms were bruised from my prior attempts to remove and install that drum. I replaced the idler pulley and put the drum back in. Ouch!
As I installed the idler pulley, I noticed the blower fan seemed to make a scraping sound as I turned it by hand. I had to remove the drum so I could remove the fan. Ouch, again! I then cleaned the fan and the blower housing and removed a layer of dried-up lint. I felt pretty good that I had found the problem. I put the drum back in. Ouch, once more! Time to put the dryer together.
I installed the new front bearing housing anyways since I had it. There were no extra parts this time. The dryer was ready for the noise test. Iret’s husband, Nevets, turned on the circuit breaker. He stood by the laundry room doorway as I turned on the dryer. The dryer started off without the screeching sound. That was expected. We would wait for its return. Five minutes later, no sound. Ten minutes, still no sound. Iret then put clothes in the dryer. We sat and waited as the dryer ran and ran. With fingers crossed and the hope of triumph, there would be no loud noise coming from the dryer.
I had fixed it! I would never know for sure if it was the front bearing housing, the idler pulley or just cleaning of the blower, but it was fixed for now. I gathered up my tools as Iret and Nevets offered their gratitude. I could not make them pay the 150 dollars that I spent on the parts, especially if it was just a $10 idler pulley, which I think it was. So, I told them the fix was on me and I went home.
It was several weeks before I saw Iret again. I believed that she would not tell me if the dryer started acting up again. They would just buy a new dryer and be done with it. Fearing the obvious or giving the impression I was looking for another pat on the back, I asked her about “the dryer.” She smiled and said, “The dryer is working great, thanks again Dad.” I will take that pat on the back.