In 2003, I had to replace the fan blower on my Admiral dryer.
Yesterday, the blower again cracked around the D-shaft and I've got to
buy a new one. One thing that I do not remember how I worked around
the first time is that there is a ring in front of the blower that
holds the blower on the shaft...what is this called? Is it a 'snap
ring'? It looks like a horseshoe with two very tiny holes at the
ends. I don't want to force taking it off, in case I damage it.

Is there a tool to make it easier to open/close this ring and/or would
a local hardware store have one, or would I need to go through service
center?

TIA,
Dave

Dave,

They're called snap-rings or circlips. They are very common. Any hardware
store should have a selection of snap-rings and most should sell snap-ring
pliers. You won't damage it by forcing it off and if you do you can get
another at the hardware store.

Dave M.