Drum Bearings

When your dryer is squealing or squeaky as it turns, you should check to see if it needs a new bearing.

The drum bearing will either be a shaft attached to a sleeve bushing or a ball-and-socket type, but it will be at the back of the drum.

Idler Pulley

A squealing or squeaking noise that has perhaps recently gotten more like thumping or scraping can be a clue that the problem originates in your dryer’s idler pulley.

This part supplies tension on the drum belt to keep the belt from slipping on the drive motor pulley or the drum when your dryer’s spinning a load.

The pulley spins quickly, so the friction here can wear it out. You can check by unplugging the dryer, taking off the lower access panel or the front panel, and finding the idler pulley and its shaft, usually at the base next to the drive motor. Remove the belt.

There shouldn’t be any play when you manually turn the pulley, and it ought to rotate smoothly. You can replace the pulley and also its shaft if that is worn out.

Drum Glides or Slides

If you’re hearing a scraping sound as your dryer drum turns, your dryer could have worn out glides. The glides are supportive linings to the outside of an electric or gas dryer’s drum.

They’re Teflon, plastic, or nylon, backed with cork or sometimes felt, and they’re located outside the front part of the drum on either side.

You can check if the glides have eroded, leaving the drums scraping against metal, by taking the cabinet off the dryer.

Drum Support Rollers & Shaft

A squealing or thumping noise could also signal worn-out drum rollers. Unplug the dryer and remove the front panel and the drum to check on the rollers, located either on the rear bulkhead or on both the front and rear bulkheads.

The rollers can be removed from the shaft to be inspected, cleaned, and/or lubed, so that they allow the drum to turn freely.

Check the shaft the rollers rotate on, to be sure that hasn’t worn out as well. You can replace the shaft or the set of rollers if they appear worn.

Drive Belt

The drive belt turns the dryer drum, but if it has gotten brittle, inflexible or frayed with age and use, it could cause a thumping noise.

You’ll find the belt located around the drum, by looking behind the front panel, or under the main top of the dryer, depending on your model.

You can replace your drive belt if it appears to be past its prime.

Idler Pulley

A squealing or squeaking noise that has perhaps recently gotten more like thumping or scraping can be a clue that the problem originates in your dryer’s idler pulley.

This part supplies tension on the drum belt to keep the belt from slipping on the drive motor pulley or the drum when your dryer’s spinning a load. The pulley spins quickly, so the friction here can wear it out.

You can check by unplugging the dryer, taking off the lower access panel or the front panel, and finding the idler pulley and its shaft, usually at the base next to the drive motor. Remove the belt.

There shouldn’t be any play when you manually turn the pulley, and it ought to rotate smoothly. You can replace the pulley and also its shaft if that is worn out.

Felt Drum Seal

Another possible source for a scraping or thumping noise is a tear in a felt drum seal.

These seals are a cushion to keep the dryer drum from abrading against the bulkheads, and they keep too much air from coming into the drum.

But if the felt-type material of the seal gets worn from age and use, clothes can get stuck in the gap while the drum turns, making noises that sound like thumps and scrapes.

Sometimes the clothes will rip or have black marks when you take them out.

Blower Wheel & Housing

A loud thumping or a roar is a typical symptom of a loose blower wheel. This plastic part guides air on its journey through your dryer: from the heating chamber through the drum and then to its exit through the exhaust vent.

Generally, you’ll find the blower wheel either threaded or clamped to the end of the motor shaft.

Check the blower wheel housing to see if any debris is interfering with the movement of the wheel.

Check for wear at the hub of the wheel, at the junction to the shaft, to see if you’ll need to replace the blower wheel.

Baffle or Lifter

Sometimes a thump or a bang in your dryer drum comes from the baffles that are meant to lift your clothes as they tumble inside the drum.

There could be debris or pocket change stuck under a baffle, making noise. Or one of the baffles themselves could have gotten loose.

Baffles can be fixed or switched out for new ones if this happens.

Motor

The dryer drum is turned by a motor, which also operates the dryer’s blower. Does your dryer make a rattling noise?

That could be a pulley in the motor that’s come loose. If a bushing or bearing in the motor is damaged, you may hear a high-pitched whine. And a hum can come from one of the switches or windings on the motor if it is broken.

Unplug the dryer and remove the blower wheel or drum belt if need be, to get to the motor.