Heating Element Assembly

Disconect the dryer from the main power source.

1) Remove the two screws from the rear / upper panel (below the control panel).

2) Snap the front side using a flat head screw driver.

3) On the inside front, remove two screws (one on each side) from the upper side and snap the door assembly off.

4) Remove the rear motor access panel (two screws) and appying tension to the spring remove the belt.

5) Pull the drum upwards (verticaly) unnapping it from the rear wall and remove it horizontally through the front panel.

6) Disconect the four leads to the heating element and remove the four screws from the rear of the dryer and replace the heating element.

Follow the same steps backwards to put the dryer together again.

I followed others suggestions with numbered steps and listened to others suggestions about replacing other parts while in the dryer. I took the dryer apart and cleaned it out well. I used acetone to remove the glue from the felt and Drum Glide at the top of the Drum. It worked much better than Goo Gone. By doing the clean up and evaluation one day, I ordered all the parts that I saw were worn or difficult to get to. I replaced the Heating Element only because the old one was very brittle and to get to it again would be difficult. Also, I followed other's advice to photograph the parts before removing. It was easy to remember how things went if I had a photo to refer to.

When the parts arrived it only took about 30 minutes to install them all because the glue removal, lint removal, and parts removal had been done another day. I should add that I am a 66 year old woman and found the job quite simple. Excellent web site. Thanks to others for the step-by-step instructions. Oh, to hold the Drum Glide and felt in place while the glue cured, clothes pins work great. I let the glue cure overnight to make sure that it was really secure.

I unlatched top panel then removed two screws holding front panel on. I then lifted drum out of hanger to make room to remove element. Disconnect wires to limit switch and element. I then removed four screws on back of dryer that hold the pan. I removed old assembly and replaced with new one. Assemble in reverse.

Removed top using a butter knife to release the two tabs in the front(between the top and the front). Removed the front(two screws from the inside. removed rear louver panel(four screws). reached in through rear panel and released belt. removed drum assembly and change out, bearing assembly drum and bushing assembly in the back panel, being sure not to forget the grounding bearing(had my 9 year old give me an extra hand to hold the ball bearing on the back..
Replaced the slider felt on the drum and the belt since i had it apart. Also replaced the seal from the front panel to the blower motor.. while it was apart i cleaned the inside with bleach and a rag. reasembled a tryed it out. Run like a new dryer- Nice and quiet.- It had been sqeeking for months before the it stopped working. the time it took to fix it was a lot less hassle than it would have been to buy a new and get rid of the old one. And it saved me money. I love saving money!! I would recomend partsselec.com t.good prices,fast shipping, got what i needed. What more can you ask for..

It was too easy: 1) remove the back of the control panel 2) disconnect wires to the switches and mark them for reassembly- I used masking tape and gave each wire and connector a letter- "a" "b" "c" etc; 3) remove the top of dryer by using a flat head screwdriver to pop the 2 pressure fasteners on the front; 4) remove the front of the dryer- remove the 2 screws fastening the front panel to the sides and lift up until the bottom pressure fasteners pop; 5) remove the belt from the pulley and tensioner- I used a digital camera to take pictures so I knew how to re-thread the belt; 6) remove the drum- pull up on the back of the drum with the belt and then pull the drum through the front of the dryer-it's a little smaller than the front opening so you need to pull on the sides of the dryer; 7) replace the heating element by (a) removing the overheat sensor and (b) removing three screws to remove the heating element from the back of the dryer; 8) replacing the rear drum bearing by (a) removing the bearing asssembly from the back of the dryer-2 screws, and (b) removing the bearing roller from the back of the drum- 3 screws; 9) assembly is the reverse of disassembly. Again it's too easy. I'm a lawyer with no mechanical training. Thanks to Parts Select for making finding the parts easy and saving me a lot of money.

This job is easier than you think and is basically the same procedure for most dryers. This dryer is actually made by Frigidaire. Wife priced a new dryer at Lowe's and the salesman actually told her if she has someone to do the work for free (which was me), then he would fix the old dryer and not buy a new one. This was the salesman at Lowe's saying this. Move dryer to an open area that has plenty of workroom. Remove small back panel (2 screws) and reach in and remove belt from pulley. Use a flat screwdriver or butterknife to push tabs in on both upper front corners of the dryer. Top will pop up and then lift up and gently pivot it backward where it is out of the way. Remove two top inside screws and wires from run button on front panel and the front panel will just fold down to the floor. Pull the drum upwards to pull the rear bearing out of the holder and the drum will come out through the front, not the top of the dryer. It will be a tight fit, but is not hard to remove. Before doing anything else, thoroughly clean everything you can put your hands on, including the blades of the blower wheel. I tested the thermostat switches and they were all okay, but the heating element was actually fried. You could see where it had burned. Unplug the wires from the element and thermostat and remove heating pan from the back and put in new heating element/pan the same way and attach wires. Remove the top and bottom felt gasket from the front panel and scrape as much felt off with a flat blade screwdriver as you can. Follow directions on tube of glue and then glue new felt gaskets on in the same spot as the old ones were. The glue needs to sit for a minute or two to get tacky and then the felt gaskets will hold. I pressed hard all around for a couple of minutes to make sure it was glued down. Put some grease, standard lithium grease will work fine, on the back ball bearing and holder, and slide drum in and make sure the back ball bearing is seated in holder. Slide new belt on drum and then lift front panel back off the floor and onto front of drum. Re-attach two front screws and the two wires for the run button inside the loading door. Go to the back panel and put some grease on the belt pulley shaft and re-attach belt. Close back panel. Go back to the top and rotate drum by hand to verify that it turns freely and there is nothing binding it. Swing top of dryer down and snap it shut on both top corners and you're done. I ran it empty for about 20mins to make sure the glue dried sufficiently and it was good to go. The parts for this at Sears were almost double the price that PartsSelect had them for. Thanks again to PartsSelect. I am recommending you to all of my friends who do their own repairs!

I waded into this project without knowing what I was doing and as a result did much more work than was needed. What I should have done was 1) open access panel at lower left of back of dryer and rmove belt from pully 2) push screwdriver in against clips in seem at top front of dryer (where top meets face) and lift top up and off hinges at back 3) remove screws holding front of dryer to the sides of the dryer cabinet (about 1 foot down) and swing front down on hinges at bottom 4) lift dryer drum straight up out of the bracket at the back of the dryer 5) remove wires from the dryer element and heat sensor on the heater pan (about 4 and 1 o'clock respectively wires are on tight, may need plieres) 6) unscrew heater pan from back of dryer 7) remove heat sensor from old heater pan and put on new heater pan 8) screw new heater pan to back of dryer 9) replace wires to elements and sensor, you may want to "crimp" the connectors onto the tabs 10) replace dryer drum slipping back into back bracket, be sure that dryer belt is around drum as when you openned the dryer 11) lift up front so that drum fits around and is supported by flange molded into front 12) replace screws that attach front to dryer cabinet 13) replace top of dryer (put back on hinges at back and lower onto clips in front 14) put dryer belt back on pully and replace access plate.

Other repair stories about this product are very accurate and I used them to do the repair, so I see no need to be redundant.

I'd just like to draw attention to the following:
Disassembling the dryer is somewhat easy. Replacing the heating element is very easy.
Replacing the belt is very easy.

Replacing the drum bearing is somewhat difficult. I purchased a "T" screwdriver in order to get more torque on the screws. When I had the drum bearing in place and the screws partially inserted, I laid a piece of thick foam on the floor and set the drum, bearing side down, on the foam. It is very difficult to get enough tension on the screws to get them through the bearing plate, but setting the drum up this way at least allows you to use gravity to your advantage.

Thanks again to Part Select for making the part purchasing experience so effortless.

Thanks to other writers of "Repair Stories" for making my repair so easy.

1.Remove 2 screws and the air intake grill on the back of the unit. remove the drive belt. 2. Remove 2 screws on rear of top, slide top back and remove. 3. Remove 2 screws about a foot down on the inside on each side of the front cover. Remove four screws that secure the plastic control panel and the front panel that are right behind the control panel on the top. Disconnect the wiring harnesses, cut the nylon wire tie that is closest to the front cover. 3. lay unit on its back and and remove the two screws on the lower edge of the front panel, take your putty knife and slide it in the gap between the front panel and the dryer cabinet and release the two spring clips on both sides. Then you can lift off the front panel and control panel, set it to the side. 4. Remove the screw and the nylon guide from the center of the top front case crossmember. Remove the three screws on the inside rear of the drum, lift out the drum and set aside. 5. The drum pivot just sits in a nylon socket, pop it toward the top of the machine and lift it out, you may want to clean it good and re-lubricate it on reassembly. Disconnect the wires from the heating element and the heat sensor. 6. Set the cabinet upright and remove the four screws on the back side of the rear of the cabinet but not the two that are right in the center, they hold the pivot fixture and don't need to come out. The heater coil pan is now loose and ready for removal. 7. The seal between the filter housing and the blower housing was torn and this is an important part to have right, any air leak here will do the same thing as a dirty lint filter or plugged dryer exhaust and your new heating element will have a short, hot life. I pulled the old one off, scrapped the old glue off, applied the adhesive like the instructions on the tube say and after a few minutes installed the new seal then set the front panel to the side to let the adhesive dry. 8. The reassembly is just the reverse of the disassembly , use a couple nails or awls to help hold the dryer heater pan in place for screw installation and you might want to gentle squeeze the wire connecters if they feel loose, also check for clogged or kinked exhaust and stress the importance of cleaning the lint filter after EVERY load, it is small and all the air that cools the heating element must go through it, if is isn't maintained your new element won't last long. Have fun!

Tried to follow the directions of others but ran into a problem with getting the top panel off. This is how I did it.
1 Disconnect power and dryer vent tube. Move away from wall.
2 Remove slotted access panel in back of dryer and take belt off motor and idler pulley. Leave on drum.
3 Unscrew the screws on the back of the top panel brackets( mine are silver) where they screw into the back panel and pull up and to the back to get the top panel off. Someone else said to slide a putty knife in the front to release the top but my machine has no spring clips.
4 With the cover off you can see the two heat sensors and I tested them with a multi meter they registered 0 which meant they were OK.
5 Remove the screws that hold the control board on and the plugs that are wired into it making sure that you draw a diagram to remember the wiring. There was a zip tie that I cut to be able to feed the plugs through the hole in the front panel that the wiring must go when the front panel drops down.
6 Remove the screws on the top of the front panel and the screws on the inside of the side panel that hold the front panel secure.
7 A lot goes on on step 7 because the front panel which is hinged drops from the top down to the floor. Diagram and remove all wires there are two green ground wires on the side, Three wires on the door lock, two wires for the light and wires for a moisture sensor. When disconnected feed the control panel plugs and other wires through the hole in the front panel and lift up and out on the front panel it will pop out. Lower it to the floor and let it rest there.
8 Now you can get the drum out of the way by pulling up then out the front where the front panel is now on the floor. Leave the belt on it.
9 Diagram the wiring on the heating element there are connections for the element and the sensor. They gave me a new sensor screwed onto the new heating element. Then unscrew it from the back panel the screws are on the back of the machine.
10 Install is the reverse of the rip down

In hindsight I would have liked to have had the new part before I started the project because the wiring wasn't so fresh in my head a week later when it arrived even with diagrams. Over all it was very simple and took under two hours to complete. I did clean everything I could inside the machine and reglued a couple of the seals that had fallen loose. Works like new and probably went because of overheating with a clogged vent. Lesson... clean your dryer vent every year or sooner.