FDES69RHW0 Frigidaire Dryer - Instructions

First of all, the folks at Part Select have been terrific. I balled up my address and they were great in correcting my error and getting the parts promptly to me. They provide directions with the parts. And You Tube, is a wealth of information too. The process is to remove the drum and replace the nylon busihing that supports the drum at the back of the machine. Getting it out was no sweat. Getting the drum back in was a bit more challenging single handed. If I was going to make any suggestion it would be this is a good project for two sets of hands with the second set needed for about ten minutes. The You Tube video I watched said putting the front cover with the drum attached to the back of the unit would be the challenge and they were right. Otherwise, super easy and the results are it's back to "new" condition. Thanks again to Part Select!

I disassembled the dryer using instructions from the following website for White Westinghouse (pictures really helped)
After removing the drum, I first noticed that the grouding ball was sitting on the bottom of the dryer (along with much lint). I then saw that the bracket for bearing support cup and the bearing support cup were both worn well past use. The bracket had been worn down about 1/4" to the SE with matching wear on the bearing support cup. There was a hole in the bottom of the bearing support cup (hence the grouding ball on the floor of dryer).
I installed the new idler pulley assembly and completely vacuumed out the dryer (I didn't know lint could get so stiff!). I installed the new parts from the kit once received (and the new belt bought previously) and the dryer works great. I'm so used to the obnoxious squealing that it seems odd to be so quiet.

The internet is a magnificent thing!

I googled and found parts select, listed model make and found parts diagram, found suspected parts from trouble shooting blog. I read repair stories, people who performed identical repairs, followed their lead, made notes ordered parts and
easily repaired my dryer for a fraction of the cost of replacing dryer.

we simply screwed the new one in place

Followed your website repair guides and the great belt replacement video.

Other parts used were; front lower basket seal, dryer seal, and dryer drum belt.

Had no problems except for keeping the drum belt idler pulley tension spring in place. Used the rear access panel to solve this issue.

John H.
Palm Desert, CA

Watched on-line video, then applied those steps.
1. Pop the front of the deck loose using putty knife to depress clips;
2. Disconnect wires from light and door switch;
(Before I disconnected wires from door switch and light, I made wiring sketches to make sure I reconnected in original manner.)
3. Remove lint filter mount screws and mount from bottom of door opening;
4. Cut drum belt with wire-cutters and removed it;
5. Remove drum support clip from top center of front panel;
6. Remove (1) screw from each side of dryer body that hold front to sidewalls, removed front panel;
7. Remove drum by lifting the rear out of the bearing, then moving it forward through the machine front;
[While I had the dryer disassembled, I thoroughly cleaned it of lint, dirt & metal filings. The metal filings were from the worn ball hitch and drum support bearing cup. I spent as much time cleaning it out as I did working on it.]
8. Stand drum on gallon paint bucket while removing ball hitch (Use a #2 drywall phillips apex to obtain sufficient seating & torque to remove and reinstall ball hitch screws at rear of drum.);
9. Have a second person hold the new ball hitch in position while starting screws, if necessary;
10. Use nut driver w/5/16" socket to remove bearing retainer & ground ball clip;
11. Install new bearing into retainer clip, insert attachment screws through the holes in both, stick grounding ball in depression on back of bearing as screws are fed through back panel;
12. Hold ground ball clip in place to start one screw, then the other & tighten with nut driver;
13. Start drum belt on motor shaft and position against tensioner pulley;
14. Feed drum through front of machine and loop belt over rear of drum;
15. Slide belt forward on drum as drum moves to rear to keep it aligned with position of tension pulley;
16. Lift rear of drum to place ball hitch on top of bearing, then press down to seat it into bearing;
17. Turn drum to ensure belt alignment, then re-accomplish steps 6 thru 1.

The disassembly was very easy and it appeared that this would be a very quick repair. But the removal of the old felt was difficult and once it was removed it took a lot of effort to remove the bits still stuck on. The tool of choice to remove the stuck on felt was a small torch. After that use a coarse sand paper to remove the remnants. Glue on the new felt and reinstall the front panel.

This is a stacked wash/dryer.
- unpluged washer/ dryer
- removed front panels under dryer drum area
- disconedted the wiring connection from washer to dryer
- removed front door panel
- disconnected and removed belt
- removed screws holding in drum
- removed drum
- replaced felt on the door (came with drum replacement kit)
- aligned and attached new drum
- replaced belt on drum
- aligned and installed door
- reconnected wiring connecting washer and dryer
- installed fron panels under dry door
- pluged in washer/dryer
Works like new

much as described earler,
1. Removed 2 screws on back at the top and 2 on the chrome vent to access the belt and pulley.
2. Disconnected spring from pulley assembly and removed belt from pulley and motor.
3. Removed top of dryer.
4. Removed control panel.
5. Removed screws from inside dryer tumbler (all of them)
6. Removed bottom kick plate.
7. Removed 2 screws from inside panel (near tumbler) and 2 screws from bottom of front panel. Removed front panel.
8. Removed tumbler housing.
9. Removed heating element cover.
10. Removed heating element pan. (wires first)
11. Removed "bearing" by lifing it up (snaps in)
12. Cleaned and regreased "bearing"
Assembled in reverse order.

When it comes to repairs the only thing that I can fix are sandwiches. To say that I am a handy man is usually followed by snickers from my wife and friends... However, I was able to completley take apart my dryer, replace the heating pan and coils, put it back together and it works all by myself (my wife was standing behind me with a fire estinguisher when I plugged it in for the 1st time). I took the advice of some of the post I saw on this sight and took some before shots with my camera phone and marked the wires with tape so I knew where to return them and was able to get it all done. I was suprised at how easy it was to do and how simple a dryer really is on the inside. Ordering the part and doing it myself saved me a couple of hundred dollars easy.... this was the way to go!

Remove top lid by pushing tab on either side with a putty knife. Disconnect the 2 wire carriages on right. Remove one
phillips head screw on each side that holds front panel to dryer body. Remove front panel by using flat head screwdriver to pry panel from body. Remove thermostat located on bottom right attached to front of motor on a plastic body by removing two phillips head screws. Disconnect wires and place on new part.

Had to loosen drum and move it forward to get at switch. Didn’t have to remove belt.

Called a repair co. Said it would be about a week before he came to the rural area my mom lives and he probably wouldn't have the part. He would order it after he determined the problem. So I went to your web site and ordered the item it said was 80% and two other parts just in case. He came and used the Heating Element Assembly and said it was a good thing we had it. He would have had to order it and come back probably a week later. THANK YOU!! WE needed the dryer repaired sooner and saved another service call. I am returning the other parts not used and you make it so easy to do. I plan on using your site again.

Our heating element went out on our Frigidaire Affinity dryer. My husband is good at repairing things so we decided to order the part and do the repairs rather than hire a service technician. Before looking at the dryer we thought the back could be unscrewed and taken off to give access to the element but it did not. He had to take the dryer drum out to access the element. It was easy enough for him to do though and since we had everything opened up I was able to use the shop vac to get all lint cleaned out. I'm glad he did have to take the drum out after I realized the gasket on the exhaust pipe wasn't fitted on properly. There was some lint where there should not have been. Now that everything is clean and we have the new heating element installed we are good to go! The whole process of taking apart, installation and putting back together took about an hour and 15 minutes so not bad and we only had to pay for the part and shipping! Thanks PartSelect!

First, I read the other posts and got a good idea as to how to do it. I needed to replace the upper felt and guides but decided to go ahead and replace the lower felt and the bearing holder as well. If I had been thinking I would have replaced the belt at the same time but, oh well.

Disconnect the electric plug from the wall.
Pop the top using a medium sized flat head screwdriver.
Disconnect the wiring harness at right front of the unit.
Remove the two screws near the top of the front panel and squeez the retaining clips. You may need a pair of pliers for this but be gentle.
Pull straight up on the front panel to remove it.
To get to the bearing holder, remove the drum by first removing the access panel located at the rear of the dryer and removing the belt from the springloaded plastic pulley. With no tension on the belt simply pull up on the drum while also pulling slightly forward. The drum will pop right out but you will have to apply some pressure. There is no need to remove the three screws at the back of the drum on the inside.
Once the drum is out, remove the two screws holding the bearing holder and remove the assembly being careful not to lose the single ball bearing at the rear of the assembly. Pay attention as to how the assembly goes together.
Scrape off the old felt and glue. Like everyone else, I used a chisle and some GOOP. The old felt came right off with little effort and the GOOP cleaned off the old glue with not too much effort.
Apply the glue that comes with the felt glides according to the instructions on the tube. There's plenty to do both upper and lower felt in that tube. I used some spring clamps to firmly set the upper felt. The glue sets in just a few minutes. The lower felt has a bevelled edge that goes toward the door and fits into a groove on the panel. Once the glue is set you you are ready to put it back together. Like everyone else, I took the time to vacuum out the interior of the dryer and collect the coins and buttons that had accumulated. I found it very easy to reinstall the bearing holder assembly by myself by working from the side of the dryer. I put a dab of grease on the single ball bearing to hold it in place while I reinstalled the assembly. Put some grease in the bearing holder and reinstall the drum, then the front panel and belt. Put the belt back on the tensioner and take care of the couple of lose end and you're done.

This is a "no big deal" repair that looks worse than it is. It took me about 2.5 hours to complete and I was taking my time and just enjoying the fact that I was doing it myself.