Ok all fixed, works great!
For my application, I found that the motor wasn't an exact fit. This is not a criticism, the fact that I can buy a new motor for a 25 year old dryer made me grateful. I expected to have to finagle things a bit. The shaft that sticks through the back of the dryer into the blower wheel was slightly short, causing the blower wheel to rub up against the back side of the dryer. (the shaft is the right length, but there is a recessed portion of the motor that causes it to be too short). At first I used washers to create some space, but that just created a lot of resistance for the blower wheel being able to turn, the end result probably being a burned up motor. I tried a small piece of plastic conduit, just big enough to cover the shaft, but still pressure on that rubber bushing that's part of the shaft same result, too much resistance. What I ended up doing was cutting about 1/4 piece of wooden dowel, inserting it into the blower wheel, and then putting it back together. There were still enough threads to grab, and now the blower wheel doesn't rub up against the dryer frame. Whew! I think a piece of metal rod might be better, something that comes out easy, but after trying multiple washers I had the size of wooden dowel pretty well set that I needed. Other people smarter than me probably will come up with better solutions!
Some other notes:
- I did have to cut some wires and use the connectors supplied with the kit (black and white). The video makes it seem real easy with a plastic connector, but my 25 year old drier didn't have that lol.
- no yellow wire in my dryer wires (belt broken indicator wire I think), but seems to work fine
- the spring retainers to hold the motor down were tough to get back on, the "wheels" with rubber on them are slightly bigger than the old motor. Try not to bend your tabs when you do this, I bent one of mine but it straightened right out with needle nose pliers. The trick when you tap it back on is to make sure the vertical tab lines up with the hole, sounds obvious but it wants to travel on you.
- orienting the motor in the right way wasn't really straightforward, there was no "tab" to hit that bottom hole. I just turned my motor so that the drum wouldn't rub on it while turning, like 45 degrees. The second time I put it back together
Anyway, just some notes to help others. Thank you very much Jake! Drier sounds brand new. Wife thinks I'm awesome!
