DDC0385LD General Electric Dryer - Instructions

After opening the front door there are screws that are holding the top to the door. Take those screws out using a Phillips screwdriver. The top should lift up and rest at a near 90 degree angle.

The door has two screws at the bottom that need to be taken out. Once those are out there are two screws on both sides at the top holding it to the frame. Remove those as well.

Before you remove the front you should document the wiring for the door light switch. I took these off to give the door a little extra room so I could rest it on a toolbox without taking all the wires completely off.

Once the door is free, on the back there is a metal plate with two screws in it roughly in the middle of the unit. Unscrew the top completely but leave the bottom screw in and just slightly loosen it. This will allow it to swing down out of the way without the need to completely remove it and have one more part to put back together in the end.

What this plate is covering is the center of the drum. There is a small metal tab that you can push on and it will push the drum out so it can be removed. Gripping the drum, you can lift it out by guiding it through the notches on each side where the drum protrudes.

With the drum removed you'll see the motor and idle pulley. On my model the pulley was attached to a metal rod that was spring loaded. The pulley is held on by a small tension washer that was easily removed with pliers. Installation was somewhat more difficult but mostly just getting it lined up and started. Once on the rod it was easy to push it into place.

With the new pulley installed it's time to install the new belt. To do this first put the belt over the drop and then replace the drum back into the frame. Once the drum is pushed back into the hole it will support itself.

Now you need to remove the panel on the back to get access to the motor and pulley. This panel has a lot of screws. Once that's off you can then guide the belt over the motor and get the idle pulley to put tension on the belt.

Once that is complete just replace all the screws you removed, plug it back in and watch as your new belt moves the drum once again.

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

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 apart the entire dryer. Cleaned and vacuumed all parts.
Removed drum assembly and threaded new coils in insulators.
Connected new heater coils to supply terminals and then reassembled dryer. Key to proper assembly was having threaded keys to properly allign the dryer drum during assembly. Dryer was tested and it works like a new dryer now. Old dryers have higher quality motors than newer dryers.

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.

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!

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 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!

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).

Found excellent instructions and diagrams online by searching under the model number. Best of all was the service from PartSelect. Belt arrived 24 hours after ordering. It was the right part, it was easy to install, and the dryer is running beautifully.

Took the top and front off. DO NOT TAKE DRUM OFF!! Lifted drum slightly and worked belt around drum. Replaced front and top. Took off rear panel at bottom near vent pipe. Put belt around motor and then tension pulley. Buttoned everything up and that was it!

I removed the 2 screws and lock assemblies from both sides on the back. Then i removed 4 screws (two from each side) on the control panel and lifted that up as i tipped the cover forward to disconnect the wires from the door switch. I found the wiring diagram inside the control panel cover, which included a belt routing diagram (very helpful, being the belt was laying in the bottom. I then removed 3 torx srews holding the drum to the bearing, and removed the drum. Let the fun begin! i proceded to put the belt onto the motor pulley and around the tensioner. i needed some help from my wife to set the drum back in as i held the belt up around it. once the drum was back in, i found the beld had fallen away from the tensioner. I lifted the front of the drum up just enough to get both arms below it and move the tensioner back to slip the belt over it correctly. With the new belt on i started to put the screws back in the drum. This got very frustrating, as you have to correctly line up all the holes again, while holding the drum in the correct angle to start the screws. this was the hardest part, not physically, but wears on a person's nerves quickly! Once all the screws were in and tight, i took a deep sigh of relief before i tipped the front cover up just enought to get the wires hooked back up for the door. I turned the unit on to verify the repair before re-assembly. Yep! works again, for well under $20.00! Thanks PartSelect!

First I took the lower bottom off the back of the dryer (bolts), pulled the old pulley off the idler and put new one on. Second, I took the screws out in front (under lip of top) and then removed bolts from bottom of the front. Then lifted lid up and swung front to the side. I was then able to take the drum out and clean it before putting it back in with the new belt. The put everything back together.
Dryer ran for ten mintues and then quite again. Seems to be in the motor and not the less expensive parts I found to be worn.