Do it yourself dryer repair

Steps to do it yourself dryer repair when you have no idea what is really wrong and are flying by the seat of your Internet connection:

1. Get husband to pull dryer out of laundry closet (space is tight in these little condos)
2. Do lots of Internet research
3. Get totally overwhelmed by diagrams found on the net and go downstairs for some breakfast and just a little bit of TV watching (ok, more like an hour or two)
4. Open tool box husband has left for you to find VERY few tools that are helpful for this project and swear openly (since husband is gone for the day WITH the key to the tool sheds)
5. Go back downstairs to process the complexity of this task with a cool drink
6. Ok, bite the bullet and start taking the thing apart per the AWESOME picture slide show and step by step instructions found on http://www.applianceaid.com
7. Get out the vacuum because um... GROSS! (I meant to take a picture but was too disgusted and just started vacuuming). You know that lint trap thingy.... It doesn't catch it all
8. Research what parts to buy and the cost of said parts
   
9. Research how much it would cost to buy the new dryer you want
10. Call husband for his opinion on the difference of the cost of the parts vs. a new dryer, factoring in the fact that really you don't know exactly what is wrong and are only guessing and may end up breaking the dryer even more
11. Grumble at the fact that husband is not answering his cell phone or returning your call
12. Resign to the fact that your alone in this decision and off to the parts center you go.....
13. Discover at the parts store that they sell a lovely discounted dryer repair kit, DRAT now we're saving even more money
14. Decide that waiting for husband would be smart due to lack of tools and third arm
    
15. Have a cocktail
16. Show husband all of the diagrams and parts and read him the directions, because you know he won't read them himself and after all you went through all of this hard work to get the project this far
17. Assist husband in dryer repair (see, now it's a team effort so he feels special too)
18. Turn it on.... Still making noise, yet now a slightly different one but still bad, like neighbors will be calling us any minute bad. (quiet little YIPEE! and silent planning of when you can be home for the new dryer to be installed) Oh but wait... husband has an idea, just let it run to see if it "works itself out"
    
19. Husband's idea works
20. Quietly start planning what to do with the savings

In the end we replaced the Belt Drive, Idler Pully and the Support Rollers. Parts $31 + a half day of labor vs. New Machine for $400 + delivery + take away of old machine + the ever present taxes. So I guess we saved about $500 and gained the knowledge of the simplicity of the dryer design and inner workings. Fine, Husband was right, and the dryer seems to run better then it has since we've owned it.
Perhaps the stove/oven/microwave combo thingy will go out next, or maybe the dishwasher. But first we will tackle the upstairs bathroom faucet. We've been without hot water up there for over a month.