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How to Replace a Broken Drive Belt in a Clothes Dryer
HOW TO 
Tags: Dryer, Dryer Problems, Broken Drive Belt, Drive Belt, Dryer Repair
Dryer not drying? If the drum in your dryer no longer rotates, chances are your drum-belt may have snapped and you end up with a warm, damp pile of clothes! These steps refer to a Zanussi TC-481W dryer, but the principle is the same for many brands.
| 1. | Safety first! Unplug the machine from the wall-socket and make sure the machine has been idle long enough so that the heater elements, etc. have cooled. |
| 2. | Top cover removalRemove the top cover of the machine by undoing the 2 bolts at the back of the top panel. |
| 3. | Top cover removedYou should now be able to see if the belt is broken or not. It should be wrapped around the back of the drum. In this picture, you can see it has snapped and is loose on the drum. |
| 4. | Remove plastic coverRemove the plastic cover at the bottom rear of the machine and take off the black belt going from the red pulley to the white pulley (this turns the fan). |
| 5. | Air-flow coverAt the back of the machine, undo the 5 or 6 bolts securing the air-flow cover... |
| 6. | Air-flow cover removed...revealing the drum securing e-ring and washers. |
| 7. | Remove these and keep them in a safe place for now. e-ring & washers drum and back panelThe drum is no longer holding in the back panel of the machine. |
| 8. | Back PanelUsing a 7mm socket wrench, remove the screws holding in the back panel of the machine. Take care to support the panel (and the drum) as the screws are removed. A second pair of hands is useful here! |
| 9. | Back panel removalTaking care to support the drum, move the back panel away from the machine slightly. Do not move more than a few inches yet! |
| 10. | Heater element connectorBefore removing the back panel any more, carefully undo the electrical connector for the heating element. |
| 11. | Broken beltRemove the broken belt if not already done. |
| 12. | Positioning the beltMove the back panel away from the drum and put the new belt over the top of the drum (towards the rear) and feed it through between the drum and the back panel and finally around the motor-shaft. |
| 13. | Motor/Spring assemblyThe motor can pivot and has a spring securing it to the body of the machine. |
| 14. | The trick to fitting the belt is to hold the belt with your left hand as shown and with your other hand, push the pulley-wheel anti-clockwise until you can get the belt to loop over it. |
| 15. | The belt is looped around the pulley-wheelOnce this is in place, the hard work is over. Rotate the drum slowly by hand to make sure the belt is able to travel unhindered. Now is your chance to hoover out the back of the machine! Reconect the heating element connector. |
| 16. | Re-fit the back cover, taking care to line up the drum with the hole. |
| 17. | Screw on the back panel. Replace the washers/e-ring securing the drum. |
| 18. | Re-fit the top cover. |
| 19. | You're good to go! |
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