[FIXED] Whirlpool Dryer - WED5100HW - Loud Rattling

[AOEVIPER]

Model Number: WED5100HW
Brand: Whirlpool
Age: 1-5 years

Out of nowhere, our dryer starting rattling/thumping really bad so that we had to turn it off. It still did the job of drying clothes, but it was so loud.

I took it apart and found a dead squirrel in our dryer hose in the house (not sure if that did anything, but maybe that helps with the diagnoses). I replaced the front and back drum rollers, the idler pulley and the dryer belt. The sound is a little better, but it is still loud and rattling. The blower motor shows quite a bit of wear, but I cleaned it of all lint buildup.

The sound is not consistent with the rotation of the drum - it is much faster, so I kind of ruled out a bent drum. Is there a motor bearing or something that is replaceable? I am not sure what else I can replace that is actually a moving part. Any suggestion would be appreciated! Thank you!

[Doc Ryan]

Do you have the ability to upload a video of the issue to Youtube and link to it here? Are you able to post a photo of the "quite a bit of wear" to the blower motor?

[AOEVIPER]

Do you have the ability to upload a video of the issue to Youtube and link to it here? Are you able to post a photo of the "quite a bit of wear" to the blower motor?

Yes, I will get it uploaded tonight. Thank you for the inquiry.

[AOEVIPER]

Here are a couple of pics of the blower fan. And here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/K0B_mDSuTJo

Thank you!

[Doc Ryan]

Thank you for the video and pictures. It looks to me like the blower wheel has two issues, lint build up on the fan blades and missing material on the blades from rubbing on something (the squirrel?). This will cause the blower wheel to get out of balance and the it will make a vibration type of noise when it runs.

To fix this you are going to need to replace the blower wheel. The only issue that you can sometimes run into with these is that the blower wheel can get stuck in place and won't separate from the motor. I would recommend trying to remove it before ordering a new one. If it won't remove, then you have to cut off the original blower wheel and then replace the blower wheel and drive motor together at the same time.

Blower Wheel - 697772 (PD00003053)


Drive Motor - 279787 (PD00002347)

[AOEVIPER]

Thank you so much!

[Doc Ryan]

If you fix it, let me know how the repair goes. If the blower wheel is stuck, cutting the motor shaft as shown at 7:05 in the video below is usually the fastest way to complete the repair.

[AOEVIPER]

Replaced it this evening. Just used a socket extension and a pair of pliers and didn't have to cut anything - blower fan came out easily and it was shredded even more on the back side. After replacing it - No More Rattle!! Thank you so much!

[Doc Ryan]

Awesome! I am glad you didn't have to cut anything to do the repair. Nice job fixing it yourself! I have updated this thread to FIXED.