Belt broke I found that my belt broke on my dryer, also when I open the bottom panel I found what appears to be a idle pulley or a wheel guide of some sort. Whats the best why in fixing this .

• Disconnect the power source from the dryer. You can unplug from the wall outlet, remove the fuse from the fuse box or flip the breaker in the panel box.
  

• 2

  Pull off the front panel of the dryer. Remove the screw in each corner at the bottom of the dryer's front panel. Lift up the front panel until the two clips at the top disengage. Remove the two screws that are found beneath it at the corners to remove the cabinet top.
  

• 3

  Remove the belt by releasing the tension applied by the movable idler pulley wheel. The belt loops over the drum, under the idler pulley wheel and then around the motor's drive pulley.
  

• 4

  Discard the used belt. It is fine to just throw it in the trash.
  

• 5

  Install the new belt by pushing in on the idler pulley arm. Make sure the new belt is placed flat along the exterior of the drum.
  

• 6

  Replace the screws back into the dryer's front panel. Screw them in tightly so that the panel will not fall off or jiggle loose.
  

• 7

  Reconnect the power source back to your dryer. Either plug it back in or flip the switch in the breaker box.
  

Lift the idler pulley assembly up toward the dryer drum to detach the metal tab on the assembly from the dryer base, and slide the assembly out of the open slot in the bottom of the dryer cabinet by pulling it toward you. Take the idler pulley assembly out of the dryer cabinet and dispose of the part.Slide the bottom bar of the new idler pulley assembly into the open slot in the bottom of the dryer cabinet and push down to set the tab into the hole in the dryer base to lock the assembly into place. Move the idler arm forward and place the dryer belt around the idler pulley by hand.here is the idler you need which is a pretty standard part

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/buyitnow64_2165_12635595

you make a loop in the belt to get it in the pulley, thats why you don't have to remove the wheel, and it comes as one complete part

pulley fits into slots in bottom of dryer near motor pulley. idler pulley will be to the left of motor pulley looking at it from the front. loop belt thru idler and place around motor pulley.

sounds like the plastic take-up pulley on the motor which is spring loaded to keep the drum belt tight. You will have to replace the tensioner which should, depending on the model, include a new plastic pulley.

You can replace the dryer belt by performing the following steps:

1. UNPLUG the dryer.
2. Open the lint screen cover on the top of the washer and remove the screen.
3. With the screen removed, locate the two screws under the lint screen cover and remove. Use care not to drop them down the exhaust chute.
4. With the screws removed, the top panel can be pulled towards you slightly and lifted up.
5. Either prop the top panel up or rest on one of your shoulders as you locate the door switch plug and disconnect.
6. With the top still up, locate the two screws holding the front panel in place. There is one on each side bolting the front panel to the side panels.
7. With the screws removed and door switch unplugged, grab the front panel at the top center and lift up to remove from the mounting clips at the bottom.
8. With the front panel removed, you should now have ready access to the drum and drive belt. You can lower the top panel and rest it on top of the dryer casing for now.
9. Remove the old belt and loop the new belt over the drum with the ridges facing the drum.
10. Reroute the belt around the idler pulley and drive motor shaft. NOTE: It is common for the idler pulley to come loose when the belt breaks. You may find it lying on the bottom of the dryer cabinet. To reinstall, hold the pulley in your hands with the wheel to your left. Insert the cleated end of the pulley in the grooves in the bottom of the dryer case and push the wheel with your left hand to the right to keep a slight tension on the pulley. Now feed the drive belt UNDER the wheel and over the drive motor shaft. If done correctly, the belt tension will keep the idler pulley in place. If confused, refer to repairclinic.com and click on the "Repair Help" link. On the following page look for the "Dryer Belt Diagrams" link under the Special Features section. The diagram you will need is diagram H.
11. Once the belt is in place, reinstall the front panel by making sure it is inserted on the two small black mounting clips at the bottom two edges, first. Once inserted, hold the panel in place with your knee and install the two mounting bolts to secure the panel.
12. Reconnect the door switch plug. If you forget, the dryer will not run.
13. Lower the top panel back in place and install the two screws under the lint screen cover. DONE.

You may feel like a contortionist with some of the these steps. You can perform this alone, but its easier if you have assistance.

If you get stuck along the way, or have questions, please let me know. I hope this helps you.

PS Refer to appliancepartpros.com and type in your model number for some excellent exploded views of your dryer. This may help you in locating parts and how to reassemble.

You should be able to reuse the idler pulley unless it is physically broken.
The idler pulley fits in the slots on the bottom of the cabinet (in front of the motor) with the wheel or glide facing the left side. Place the belt (grooves inward) around the drum. Pull the belt through the middle of the idler pulley from the left side and loop it around the motor pulley.

Let me know if you need more assistance.
Good luck!

From what I understand, it sounds like the idler "pulley" is broken. Upon receiving power to the motor, the belt inter-connects and ultimately drives and rotates the pulley and drum. The pulley is designed to guide and give "tension" to the belt when connected to enable the drum to "rotate and tumble".

The pulley is relatively simple to replace and can be purchased from your local appliance dealer for about $10 - $15. Depending on your "handy" skills, I would take the following steps to check your belt and pulley;

1. Disconnect the Dryer
2. Access the dryer cabinet/pulley by removing the front door (If your pull and clean fileter from top, remove 2 screws near filter. You may need a putty type knife to "slide and pop" the dryer open)

3. You may see the dryer belt already broken or disconnected, but take a look at the pulley and check for broken wheel, metal, chips/cracks, etc. Sometimes you may need to replace the pulley all together, but you may only need to replace the wheel part depending on the model of your dryer.

-Maintuniverse

You will need a WE12X82P belt, or just a WE12x82 (the P stands for packaged)

• Disconnect power
• Remove screws under the front edge of the dryer top
• Swing top up and remove one screw from each side panel holding the dryer front, near the top of the dryer.
• Pull dryer front forward a bit and lift off bottom pegs. Swing to the side. (no need to disconnect wires if you don't want to)
• Put belt around drum, lifting drum a bit to get belt past drum support slides on the bottom side.
• Check to make sure drum slides are not worn through, especially the one on the left side.
• The grooved side of the belt touches the drum
• Belt runs from drum directly to motor pulley on the left side, then around belt tensioning wheel and back to the drum.
• Turn the drum a revolution or two (counter clockwise) before reassembly.

you have to remove the top and front panel,if you have a top lint filter remove the two lint screen filter screws,pull the top toward you and up,lint screen inside,most pull forward and up,so you might have to remove the two console head screws(one on each side,flip up and remove 4 more screws,now disconnect the door switch,now remove the 2 screws on the front panel top 1 on each side,now pull up and off,remove any other wires that might go to the door,now pull the drum out,now look down at the motor pulley wheel and the idler wheel,the belt goes around the drum,now put the drum back in place,now put the belt under the idler wheel and up onto the motor pulley,replace everything and your done-mike

1. Disconnect power
2.Use Putty knife and push in to release two spring catches between top and front panel about 3 inches from either side. Top then lifts up. Undo two hex screws on either side of side panels close to top. Front panel then tilts forward. Un-clip door switch and wiring harness before lifting off front panel. If belt is broken, drum should lift off by slowly raising front of drum to disengage wheels at rear of drum.
3. clean accumulated lint from inside fan housing and duct work on front panel as well as from total inside of dryer base before placing new belt around drum, smooth side up before carefully replacing drum in place to engage two wheels at rear of drum.
4. reaching left hand under drum, raise spring loaded idler arm and place ribbed side of belt around pulley on end of motor with right hand before releasing idler arm to provide tension on belt.
5. Place front panel on bottom clips and reengage door switch wiring harness before reattaching hex screws at top of side panels.
6. drop top pannel of unit in place to reengage spring clips before reconnecting power