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The dryer is winning.
The blower arrived today. I took the washer apart. I went to take the blower off, and I realized I needed a 1/2" drive for my ratchet. Yeah, I don't have that, that's bigger than normal. So I went to the hardware store. I wasn't going to pay $30 for a ratchet handle I would never use again, so I got a $10 square steel tube, and used that with a wrench.
I didn't want to take the drum out like they recommended, so I tried to put the wrench on the back of the shaft by feel. I couldn't even figure out what size wrench, so I watched the video. 7/16". Seems small, but OK. I tried it and it seemed to fit. But when I pulled on the wrench, it would always slip off. So I took the drum out.
The shaft has a flat, between the motor and the blower, where the wrench sits. But it only has a flat on one side! Who's the fuckwit who thought that up? So the round side of the shaft acts like a wedge, to help round over the edge of the flat side.
But first, I tried turning it the wrong way, and it wouldn't come off. I don't think that damaged the shaft, except that I tightened it, which made it harder to come off, which probably contributed to it rounding off the flat.
I could try to cut the plastic blower off the shaft, but I'm worried about further damaging the shaft. Pounding on it with a chisel could bend the shaft, and cutting to close to it could damage the threads that the blower screws onto. If I replace the motor, I would have to cut the shaft off just to remove the blower, so I could get the motor out. A new motor is $200.
The blower arrived today. I took the washer apart. I went to take the blower off, and I realized I needed a 1/2" drive for my ratchet. Yeah, I don't have that, that's bigger than normal. So I went to the hardware store. I wasn't going to pay $30 for a ratchet handle I would never use again, so I got a $10 square steel tube, and used that with a wrench.
I didn't want to take the drum out like they recommended, so I tried to put the wrench on the back of the shaft by feel. I couldn't even figure out what size wrench, so I watched the video. 7/16". Seems small, but OK. I tried it and it seemed to fit. But when I pulled on the wrench, it would always slip off. So I took the drum out.
The shaft has a flat, between the motor and the blower, where the wrench sits. But it only has a flat on one side! Who's the fuckwit who thought that up? So the round side of the shaft acts like a wedge, to help round over the edge of the flat side.
But first, I tried turning it the wrong way, and it wouldn't come off. I don't think that damaged the shaft, except that I tightened it, which made it harder to come off, which probably contributed to it rounding off the flat.
I could try to cut the plastic blower off the shaft, but I'm worried about further damaging the shaft. Pounding on it with a chisel could bend the shaft, and cutting to close to it could damage the threads that the blower screws onto. If I replace the motor, I would have to cut the shaft off just to remove the blower, so I could get the motor out. A new motor is $200.
