DD40000MCL General Electric Dryer - Instructions

first I removed the screws with the nutdriver at the bottom of the dryer at the back..then I could see the belt was broken...next I took off the 2 nuts at the back that hold the top on ..then opened the dryer front door and unscrewd the 4 screws holding the top on....then I lifted the top up and to the side...then all I had to do was take out 2 screws one on each side of dryer front and the the front was open enough that I could slide the new belt on dryer..then screwed the front back on...then placed the top on and went to the back of dryer and put belt on pulley using the diagram I found in the instructions inside the dryer top...really a lot easier than it sounds...easy fix saved me from buying another dryer

Took to many parts off to find out only needed to remove four front screws under the lid. I lifted the lid and found the thermostat and replaced same dryer now works great again at normal temps.

I discovered that the High Limit Thermo was in place, but had been bypassed years ago. After lifting the top up, I finally found the HLT on the top left side in the back. I removed it, then put the new one in with its 2 screws. I put new lugs on its wires and put them back on. The dryer tested GOOD. No more potential Bar-B-Que! I did print a picture of the wiring diagrams that were on the back of the unit. This gave me the color code of the wires, where they were to be found, and what they did. This also helped. This GE Dryer is at least 26 years old! Newer Dryers in the Videos actually require more work removing things to get to the Thermostat. When I finally found it, the job went quick.

First unplug dryer... very important. You have to identify the appropriate size socket wrench and locate all necessary screws to remove top panel of dryer and front panel. Locate belt drive. Remove old belt , replacing it with new belt attaching belt to dryer drum . Remove back panel of dryer to better reach and adjust belt onto tension wheels. Put dyer back together. YouTube gives you an idea of how to properly change a belt on dryer

Top is hinged in back, removing the 4 screws over the door under the top allowed the top to open. Removing the 2 screws near the top of the door panel allowed it's removal. Marked and disconnected wiring. Lifted drum through top. New bearing housing required 3 mounting holes to be tapped to 10-24. Installed bearing and backing shims with old hardened allen head mounting screws inside drum while wife held bearing in back of drum. Furnished 3- 10-24 lock nuts to lock mounting screws in place from their back side. Reinserted drum through dryer top with belt on drum. Hardest part was getting the belt on motor pulley while holding the idler in it's correct position due to small access holes at the very bottom in rear panel. Works just fine again.

I removed the front panel and the top of the dryer, pulled the drum forward and removed the old rear drum bearing then inserted the new rear drum bearing. I didn't replace the washers or the retaining ring in the back. Put the drum shaft into the new rear drum bearing. Put the front panel and the top in place and started using the dryer again.

This is the third time for a belt on this 28 year old dryer. Not too much to it. Unplug the dryer. Open the door. Remove the screws holding on the front panel and loosen the screw at the bottom. Disconnect the wires to the door switch and lift off the front panel and start up the shop vac to clean out the lint - there is a lot to be found in various places. Slide the new belt over the front of the drum and make sure there are no twists. You can now reverse the order to mounte the front panel but don't close the top so you have light to see inside. Go around to the back panel and remove the machine bolts holding on the access panel at the back. This allows access to the motor and belt tensioner. Get the shop vac out here and get to some more lint. Google the model number to find a diagram on how to route the belt. Put the belt on the motor shaft and around the tensioner as depicted. Occaisionally the plastic idler pully is worn and this can be the cause of the brokent belt. If the idler wheel does not spin freely, squeads or is cracked it should be replaced or you will be right back replacing the belt again. If all is fine it is time for a test run. CAUTION - you can plug the dryer in but keep your hands out of the cabinet as there are live exposed 220 volt terminals exposed. This allows you to observe that all is working and not binding during a test run with NO heat. If all is fine, unplug the dryer and put the covers back on. Reconnect the exhaust hose (now is a good time to clean that and the vent to outdoors as well).

Per suggestion of "Parts Select", I replaced the "high limit thermostat"....very simple task on the dryer: 1 - unplug from power source; 2 - remove screws securing top to front (open door, screws located beneath lip of unit); 3 - tilt top up allowing access to everything; 4 - remove connections to 'thermostat' (note which wires go where); 5 - loosen screws securing thermostat to unit and remove thermostat; 6 - vacuum any and all lint while unit is apart; 7 - install new thermostat and put everything back together; 8 - test dryer to see if repairs worked!

I followed the instructions in your detailed online video. Fortunately on my model there was a removable panel on the back of the dryer which provided easy access to install the drive belt on the motor pulley and the idler pulley. Great video and very easy repair.

Removed 3 torx screws on the control panel. Removed two more regular screws from the dryer opening. This allows removal of the top. Removed some panels from the back to access where belt feeds through the motor. Found the belt snapped in two inside.

Now that I knew what the problem was I found partselect.com on Google. Ordered the part friday morning with ground. The belt arrived SATURDAY MORNING! I didn't even know fedex would deliver ground shipments on Saturday. Less than 24 hours later I had it. AWESOME.

Removed the front panel by removing two hex bolts to allow me to drape the belt over the drum. Not having seen how the belt was originally around the tensioner and the bad diagrams included with the dryer, it took some figuring to get it back on right. But we did it and we're back in business. I will absolutely buy from PartSelect.com again!

After identifying the issue, the biggest issue was trying to identify how to get the belt around the drum tumbler. After looking through the back hatch, I figured the best way was through the top. I removed the top just enough to work the belt in between the drum and the front sheet metal. Then I turned it on its side and worked the belt from the back hatch. I pulled the pulley back on the tensioner and slipped the belt under neath. Put it back together, been working great.

Removed filter as for cleaning. Replaced with new filter. NO TOOLS REQUIRED!

This is kind of embarrassing but ... Originally checked this site for what to get for the symptom and said 61% of time was high limit thermostat which was fairly cheap (14.95) but assumed with my luck, it would be the more expensive part the heating element coil with housing, so ordered that. (It was second on the list) Received it in no time, like less then 48 hrs. Was told when a friend stopped by that I shouldnt of ordered that, it was probably a thermostat as that is what they had to replace on theirs. So I said ok, I could always send the first thing back, so ordered the thermostat. It came quickly again. Took it out of the package and laid it down to change clothes to take the dryer apart and could not find where I laid it. Spent all evening looking and never did find it! So I ordered another one. (Figured by this time PartSelect was thinking this woman is crazy but good for business) Again it came quickly. Got it on fine but when I got to check the old one with the ohm meter (which I borrowed), nothing wrong with it. Nor with any of the other 4 thermostats. Finally took the drum off ( thanks to Youtube video for instructions) and obviously it was the initial part that I had ordered that needed replaced. Was a bit awkward to remove all the screws to get to it but not bad. Plugged everything back in and got the machine back together and works wonderfully! Lessons learned: 1st check the elements with an ohm meter (I will definitely be investing in one) 2nd do not open package until ready to use it especially after a bad day at work and 3rd go with initial gut instinct! I was very pleased with Part Select service!

Key starting point is to remove top cover by removing two long screws located at the front of the cover
Remove control panel and it's bottom and side supports.
Remove short vent pipe by bending retainer tab.
Support the drum at the top using piece of rope.
Remove main rear cover (leave bottom attached).
Remove electric heating unit and install new bearing carrier from kit.
Reinstall the the heating unit
Remove three screws (inside the drum)to release the inner drum cover and release the bearing carrier.
Install new bearing carrier. Note: the three holes in the bearing carrier are not tapped, I suggest that the screws be installed (threads cut) into the bearing cover before attempting to install the bearing carrier.
Install the new bearing carrier. Note: pilot one of the holes using a small nail etc. then go on to install screws in the other two holes remove the pilot device and install the third screw.
Reassemble in reverse order.

The repair in retrospect was very easy. Not knowing alot about the dryer I made one mistake. I put the bearing in backwards and broke the rubber gasket. After ordering a new gasket and paying close attention to what I was doing it worked out fine. Saved me about $200 for a repairman.