DE20F5AM Admiral Dryer - Instructions

I pried the top of the dryer with a screw driver and then lifted the top of the dryer, I then removed the two screws "with a nutdriver" that held the door in place and then removed the door and drum. I then got the new belt and placed the belt over the drum and positioned the belt through the idler arm and then on the motor pulley. I had to hold the door and drum to lock the bottom of the dryer door to the dryer and then made sure the rear drum seal was in place and the belt did not slip off the motor pulley

Belt was broken Removed the front (very easy) removed the drum. Noticed the roller was damaged. Replaced the roller. Installing the belt was tricky but followed an on line video. This dryer has the motor and tensioner behind the blower housing. There was not enough room to use both hands effectively. So first I placed the belt on the motor then pulled the tensioner until I could slide the belt on the tensioner with my other hand. This was the reverse order from the video. The dryer now seems to be quieter.

Opening the dryer to discover the problem was easy. We put the belt up on a workmate bench - I think this made access better at the bottom. Getting the new belt on past the rear drum seal was ok, the instructions could benefit by including wording describing how to roll the belt flat under the 2 rear drum support pulleys to bring it to the drive motor shaft pulley. The instructions included with the belt had a diagram showing the position of the belt take up idler (the idler was found loose inside the bottom of the dryer), our dryer had a hole in the metal spring clip of the idler arm, so we thought at first that a screw to the chassis had broken - this is not the case the idler pulley is held in place by belt tension, so pulling the spring clip open while feeding the belt would have been useful in the instructions too. Other than those 2 head scratchers the repair was easy and saved us the cost of calling a repairman. Thanks PartSelect.

First, I printed one of these responses which were excellent and very detailed. The screws connecting the lint slot to the top of the dryer was frozen. Taking the front panel off was difficult because I did not read the instructions I printed out very well. After I took the top off I had a hard time finding the 2 screws located inside on the top of the front panel. They are located to the far right and left at the top. To take off the front panel you have to push it up to release the clips on the bottom, then it comes right off. Taking the drum out was easy. What was difficult was putting the belt on. There wasn't any slack and to put it around the pulley and the drum for me was difficult. After that is was a piece of cake. It works great.

i pop the top of the dryer lose and removed the 2 screws that held the front on and installed the new belt and put it back to gethere

I watched the video on replacing the belt and it was amazingly as easy as the video described. I had asked my son if he could replace it if I couldn't and I didn't have to ask him. If you are only moderately ept at repairing anything you could do this. I was waiting on it when it finally arrived and in no time I had it replaced and my dryer back working. Being a woman I like it when I can repair something myself and not have to rely on someone else to do it.

The repair was pretty simple.
1. unplug dryer.
2. use a med. flat screw driver with some cloth wrapped around the blade as not to chip the paint surface. From the front of the dryer,
carefully pry open the top surface of the dryer. There are 2 points to lift, about 3" from the right side and 3" from the left side.
3. The top will open like the the hood of a car, lift gently, you might have to move the dryer out if you can (if you are on a flexible service connection).
4. Unclip the push bottom elec. switch.
5. Carefully remove 2 sheet metal screws on the top left and top right (from the inside of the dryer cabinet. These hold the front of the dryer in place. You have to remove the front of the dryer to get the drum out. I can't believe that these 2 flimsy screws hold the dryer together.
6. Pull the front panel off, tipping it forward. More on this later, it's really important!!
7. Remove the drum, it's light weight, but bulky.
8. Now you will see the motor assembly and idle pulley.
9. Follow the belt diagram with the replacement belt package.
10. It gets a little tricky to get the drum back in because there's a bit of spring tension on the drum from the belt.
11. You're ready to re assemble. BUT, the next step is really important.
12. Since you have the front panel off, you can get at the lint trap. Yeah, lint. Ever wonder why your favorite Tee shirt gets thinner and thinner? Well, look in the lint trap. I filled a vacum cleaner bag with the hard packed lint.
13. By the way, you have to remove the 2 torx screws that hold the lint trap assembly.
14. Vacuum the whole exhaust pipe while u are at it.
That's it!

I replaced it

Tools and materials:

#2 Philips head screw driver
Standard flat-tip screw driver
1/4" nut driver or ratchet
1/4" drive sockets: 1/4, 5/16
Something 3-4 inches thick to wedge under drum for support (i.e. scrap 4x4, soap bottle, books)

Replacement Procedures:

1. Unplug dryer from wall outlet
2. Pull out lint screen
3. Remove 2 Philips screws attaching lint trap to dryer top
4. Lift hinged dryer top panel near front and lean it back on wall. You may need to pry between side panels and top with flat-tip screw driver to get it started.
5. Disconnect plug from dryer door switch near front
6. Remove two 1/4" and two 5/16" hex screws inside front panel near top.
7. Open dryer door and lift front panel straight up to disengage tabs from slots near bottom of front panel.
8. While supporting drum with one hand, lift front panel and set aside with other hand.
9. Slip replacement belt around drum with ribs facing drum and position it where old belt left its mark.
10. Wedge something under drum to support it while installing the belt.
11. Re-position tensioner in two slots in bottom panel just in front of motor. On my model the bend in the spring will be on the right side with the idler pulley to the left, when viewed from the front.
12. Ensuring the belt isn't twisted, thread a small loop of it through the opening in the tensioner just below the pulley.
13. With the left hand, push against the tensioner spring while working the loop over the drive pulley.
14. While supporting drum with one hand, remove whatever you put under the drum to support it.
15. Replace front panel by aligning the slots with the tabs near the bottom and lowering it into place.
16. Carefully slip the drum opening over the flange on the front panel and replace hex screws.
17. Slowly roll the drum in one direction or the other until the belt aligns and centers itself.
18. Re-connect the plug for the dryer door switch.
19. Lower the dryer top and press until it snaps back into place.
20. Replace philips screws to secure lint trap and replace lint screen.
21. Plug dryer back into wall outlet, close door, set to dry, and press start.

First, I unplugged the dryer. I pulled up the lint filter, then unscrewed the two screws there. Then pulled up the top panel. I had a helper hold it up since it couldn't lean against the wall. Then I had to take the front panel off the dryer. The idiots at Kenmore used screws, not pins, so I needed to use a socket wrench to get those two out of the top corners. Then I lifted it up and off. I removed the broken belt. I put in the new one. I replaced the pulley, which had fallen without the tension of the belt holding it in place. It was pretty easy to figure out how it went, but I consulted the online community for a diagram. I threaded the belt in place, replaced the panels, and viola! It worked. Easy.

- Unplug the electric dryer.
- Manually opened the top of the dryer.
- Unclipped the wire assembly attached to the front panel of the dryer.
- Removed two screws holding the front panel of the dryer, and remove front panel for access.
- Very Important!! Note how the old dryer is currently installed before proceeding.
- Rotated the dryer drum while working the dryer belt toward the rear of the dryer.
- Removed the dryer drum.
- Removed the old dryer belt.
- Put the new dryer belt around the dryer drum and put the dryer drum back onto the drum rollers and into the rear guides.
- Here's the hard part, lay on floor and reach into the pulley area and motor - wrap new dryer belt around these belt rollers as "noted" in the fifth step.
- Rotate dryer drum by hand to ensure the new dryer belt is exactly installed as the old dryer belt.
- Reinstall front panel.
- Reclip wire assembly onto the front panel.
- Manually close the top of the dryer.
- Plug in the electric dryer.

Step 1. Read all the comments about how to do this job in this forum. (i found them very useful)

Step 2. Read the directions that come with the dryer (they helped a lot)

Step 3. Don't forget to disconnect the power cord before reattaching the door switch wires (oucH! ) or doing anything with your dryer.

Removed the two screws at the back that hold the top of the dryer. Then I pried off the top at the front by inserting a screwdriver into the front to remove the top from the clips. Then I tilted up the top like a car hood.

I removed the two screws inside that held the front on and lifted the front off. Because of the wires attached to the front, I made sure to turn the front aside without pulling on the wires. After removing the broken belt, I put the replacement belt over the front of the drum, lifting the drum a little. Then I threaded the belt over the drive and around the tension wheel per a diagram I found on the web.

While I had the front off, I removed the lint trap and cleaned out probably decades worth of lint.

Then I replaced all the parts in reverse order, plugged it in and had a working dryer!

Screwed the new “$40” dollar light bulb back into the recessed socket. The new bulb is much smaller that the original bulb and much harder to get fingers into small area where the bulb went. After several try’s, I got it in.

I watched an online video about how to replace a dryer belt & followed the directions. Placing the belt around the drum is easy but stringing it thru the pulley is a little difficult because the belt has tension. This takes a little effort but is doable. Dryer runs great now........Be sure to unplug appliance 1st........