61148418 General Electric Dryer - Instructions

Everything is cleaned as it is removed.

Remove the two screws holding the top down.
Disconnect two wires from door switch.
Remove the two hex screws holding the front on.
Remove the 4 screws holding the access panel on the back and disengage idler pulley to loosen the belt.
Remove the drum.
Label the wires then remove the heating element.
Check orientation of ground strap before disassembling rear bearing.
Remove four screws holding rear bearing to back of heating element.
Install rear bearing and ground strap on to heating element.
Reinstall heating element.
Reconnect wires.

Most Important : Get help putting parts back on drum! I didn't and that's why it took over 2 hours.
I will describe how I did it.

Unscrew bearing from inside of drum.
Wrap screwdriver with tape to a little larger than the screw hole.
Use small screwdriver to line up the drum, shim and deflector.
Don't forget the brass shim. It wasn't on the parts diagram.
Start two screws don't tighten them yet.
Remove Screwdriver and start third screw. Tighten all three down.
Put belt on drum.
Install drum and belt.
Reverse disassembly.
When putting the front on make sure drum rests in the felt.

I rated this a bit difficult because I did it myself. With help this is a fairly easy repair.

Having recently replaced the heating elements and main bearing on the dryer I knew how to take the thing apart, getting to the motor was easy. However, the fan side of the shaft was longer than the original so I had to bend out the metal front panel where the fan is located so it would spin without grinding against the front of the dryer. That done, the rest was easy to finish, mounting bolts on the motor tightened, one last test before putting it back together and all was well. The dryer now works better than it has for a long time.

Opened door, removed screw holding down metal plate that presses against interlock switch when door is closed. Removed plastic cover thingy that is over interlock switches. Removed the interlock switch by pressing the plastic lock thingy away from switch. Pulled the wires off each end of the interlock switch. Removed new interlock switch from plastic bag and reversed above procedure. Done, shut door and the dishwasher works.

I followed the directions that were listed on this site by other Do It Yourself individuals...by the way I'm a lady and more mechanically inclined than my husband, but he was a great help in lifting the drum up and out. (I unplugged the dryer before starting repairs)
1. I removed the two screws located at the top of the dryer inside the door.
2. Top of dryer cabinet lifted up after screws were removed.
3. Located and removed front panel retension screws and removed front panel and set aside
4. slipped belt off motor by reducing tension on idler pully
5. Removed screws inside drum that secured drum to bearing assembly
6. Husband and I lifted drum up and out of cabinet (this went very smoothly and took less than 15 minutes time.
7. Followed supplied bearing drum instructions and removed old bearing and installed new assembly.
8. Thoroughly cleaned out internal cabinet, blower, and motor areas
9. Reset the idler pully into proper position.
10. Tipped dryer on 'back' to reseat the drum With A NEW DRYER BELT (taped temporarily around the drum) into the bearing shaft (I may not be using the proper terms)
11. tipped dryer upright and while Hubby balanced the drum, the front panel was resecured to the rest of the cabinet.
12. Removed temporarily applied tape that held the drum belt in the general position, then using the rear access panel, I slipped the belt over the motor into the proper posisiton.
13. Top cabinet was reapplied and screwed into
place.
14 Plugged in and tested the dryer...NO SQUEAKS and it works beautifully and quietly!!

The job is not terribly difficult, but I am only 5 feet tall and the drum is bulky to work with and balance. Reaching into the cabinet to slip the belt onto the motor stretched my arm to the limit.
I found the cabinet reassembly and realignment of the screw holes quite annoying. But the total job proved satisfying upon completion.

I removed the door and "flipped" it to open right to left. Rather than remove the existing door latch I added the purchased latch on the right side to enable opening the door right to left or left to right.

Pulled out the remnants of the old latch out with the pliers and then popped the new one in...less than 2 minutes. Oh, and the part was delivered in less than 2 days. Great job, Partselect !

Inserted handle into slots

Removed the front panel,tiped up the top panel ,removed the drum, drive belt,motor and exaust tube assembly. cleaned and vaccumed all lint from every were. Removed motor from fan blade and houseing. Reinstalled moter and pulley that came with the moter and fan blade. reinstalled all of the rest of the parts and plugedin the wires. once all back together pluged into outlet and turned on and prasto works great.

I simply removed the small black piece and inserted the new knob and it was ready to work. It was so easy and I am very happy. I though I was going to need a repairman but I was able to do it myself. Also, the ordering and delivery was fast and easy!!!!

When I went home at Christmas, I saw that my Mom had been using a small bench to keep her dryer door shut. I wrote the make / model of the dryer down and found your website. I ordered the part, and my sister snapped it into place. My mom was so happy to have her dryer door stay shut again!

To perform this repair (please see numerous descriptions on the web for generic belt replacement) I had to rivet two loose parts to the drum in order to reinstall the drum. Specifically, the loose metal disk and hot air shroud at the rear of the drum (near the rear berrings) made it impossible to realign the parts to reinstall the three torx bolts at the rear of the drum during reassembly. These two loose parts are positioned behind the drum (when looking inside the drum) i.e. between the drum and the rear berrings.

It was necessary to align the mounting holes in the drum, disk, and air shroud outside of the dryer itself and then to rivet them in place (making sure the smooth rivet head was INSIDE the drum as to avoid providing a rough edge where the clothes could catch during tumbling). Just press the 3 torx bolts through the holes to establish correct alignment. Be sure to install the rivets ouside of the contact area between the heat shroud and mounting plate. You should see an indented pattern on the heat shroud that you can use as a guide.

It was also helpful to make a black mark on one of the drum mounting holes (inside the drum) and its mate on the berring attachment plate - to help orient you when installing the drum with the 3 torx bolts. It only aligns one way - and making the marks will save you aggravation while your head is in the drum during reassembly. Loud swearing at this point only punishes your ears because, after all, your head is in an acoustically punishing echo chamber - and the echoes make it seem as if the dryer is actually cussing YOU and your incompetence out...

I hope this helps someone else save some time in reinstalling the drum.

One additional pointer: you must remove the lower plate on the rear side of the dryer to wrap the belt around the tensioner pulley and motor drive. The belt wraps, from right to left, first around the motor pulley and then up and to the left around the tensioner pulley. Just place the belt around the motor pulley, and then pull the tensioner pulley toward you and leftward until it clears the belt, then push toward the front of the dryer - and let the tensioner contact the belt on the right side of the tensioner pulley.

And finally, the ribbed side of the belt makes contact with the drum and the motor pulley. The smooth side of the belt is in contact with the tensioner pulley. Good luck, and may the choice words I used during the process be unnecessary for you... for you... for you!

I received the replacement part I ordered from PartSelect.com within 3 days of placing the order. I opened the plastic bag it came in. I snapped the part into the holes left vacant by aforementioned abscence of broken part.

I was cleaning my laundry room when I noticed the gasket needed cleaning. While wiping it off it appeared as though I could remove it and that was my biggest mistake. Once removed it could not be replaced, due to the little parts that held it to the door began tearing off as I tried to put it back on. I ordered a new gasket and had it put on. It did not require any tools, just concentration. I've learned "if it's not broken, don't fix it"! I spoke with several other people and I am the only one who has removed a gasket. Thank you very much PartSelect for your help.

my two twin boys Mike and Curtis age 14 did the repare they toke of the front of the dryer then the top put the belt around the drum then put the top and front back on then went to the back and removed the panel and put the belt on the pulley then set the tension wheel then put the back cover back on
the repair was easy I watched to make sure they did it right and did not have to tell them how I am very proud of them they do great work
finding the part was easy and it was here the next day after I ordered it and it was only sent 3 to 5 work days. You guys have a great web site and fast shipping thanks for the good work!

Removed the broken handle from the dryer and popped on the new one.