Extra Parts

July 3, 2019

I hope they over-engineered it. Our dryer has been making odd noises for a few weeks—squeaks and squawks that hadn’t been discernible before. Then suddenly, the noises disappeared, but shortly afterward, Linda noticed that her clothes weren’t getting dry. Yesterday I pulled the back off it and discovered the problem; the belt had broken. The dealer had to order one, and today I picked it up and got down to work.

There’s something strangely exhilarating about diving into a project when you know absolutely nothing about it. It doesn’t take too long however, for the exhilaration to turn into frustration. When I took the back off, I couldn’t figure out how to get the belt around the drum without completely disassembling the dryer. Enter the wonders of the internet and YouTube. I typed in Electrolux dryer belt replacement, and almost instantly a video popped up. I watched, and immediately learned that replacing the belt requires the removal of the front of the dryer, not the back. By the time I was done, I had it almost completely dismantled. No problem, but our unit was somewhat different than the one in the video—problem. 

I experimented, removing parts until finally the drum was exposed. I slipped the new belt on, went around back and hooked up the idler arm that had come loose, grunted a few times and got the belt wound around the pulleys. A few tugs on the drum and all was well. So taking the back off actually helped me. The only thing left was reassembly. This is where I hope it was over-engineered. I tried to pay close attention to every detail in the dismantling, but had three screws left over when I was done. Tomorrow will tell how important those three screws are. I hope not too important, because I have no clue whatsoever where they belong. So far, everything seems to be working fine. I just hope it doesn’t shake itself apart when Linda starts it up in the morning.

I saved the expense of a service call and learned a few things along the way—not a bad day at all. I didn’t get frustrated or angry, didn’t send any tools flying across the basement to be later retrieved with chagrin. But I am glad when God put me back together, he didn’t have any leftover parts.