Tried to save a client $200 by fixing their dryer belt myself on a Friday afternoon

I had an old Kenmore dryer that needed a belt swap, and I thought I'd be slick by using a universal kit instead of ordering the exact part. After 4 tries with different belt lengths, I finally got one on, only to have it snap after 3 minutes of running. The noise was insane, like a dying cat in a metal box, and the client heard it from their living room. Learned that day that universal belts are a total gamble on older models, and now I just order OEM every time. Has anyone else had a universal part completely blow up on them?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricia4215d ago

Oh man, "dying cat in a metal box" is the most accurate description of a bad dryer belt I have ever heard. I feel your pain on that one. Universal parts are such a gamble, especially on anything older than maybe five years. I tried a universal belt on an old Maytag washer once and it stripped the pulley within two minutes, made this horrible grinding screech that scared my dog so bad she hid under the bed. Client was not impressed, and I ended up having to replace the whole pulley assembly anyway, cost me way more than just ordering the right part from the start. Your mileage may vary, but I've learned the hard way that saving a few bucks on parts just means more headaches and more time wrestling with a machine that doesn't want to cooperate.

wilson.claire15d ago

Three years ago I put a universal belt on a 10 year old Kenmore dryer and it's still running fine, no squeaks or anything. I don't know, maybe I just got lucky but I feel like people overhype how bad universal parts are. A lot of times the "exact fit" replacement is literally the same belt just in a different box with a different price tag. I've seen the same belt manufacturer selling the exact same product as both universal and OEM for a 20 dollar difference. It's not like these machines are space rockets, a rubber belt is a rubber belt as long as the length and width match. The horror stories always seem to come from people who bought the cheapest no-name brand off some random website, not from buying a quality universal part from a reputable seller. And honestly, if a belt strips a pulley in two minutes that sounds more like the pulley was already worn out or the belt was the wrong size entirely, not just a universal part being bad.