DEH550A1 Frigidaire Dryer - Instructions

This was for my Daughter's dryer. A helper really makes this quick and easy. First of all-UNPLUG the unit from the wall. I pried the top up with flat screwdriver. Laid the top back against wall. Removed the two wires from the door cut-off switch. Then removed the two screw attaching the front to the cabinet. Removed the small access panel on back of cabinet. Depressed the belt tensioner to release pressure on the leather drive belt. Went back to front, pushed the belt to the rear of cabinet, then lifted the back of drum to pop the bearing up and out of the plastic cup. I then tilted the drum forward and down and removed through front of cabinet. Reached inside the drum with Phillips screwdriver, removing the two screws to realease the bearing and BB bracket from back of drum. I attached the new bearing cup with BB to the back of cabinet, filling the cup with the high temp grease provided in the cup. Before installing the new bearing on the drum, I ran the new screws into and back out of the new bearing to cut the threads, making it easier to attach on the drum. I then put the drum back into the cabinet popping the bearing into the top of the plastic cup. Next I went to the back, put a bit of grease on the shaft that the tensioner bearing rides on. I re-set the belt on the tensioner, making sure the belt was back in the original position around the drum. I then re-attached the front cabinet centering the front of the drum on the felt. This felt supports the front of the drum. I manually gave the drum a few turns to make sure the drum was centered properly, and belt was mounted correctly. I then re-attached the two wires to the door switch. Slid the dryer into position, inserted the plug back into the outlet. Turmed it on, and now the dryer runs like new again. My Daughter is happy again. You will want to have a vac handy because it is unbelievable how much lint and dust are in the cabinet. I also took the filter bracket apart and cleaned it too.

Taking it apart was no problem other than having to remove solidified grease in order to remove bearing. Also I found it easier to remove belt by removing screws holding drum in place first. Putting it back together was more involved. Taping metal strip to back with scotch tape made putting in new bracket a breeze. Tipping dryer on its' back was the only way I could get the screw holes to line up when installing the drum. Removing the vent cover, and installing from the back, made re-installing the belt tensioner much easier.

I followed others instructions on this site to disassemble but felt confident since 2-3 years prior I had replaced the felt top/bottom guides around the drum and the drum belt. The video on this page is also helpful

1) Pop the top with a putty knife
2) Unscrew two screws that hold the front onto the dryer frame
3) Lift front from two clips at bottom of dryer
4) Release tension from belt (unscrew/remove rear access plate)
4) Lift drum up and forward out of dryer
5) Unscrew drum bearing 3x screws from inside of drum
5) Remove the drum bearing holder
6) Pre-thread the rear drum bearing!!! Very important. Thread by screwing a supplied screw slowly through the pre-drilled holes.
7) Attach drum bearing
8) Attach new rear holder/cup & ball bearing (ball bearing goes on outside of plastic cup)
9) Use lots of supplied grease, espeiclly helpful that it acts as a temporary glue holding the ball bearing in place
10) Reverse steps to assemble

I'm glad I bought the entire rear bearing kit as I found the bearing holder had completely worn through and partially melted the metal cup. The ball bearing was missing - gone!

Also found that the power cord had partially melted, so I replaced that from the hardware store. Scary.

We followed the video exactly. The video itself was simple and straight forward. Our model was a bit different than the video's example. The video's example had their spring action for the belt configured differently. When we finally figured out the difference, we were able to finish the job within minutes. The dryer now runs like new. We aren't mechanically inclined. That's why it took us so long. I still would recommend this company to anyone because it saved us time and money. The video really helps!

I had trouble with the little piece on the back side of the dryer not lining up with the bearing housing. I also didn't see how the drum was gonna stay in place but finally realized the front cover lines it up. All in all it was awesome to get the part I needed so quickly and cheap, thanks a lot.

I have a frigidaire dryer about 5 years old.

I first removed the top cover being careful to watch how the wires to the controls are connected. It is best to snap photos with your digital camera so you can remember how to reconnect the wires.

Pulling up on the drum, I lifted it out of the rear sleeve. Once out, you could easily see why it squealed. The metal bearing had groves on it where is made contact with the holder.

The difficult part of this was getting the 3 screws that hold the bearing to the drum off. The phillips screw head was easily marred if you don't have the proper screw driver bit. I think a better screw head would make the job easier.

After removal, the replacement was a snap. When everything was back together, the dryer sounded like new. The job took me about 2 hrs due to the hard part of removing the screws.

Followed the video on partselect web page.

First I have to say that the video on the Parts Select website was invaluable, it truly made the replacement a no brainer. The kit came with everything I need and was a great price.

Unplug the dryer, mine is a stackable so we had to remove the dry from the top of the washer. I then followed the instructions from the video. The only real difference was that my dryer is that is has dual direction tumbling, so there were 2 idler arms instead of one to move in order to un hook the belt. was pretty easy.

I only needed my husband's help a couple of times because 1. To get the dryer off of the washer. And 2. I didn’t have the reach to install the new bearing on the back of the drum.

after cutting the power, I used a putty knife to release the two holding clips ot remove the top,, 2 foward facing screws on either side of the front and two cap covered screws holding the bottom and unhooked the two electricial connections for the control panel and removed the front panel. Since this was a stack unit and in a closet most work had to be done from the front. By reaching inside to remove the belt from the motor,removing the drum was the easy part, to get to the bearing, but unfortunatly I had to remove the dryer from the closet to replace the back bearing clip and ball. After that replacing the bearing bracket and housing it was a breeze. Getting the unit back in the closet was a slight struggle, but it all worked out for the best got a chance to cleas behind the dryer, and the repaire was successful, phew.

put the new part on with ease took 5 min.

Exactly how the video showed! It was super easy and I am a girl...although I am a lil more mechanicly inclined than most girls, it was a piece of cake!

The video was very helpful. Glad I bought the entire kit. Dryer works great and no noise.

The customer had removed the top cover hinges and the rear cover plate to recover the broken belt. I first removed the four screws holding the front panel and tilted it out to allow access for the new belt. The drum dropped about 2-3". Fed the new belt over the drum with the printing'This Side Up' facing me, lifted the drum up as I closed the front cover over the felt on the front rim of the drum. Replace dhtew four screws. Door switch leads were long enough to allow the front cover to tilt forward so did not remove. Next engaged the motor pully and tension pulley, then rotated the drum manually to assure tracking and no twist in the belt. Vacuumed the wall passthrough pipe,the flex vent tubing and the motor compartment of lint. Closed up the back cover and drove the 52 miles back to my shop.

The consensus seemed to be that the loud squealing was most likely the rear drum bearing needing to be replaced. Although the repair went very well (great video!), it did not fix the problem. BEFORE you go the route of replacing the rear bearing, first pop up the top and see if a little piece of plastic that is attached to the top middle of the front panel by a screw is rubbing against the drum (you have to have a load going). I removed this part (I could not find it listed on any parts list) and the squealing stopped. I have no idea what the purpose of this part is, except for maybe keeping the drum from dropping too far down if the load is really unbalanced. This plastic part is on the dryer that has the controls on the front (it has the ability to be stackable) and might not be on the other unit that has the controls on the top back. If anyone has posted this as a possible cause of the squealing, I haven't seen it.

First I like fixing things for myself. So I looked the problem up on the internet. Found the repair tech that I needed. The found your parts site. And BOOM. Looked up mt part on your site. Very easy you had everything I needed. And you got it to me quick. THANKS. When the part hit my mailbox. Everything I needed was there. I pulled the plug. Fliped the lid up. Took off the front. Removed belt off the ideler. Removed drum replaced bearing assy. Put it back together. Closed the lid and pluged the unit in. Worked so well I felt like a pro. My wife was tickled pink. Just like a new one. Thanks guys for making me look good and saving me a lot of money. Will use this site again. I give you 2 thumbs up.