FDE436RET2 Frigidaire Dryer - Instructions

So easy! I ordered the part on the website. Received it 24 hours later. And popped it in place. Good as new.

Remove rear control panel cover and remove drum belt from pulleys. remove top cover by pushing in on the 2 hold down fasteners on the front with flat head srewdriver. remove front panel by removing the 2 screws and then pop it out by lifting up. disconnect the wires at the quick connect plugs and set the front aside. lift the drum up to pop it out of the bearing housing and move forward slightly to give youself good access to the wires for the heating element and disconnect the 2 wires. remove drum the reset of the way out and do your work. Replacing the heating pan and drum bearing is pretty obvious what to do. (just a few screws). remove thermal cutoff switch from old pan and install on new pan. reinstall in reverse. no need to label wires because it doesn't matter where the wires go an a switch (justs makes and breaks a circuit) and the heater doesn't matter as long as both wires are hooked up to complete the circuit. You can't mess up the quick connectors on the door. Only my heater failed but I also replaced the drum bearing as long as I had it all apart (only another ~$20). Take the time to clean out the dust from inside the dryer, it will help the blower motor run cleaner and cooler and last longer. I bought a belt also to have on hand for replacement. I didn't replace it since my old one was good and it is real quick to replace at a later time.

Open the top of the dryer. Reach inside and remove 2 screws that hold the front in place. Detach the power cord inside where there is a connector. Remove the front of the dryer. That exposed the drum glide where all three nylon guides had worn off.

Peel off the old guide. Clean the surface with sandpaper. Use the supplied adhesive to glue on the new guide. Use masking tape to hold it while it dried.

Reverse the first paragraph to re-install.

replaced bearing and shaft new belt and everything works just fine

Ordered in new Element. (took apart dryer first and verified the coil on the old element was broken).

-Disconnected power
-Used flat blade screw driver and popped the top of the dryer off (two clips at front of the dryer on the door piece). Pull lid back and it will rest on its own.
-Removed two screws on the inside of the front door panel then used flat blade to pop four clips off. Lift up then out to removed door panel, drum will fall down.
-Removed small white plastic rest from front frame.
-Removed back silver vent to access motor. Pull the belt tensor away from assembly and pull belt out.
-Remove drum by grabbing belt and front of drum and forcing it up until it releases from the ball housing. Slide drum out of the front of frame/dryer.
-From here you can see the heating element. disconnect the coil wires (pull them). These are in series so it doesn't matter how they go back on. Disconnect the thermostat wires (X is negative lead).
-Removed the four screws from the back of the dryer to disengaged the element. Removed.
-Reassemble backwards.

First unplugged the dryer took off the top. Removed the 2 screws holding the front panel on. Scraped and cleaned old drum glide and lower basket seal. glued new seals on replaced lightbulb while I had it apart then reassembled. It was an easy job and the wife is now happy again.. Thanks to Partselect.
Mike

Disconnected power cord; lifted top using putty knife to open spring holds on the sides of the top; released front panel by removing screw from each side;removed old glide and glue; glued new piece in place; reconnected all parts and let dry overnight.

A caution to take care of sharp/rough edges when removing old felt and glide. Goof Off worked well enough along with elbow grease to remove the old glue. A stonger solvent may have worked better, but did not want fumes and residue in the area.

Fit of new glide was straightforward and fit well to the lower felt glide..

(Turns out that the squeak was primarily from the rear bearing that needed some cleaning and grease, but am glad to have replaced the worn front glide)

After changing the drum support bearing, and the front felt ring, the noise continued. It turned out to be the tensioner pully. The harmonic vibration travels throughout the dryer box like an instrument so you can't tell where the sound is comming from. Before you do anything, spray a little wd40 between the bushing and the shaft on the belt tenioner pully. If the squeel goes away, you have found your smoking gun.

I followed the instillation instructions provided on your website. They were very informative and spot on. My only problem was my strength. I could not get the drum off of the rear bearing myself, but then I am a 61 year old female.

Had to open back side vent & use needle nose to secure spring.

The repair went smoothly considering I am a rookie. The repair videos on your site are great. Followed the techs instructions and got thru it fine.

Thanks,

Jim

First I unplugged the dryer. Then I gently pryed the top of the dryer. This was done from the front using a flat screw driver. Do this gently pushing up on the handle of the tool. It will pop up one side at a time. No need to remove the screws and clips on the the rear top of the dryer. Set the top aside. Then from the inside front of the dryer using a phillips screw driver I removed two screws, one on each side. This allowed me to lift the front of the dryer up and away from the unit, off the two clips on the bottom front of the unit. I set the front cover on top of the dryer. There is no need to disconnect any wires. Next removed the rear vented cover on the back of the dryer so I could acess the belt pullies. From here I pushed the upper left pully to the right to ease belt tension and take the belt off that pully. Slide the belt to the rear of the drum. Next I removed the three screws from the center most part of the inside of the dryer drum. My dryer required the use of a square head driver tool. This allowed me to easily bring the dryer drum out the front of the unit. Set it out of your way. Then I vacuumed the dust out of the dryer. Then I lifted out the metal part that resembles a trailer hitch which had been attached to the dryer drum. Next using a nut driver I removed the two screws which hold the white plastic part of the bearing assembly to the rear of the dryer. That is all the taking apart work.
Putting it all back together was not too difficult. First install the new white plastic part of the bearing assmbly inside the dryer along with the metal part on the outside rear. The little metal ball bearing goes on the OUTSIDE between the little metal part and the rear wall of the dryer. Do not leave it out as it provides electrical grounding between the dryer drum and the body of the dryer. Next attach the new bearing part that looks like a trailer hitch to the rear of the dryer drum. This is the three screw part. Then lift the drum back into the dryer. Do not yet set the drum all the way in. The dryer belt must be looped around the drum. I installed a new belt. If the bearing is worn out it is time for a new belt. The smooth side of the belt goes against the dryer drum. Now apply a generous amout of lubricant to the white plastic cradle which was installed on the back of the dryer and to the ball bearing area. Then the dryer drum may be set into place, that is the trailer hitch part into the white plastic cradle. Now the front of the dryer may be reinstalled. Push up on the inside of the dryer drum to line everything back up. Put the two screws back which hold the dryer front on. Be carefull not to drop them inside. Put the dryer belt back into place on its pullies. It goes on the inside of the left and right pullies and on the outside (bottom) of the pully of the dryer motor. Check for and undo any twists. Plug in and test the dryer. All should be well. Reinstall the rear vented cover. Replace the top, connecting the rear first. Make sure to reattach the green grounding wire. Then push the front of the top down onto its clips. You are done! This took me 1 hour and 10 minutes. It sounds like alot but you can do it! Empower yourself!

I cut off the four that didn't line up - I suppose since this was a gasket that fit several makes, I should expect this type of problem.

OK, this is a follow-on repair story.. I *did not* order the lower basket seal when I ordered the upper basket seal... shame!!! BUT, I am now exceptionally quick at removing the front panel - less than 20 seconds!!!

For those who are considering doing this repair, there are more detailed explanations below - my only tip to help do this "quickly" would be to get some automotive brake cleaner to dissolve the old adhesive .. it is AMAZINGLY effective.. The best part is, don't worry about completely removing the old felt when you are tearing it off.. If some is still stuck to the door, it will actually hold some of the brake cleaner in contact with the old adhesive, which accelerates dissolving of the adhesive. Scrape it all off with a plastic scraper, and wipe it down a few times - surface is prepped & ready for the new adhesive + basket seal.. Use spring loaded clamps to hold the seal in place as you install it also.

Ordered part from partselect.com. Part was back ordered; however they were very proactive in communicating status updates! When it arrived it was simply a matter of removing door using a philips screwdriver, installing the new hinge and presto - job complete! Kudos to partselect.com ??