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Our clothes dryer is currently working; it gets up to and maintains heat, no shuddering, dries clothes, etc. However, it is louder than it used to be. It is an older unit (Whirlpool Dryer LER4624DQ0), bought second (or third?) hand. The noise is a squeaky kind of maybe-rubbing (?) noise. Here is a site with exploded diagrams of the model.

Short of disassembling the dryer, what can I do to help quiet down the unit? Is there any maintenance I should be doing that might help it be quieter?

I found one answer, that it may be the main bearing on the on the drum or one of the roller guide wheels of the drum. It didn't speciy how to oil them though, if that might be the case, what should I use? Another suggestion was to soap the serpentine belt, but I am having difficulty figuring out if they mean undoing the entire back assembly behind the bulkhead.

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What kind of noises is it making? Squeaking, scraping, rattling... – Niall C. Mar 5 '11 at 1:58

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I think your earlier info about main bearing or roller guide wheels sounds good. Let me recommend RepairClinic.com, they have a section there on repair help, common problems, and specifically noisy dryer. They typically recommend replacing guide wheels, etc, for noise issues. Let me recommend AGAINST soaping the belt. That sounds like a bad idea. If the belt is what transfers motor power to the drum, to spin the drum, soaping it (which would reduce the friction) sounds very bad indeed. Hope this helps.

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Agreed on not soaping the belt -- if the belt's rubbing against a pulley, it's a sign that the pulley's not rotating well and needs to be lubricated, not that the belt needs to slip better against the pulley. – Joe Mar 5 '11 at 13:40
Thanks much on that second thinking, @joe and awmoore – mfg Mar 5 '11 at 14:07
As a follow up, should I use WD-40, Lithium lube, or something else to try to grease the guides? – mfg Mar 5 '11 at 17:47
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My experience with WD-40 is that is works great for a while but seems to evaporate quickly (a few weeks). I vote for the Lithium lube. – AWMoore Mar 5 '11 at 22:44

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