Is your dryer’s drum failing to spin? 

This problem can be a huge headache because when your dryer isn’t spinning, it isn’t doing its one and only job: to dry your clothes. Thankfully, troubleshooting and repairing a dryer drum that’s not turning is fairly simple. In this blog post, we’ll give you a quick overview of the three dryer parts that are the most likely culprits. 

1. Drive Belt

Responsible for physically spinning the drum, the drive belt wraps around the drum, the tension pulley, and the motor pulley. Since it’s the primary force behind your dryer’s tumbling capabilities, the drive belt is known to wear out and break after years of use. 

Therefore, if your drum isn’t turning, your drive belt is suspect number one. To check it, turn the drum with your hands. If the drum easily moves on its own, then the problem is due to the drive belt failing to turn it. 

This requires a replacement of your drive belt.

2. Drum Rollers and/or Roller Axles

The vast majority of dryer models have support rollers in the front and back of the drum. When the rollers break or wear out, they’re unable to spin freely on their own. This may cause them to keep your dryer drum from turning. 

To find out if the rollers (and/or axles) are the source of your problem, remove the drive belt and try to manually turn the drum. If the drum still won’t spin, then the rollers are likely to blame. They will need to be replaced.

3. Drum Bearing

In most models, the drum bearing supports the rear of the drum. Like the rollers, the drum bearing commonly wears out after years of use, which could prevent the drum from turning easily.

To check if it’s the drum bearing, remove the drive belt and use the same process from above. If you’re able to turn the drum by hand but experience some resistance and a lot of noise, then your drum bearing is probably the root of the issue. It will need to be replaced.

Reach Out for Help

Keep in mind, these are not the only possible causes of a dryer failing to spin.

If you tried troubleshooting your dryer using the guidance above and still haven’t been able to uncover the culprit, call Morris County Appliance Repair for help. Serving all of Morris County and beyond, we’d be happy to come out and repair your dryer for good!