8517A Frigidaire Dryer - Instructions

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.

Have done this before - dissembled, cleaned everything, re-assembled with new parts - rear bearing, idler, and belt. Hardest part is getting the spring back on the idler pulley.
You take the top lid off, remove the front panel and then the drum. remove the access panel on the back to release the spring tension on the idler pulley, then remove the drum. Vacuum clean everything, then reassemble with new stem and bearing, new belt, and idler pulley. Test spin drum by hand - if belt comes off it's likely twisted. Put belt back on and try again. Try operating with air mode to spin drum. If belt stays on, complete re-assembling and make sure you have no screws left over!

Checked PartSelect online for people with a. similar problem. Found most common problem was the coils.
I opened the top, removed the two screws holding the front panel, unclipped the wiring harness from the machine to the door and removed/cut the plastic wire tie and front came off easily. I put the front piece to the side after changing the light bulb. I cleaned out a large amount of lint and found the coils on the left hand side without trouble. Carefully disconnected the wiring clips, unscrewed the holding screw and removed the old coils. Installed the new colis, 1 has three prongs and the other has 2 so you ca'nt mix them up. Replaced the hold screw, re-connected the witing harness, installed a new wire tie, and re-stalled the two holding screws. Closed the cover and turned it on.
At first it did not heat up which was dissappointing; but then I left it alone and 15 minutes later it worked like new! And heated up just fine ever since.

Total cost about $35.00 with shipping. I took a chance that I would not need the sensor or the ignitor based on the comments of others and I just bought the coils. If I had to do it over I would have bought all three and saved on the shipping.

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!

Popped the top of the dryer off. Removed 3 screws from lower front panel. Removed front panel slide belt over drum, remove 2 bolts from rear panel and installed belt over motor and around idler tensioner. Reinstalled front panel and top of dryer . Also greased idler pulley to shaft , beings tensioner was okay. Plugged in and tested dryer, it was okay.
We went to PartSelect. com and order the belt and it was fast shipping. We couldn't find the belt anywhere else. Thanks for PartSelect.

As others have described in more detail... I lifted the top, removed the 2 screws holding the front panel (one on each side, inside the control panel on either side - not the easiest to get at, but not too bad), popped the clips holding the front panel in place and removed it. With the front panel off, the location of the coils is obvious (lower left side). The only challenging aspect of this repair is that the 2 screws holding the coils in place are really torqued in so it was crucial to use the exactly correct size screwdriver and not let the screwdriver slip while unscrewing those screws. Actually swapping out the coils took seconds, of course they have to go in exactly the same way as the old ones. I did take a few minutes extra to vacuum out years of lint from the inside of the dryer. Overall, much easier and cheaper than I was expecting and now I know where everything is inside the cabinet.

1. unpluged the dryer and turned off the gas.
2. pulled dryer out so i'd have ample room to work on it.
3. used large flat blade screwdriver in the front between the top lid and dryer face to gently pop-up the lid.
4. removed 4 screws from inside, that hold the face to the main box leaving the wires all intact.
Found the coils on the lower left, held in place by two screws and plate.
5. took a good look at thier orientation before unpluging old and installing new, I recommend one at a time.
6. Vacuumm any exceess lint and check foam seal between lint trap and exhuast duc, the glue came undone on mine causing extra lint dust that is potentially flamable.
6. screw dryer front back on to main box, make sure to check wiring harness and that all electrical blade connectors are still pluged in to their componants.
7. At this point plug in, turn on gas and do a test run.
8.if everything checks out good then lower top make sure flexable exhuast hose is still connected on hte back of the dryer.
9. Tell your wife or girlfriend or husband or boy friend they can now finish your laundry :)

Removed 2 screws and dropped new screen holder in with lint screen in it and replaced screws. Really easy

take out of box remove old screen drop in new screen

removed two screws - replaced lint screen replacement, TIME TO REPLACE UNIT - ONE MINUTE. What made this project a snap was the pictures and graphs( parts replace) uses to ensure you are ordering the exact screen .

Opened the dryer door unsrewed the two phillips holding the filter framework in place did a two second swap-out dropped the new unit into place the new unit and refastened it with the 2 screws that held the old one in place . And was drying a load of clothes within two minutes . . Thank you jg

Popped in the new door catch! Tightened the hinge screws( which work loose and allow the door to droop. The reason the catch broke!) Also put red Loctite on the screws in an attempt to keep them from backing out again! Working great so far!!!

remove 2 screws,pull frame out. put new in. tighten 2 screws. put lint screen in

This was the easiest and most inexpensive repair I ever had on a dryer. I did a search on the internet, found "PartSelect.com" searched their web site, found the part I needed (at a very reasonably low price) ordered it, received it within 2 days, opened the box, removed 2 screws from the old part, put the new part in, replaced the 2 screws, inserted the filter screen... and my wife was happy. Thank You PartSelect.com for perfect selection, ordering and service.

This was easer than, well brushing my teeth. And it took less time than that too. Really, really easy, just like I read.