Found your forum, and very much enjoyed reading Jake's blog. We will look you up when we get to Springfield this summer, you sound like you really know what you are doing, and reliable repairpersons are jewels!

We were just given a Montgomery Wards dryer, brought it home on its side in the back of our station wagon. Got it all hooked up and then, while I was trying to clean the inside I turned the drum by hand ... suddenly it felt looser. I figured I broke the belt. So we pulled it back out, unplugged, etc., took top and front off. I was AMAZED!!! at the tons of lint inside the dryer cabinet, so I figured our guardian angels had just made this happen so we wouldn't burn up in a lint fire. Cleaned it out, got the belt back behind the idler pulley thing-y [it wasn't broken after all, just off that pulley], put it all back together.

Drum now feels nice an tight again, but when I push the door button but keep door open to look, I can see that drum is not turning. Heats fine, blower blows air, so all I can do is bake the clothes, I guess.

What should we try next that won't get us in more trouble here??

Thanks for all your hard work on this forum and blog site.

Chris and Valarie
Hayward, California, trying to get ready to get to Springfield,
(where hubby's side of the family lives)

Small update re Ward's dryer --

Popped the hood once more before bed last night, the dang belt was off, again, so I guess we did not get it on right the first time.

[the blower is so powerful on this model that it seems like everything is working and turning until you actually see that it is not]

Is there a trick here to get the belt on and make it stay on ???

Oh, this is a MOntgomery Wards' "Heavy Duty Twenty"
and the model number appears to be LNC 7339A80


thanks again.

Chris and Valarie

Hi,

Thanks for your compliments about the blog and forums!

Are you moving up here to Springfield, Oregon permanently like for a job transfer? Symantec is located here, its a very large facility and there expanding it as we speak.

Here is a diagram of photo's that show you how to put the belt on around the idler pulley. The photo for the Montgomery Ward dryer is the Admiral:
http://www.applianceaid.com/images/belt-config.JPG

Jake

__________________
Appliance Repair School 1987-1988
Star Appliance Tech. 2 yrs. 1988-1990
Wards Appliance Tech. 11 yrs. 1990-2001
Sears Appliance Tech. 4 yrs. 2001-Oct. 2005
Jake's Appliance Repair Nov. 2005-present

If you need more repair advice help on your appliance, click Here

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Hi,

thanks for the link to the diagram. From this perspective I can see there is a spring near the smaller pulley, which our belt is around right now. I wonder if that spring might have come off during the move, thus reducing tension so the belt keeps coming off....? The other diagram I saw was from the front view, and we only took the top and front of the cabinet off.

Is there any other reason the belt would come off after we put it on again?
We are keeping the grooved side down. the belt looks to be in good shape, so I wouldn't expect it to be stretched out, unless someone could have bought the wrong belt [maybe that was why they got a new dryer ....]

Is there anything we should check/lubricate while it's open, this 3rd time?

Our past dryer was 14 year old Maytag, loved it until it started eating the clothes last spring, so I used clothesline until fall and laundromat is getting real old. The Maytag didn't have the powerful blower noise this one does, and on this Wards model you can see the heating elemenets in the rear. I'm actually glad we had to open up the cabinet since we found all that combustible lint inside. Now i'm wondering if my Maytag would look the same if we opened that cabinet and looked inside .....

We are moving permanently to Springfield, no jobs confirmed as yet though. Our two kids will both be changing schools after this year, to middle and high school so it's a good time to make the move we've been planning. We will be closer to hubby's family and hopefully can find a few acres breathing room.

~ Valarie ~

Yes, the spring should be on the idler pulley assembly to supply proper tension to the belt.

Here is a photo of the proper belt that should be on it:

__________________
Appliance Repair School 1987-1988
Star Appliance Tech. 2 yrs. 1988-1990
Wards Appliance Tech. 11 yrs. 1990-2001
Sears Appliance Tech. 4 yrs. 2001-Oct. 2005
Jake's Appliance Repair Nov. 2005-present

If you need more repair advice help on your appliance, click Here

Look-Up & Order Parts

Shop Home Appliances

Just wanted to let you know that hubby took the Wards dryer apart again and this time the belt stayed on ... yea! Drying towels as we "speak".

Thanks again for your help, it is truly most appreciated.

Catch y'all on the flip side.

Chris & Valarie

Glad you all got it going and its working good now!

Jake

__________________
Appliance Repair School 1987-1988
Star Appliance Tech. 2 yrs. 1988-1990
Wards Appliance Tech. 11 yrs. 1990-2001
Sears Appliance Tech. 4 yrs. 2001-Oct. 2005
Jake's Appliance Repair Nov. 2005-present

If you need more repair advice help on your appliance, click Here

Look-Up & Order Parts

Shop Home Appliances