Thanks, JP! I decided to ask the guy to come open it up so we could both take a look inside, which we did. He pointed out the things you mention, said they all look "real good", even the belt. They did look new and un-worn, even to me. What he eventually said was, it is the motor, and definitely the noise came from the motor, with the drum out and nothing connected to the motor but the little fan on it. He said there are 2 "windings" of the wires, one starts the rotations then cuts out as the other one takes over to keep it going. Said the inner one was discolored and was causing the noise and would burn out, he didnt know when. He couldnt seem to explain, though, exactly how this burning out process causes the noise, what is rubbing on what. The only motor he had to replace it with would be one older than the dryer itself, so I decided to just stay with the purchase of the other dryer (4 yrs old). Does this all sound reasonable about the motor? It is making that noise all the time now, as it runs. It's pretty obnoxious. I dont get the other dryer for a couple days. When you are a single elderly woman, you just dont know who to trust.

Farmhouse Lady, April 2006

Hi Farmhouse Lady,

If he had the belt disconnected from the drum and then hit the start switch to turn the motor on and you got that noise, then I would say your motor is bad. Sometimes the bearings get worn and are noisy. Also, sometimes the motor will buzz on startup or will run for a time only to get hot and will shut off automatically on its overload. After the motor sits a bit it will come on again only to heat up again and shut down. I am not sure if he checked the rear bearing in the dryer that seems to be a common repair with the GE's and that would cause the grinding sound that you mentioned. However, if the noise is coming from the motor as you also indicated the only other thing it could be would be a loose or perhaps something caught in the blower wheel. This is the little fan that you mentioned on the other side of the motor. Let me know if I can help further.

JP, April 2006