F&P AeroSmart dryer making a high pitched squeal during "Cooling"

7 years ago

Well, after 9 years of no trouble at all, our Fisher & Paykel Aerosmart dryer (model # DE62T27D) electric dryer has started making a high pitched squeal during the final part of the drying cycle. No bells, no chimes, no flashing lights on the control panel, just a mechanical type noise. I have no idea what it might be, Our local F&P dealer charges $90 for the first 15 minutes, then $18 for each 15 minutes after that. Plus any parts. I'd like to keep this dryer, but maybe it's time to say goodbye and look for another dryer. I don't know.

Any ideas/suggestions/advice would be most welcome as this forum is full of very knowledgable people. Thanks!

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Comments (4)

dadoes
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
There are several possible sources of squealing:
-- belt idler (jockey pulley) assembly (common)
-- main drum bearing at the right-center (common)
-- secondary drum bearings on the left side (less common)
-- drive motor (less common)

All of those sources ordinarily would squeal at any time the
machine is running, not just during the cool down period.
However, the main drum bearing is in the flow of incoming heated
air and is subject to temperature variations so it could be
involved due to the cool down aspect.

This dryer is a different design than "traditional" frontload
units, but a competent DIYer should be able to handle repairs.
Parts are available online at SearsPartsDirect.com,
FisherPaykelParts.com (best prices for new), FisherPaykelParts.net, and eBay (may be some used at low prices). There are
instructional videos on YouTube and Vimeo. I've done repairs on
mine but I have experience with appliance repair. There are a few
tricky spots that may (or may not) come up.

Strongly advise not to order any parts until the problem is
properly diagnosed to avoid buying items not needed or missing
things that are needed. Or, you could opt to go for the two
common items, the belt idler pulley kit (P/N 395579) and main drum bearing (P/N 479332). Both are more expensive than reasonable for what they are but less cost than a new dryer. Check
the videos first! Changing the drum bearing requires a 7/8" deep-well but thin-wall ratchet socket. One of the glitches
I had was that I couldn't loosen the bearing bolt via the usual
access so had to do further disassembly to get at it.
kcred thanked dadoes
kcred
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you, dadoes! You really know your appliances.

It's looking like we're going to choose door #3. We live in an apartment and they came with Maytag washer/dryers. We're going to have the F&P dryer hauled away and have the apartment bring up the Maytag dryer that we had them remove when we moved here.

I'm no kind of handyman at all, having learned this the hard way. And the F&P dryer is nine years old, so if we fix the current problem, we still have a nine year old dryer.

So thank you very much again for your advice. It's much appreciated. Our F&P washer is still doing great so hopefully we will have a few more years with it.
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dadoes
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That's too bad. Nine years is not unreasonable to repair. People fuss that appliance nowadays don't last but opt not to repair so it's a self-perpetrating situation. My dryer is 12+ years old. It's a unique design that I intend to keep running as long as possible.
kcred
Original Author
7 years ago
Maybe the F&P dryer will get a new life after all. We gave it away to a used appliance repair shop. They think they can fix it and sell it. So that's good.

We got a fairly pedestrian Maytag, model #MEDC215EW. So far it's great. It dries in half the time the F&P took.

F&P AeroSmart dryer making a high pitched squeal during "Cooling"

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F&P AeroSmart dryer making a high pitched squeal during "Cooling"

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dadoes

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