Thermal Cut-Off Kit

Our dryer is 8 years old and had been slowly taking longer and longer to dry clothes, to the point that I was ready to purchase a new one. When the dryer stopped heating completely, I removed the bottom panel and found that the heating element was no longer working. I checked online and found this website. The top two recommended fixes for this issue was to replace the heating element and/or thermal cut-off kit (two sensors). I chose to purchase both, delivered to me very quickly (two days). I figured for $80 you can't go wrong. Here's the procedure I followed:

On my particular model, the back does NOT come off and all of my repairs had to be made via the front, bottom panel.

(1) disconnected 6 wires (3 pairs) from the heating element and two thermal sensors
(2) removed entire heating element 'sleeve" which contained both the heating element AND the two sensors. The space is way too tight to try and do this any other way (and I highly recommend this method to save a ton of time and frustration.)
(3) vaccummed out the entire inside of the dryer, clearing all lint and debris, including tons of lint creating a blockage, thus slowing the ability to dry over the years
(4) replaced sensors and heating element
(5) installed heating element & Thermal sensors back inside and reconnected all wires
(6) tested dryer to ensure that heating element lit up and produced heat - it worked beautifully!

Besides fixing the heating issue, cleaning out the clogged lint pipe at the back of the dryer and wall have made the old dryer new again. It's working better than ever!

I followed the tips from the repair video. Easy as 1-2-3. I changed both the heating element as well as the thermal cut off. Went ahead and repaired the door catch. Brand new dryer for the next 10 years. I do advise to pull out your shop vac and remove the tons of lint that accumulates in the bottom. A definite fire hazardous. I do attest that this web site is the best by far.

First I removed the back cover (several screws). Then, I disconected wires from the high-limit thermostat and the thermal cut-off fuse (both of these parts were included in the Thermal Cut-Off Kit). Then, I removed four screws that hold these two parts, replaced the parts, put the screws back, and attached the wires. Finally, I put back the cover.

This dryer is 30 plus years old. I am a 71 year old female that has never taken on this type of repair. First I very carefully ordered all parts possibly associated with this problem. Watched all videos available for this model. Could not find one at Parts Select that addressed this particular dryer. Model number was correct. Finally found YouTube video that addressed an "Old Kenmore Wood Top". It showed the correct way to remove the Heating Element unit. Also Parts Select never mentions that fuses and sensors are not "polarized". Very important info for a novice. But Google helped me with that. Heating Element is "polarized", very important not to cross wires. I did order a couple Heating Element Connection Wire Kits that were not needed for this repair. Got all parts replaced, put dryer back together, crossed my fingers and turned it on, so far it has been working really well. I chose to replace all the parts I did because of the dryers age, plus I am not familiar with multimeters. Didn't want to risk one old part messing up a new part. Thank you Parts Select.
It is not a 2 hr. repair, but I worked slowly, didn't want to make any mistakes. It would be good if everyone is aware of some of the above information and the YouTube video done by an individual on this particular dryer.

Removed the back of the dryer. Used a multimeter set to read Ohms to check each Thermal cut-off switch. Each one read with continuity and some resistance. The one that was bad read open. So i replaced this one and the other one that came in the kit since i already paid for both.Then i replaced the back ran the dryer and it worked great.

Wife completed the element and thermal cutoff installation while I was at work. The leads to the cutoff were removed, the screws removed the new parts were screwed in and the wires reconnected. The hardest part was putting the face back on the dryer. Partselect was a great source of information and the delivery was fast. Dryer works great.

First I removed the two screws that hold the element in place. I then pulled the element out about 3 inches and disconnected the two wires, then connect the two wires into new element, and put the element back in place, and put the back cover, now it getting really hot, and save me a lot of time and money on energy too.

After replacing the heat element as a guess, (which did not fix it), I measured voltage with a DVOM, found lower cut off switch in op, And thanx to some tips on parts select I ordered the the Thermal cut off kit, fast shipping, installed very easily and all is working properly

Replaced the thermastat first, then the cutoff switch, still the same, I then replaced the thermister, and still have the problem.

Popped the lower cover off the dryer, found the thermal fuse and thermostat mounted on the heating tube. Removed the screws with a nutdriver, swapped wires to the new parts, and reinstalled. Then I spent 30 minutes vacuuming 13 years worth of lint and crud out of the machine - it was pretty gummed up in spots, which is probably the cause of the failure.
I have a 25 foot run of hose from the dryer outside, so I replaced that with 4" metal ducting. Clothes dry much faster now!!! Maybe my electric bill will go down (fat chance :) )