DDC4500SQMWH General Electric Dryer - Instructions

I followed the directions from the other d-i-y'ers at partselect.com.... removing 2 screws inside the door opening that allow you to remove the cabinet top. Next, removed the 2 screw on the inside cabinet frame that allow the front of the cabinet and door to lean out. I disconnected the wires, labelling them with tape. You just lift up the front and set it to the side. I then removed the back access panel, reached inside and pulled down on the tension bar to allow the drum-belt to come off the pulley. (It helps to remember or draw the path of the belt...I got a little confused when it was time to put it back on). Then me and my wife pulled the drum out towards the front - you have to spread the cabinet open a little - but you can do this without even having to remove the control panel (but if you remove the panel, it is a little easier). The rest is mostly just unscrewing screws.

The problem was definitely the rear drum bearing, which was rusted and the carbon/plastic sleeve was crumbled. I bought it and the front "drum bearing", but I didn't really need the front piece, I really just needed the plastic "slides", which I thought were attached to it, or would at least come with it, but didn't. I'll get those later.

The repair was definitely worth it. If you have a 10 yr old dryer, just clearing the lint and crud from the the blower ducts will make it more efficient - cutting our dying times by 30-50%. The duct beneath the lint filter was probably 60% blocked. No more squeaking. I only wish the little plastic slides weren't $7 a pop, and would come in a package of 2 or 4.

Removed 2 screws to remove top. Removed 2 other screws to remove front. Removed old parts. Installed new parts. Reassemble all afetr cleaning duct work out.

- Removed two screws at top left and right of door.
- Removed top dryer panel
- Removed two screws holding front panel in place
- Noticed drum slide was missing because front drum bearing was worn away and slide had fallen off.
- Went ahead and removed drum to replace rear drum bearing (probably not needed; should have disassembled it first to discover this). Would have been better to pull drum first (loosen idler pulley and release belt, pull drum straight out) instead of attempting to unscrew bearing. Be sure to note how the idler pulley is set.
- vacuumed tons of lint up
- Replaced bearing (needed a second person for this; drum too big to reach around. be sure to pre-thread the bearing)
- Ordered front drum bearing, waiting to repair it now, should be good after this.

Had a repair shop quote 230 for repair . Spent 66 on parts and did the repair in 45 minutes using the instructions from folks on this site . Very happy with results thanks

inside dryer door housing i removed two screws these hold top of dreyer on.pulled dryer top up and it unhooks from control panel.theres two more screws inside the front door asembly located at the top on booth sides.remove them and the front is free except for dryer door switch.lean it back far enough to unpug wires.lay door asembly on the floor.drum slide pops out with screw driver at the top the bottom just slides out.drum bearigs are plastic strips on the drum slide. pull the old ones out if their is any left.replace with new.you need four drum bearings.then put back together the ame as you took it apart. good luck terry

i read in the forums about what was wrong and ordered the parts--they really need to tell you there are four bearing slides to be replaced-- you have to order singly. other than that - my grandson could repair it and the silence really is golden
Moose

My husband and I had taken apart this dryer before, so the second time was a lot easier. The first time we took it apart it took 2-3 frustrating hours. So, if it's your first time, plan for longer.

1. Before we started anything we unplugged the dryer and disconnected the vent.
2. We removed the top and loosened the contol panel on top.
3. We removed the front. Be careful of the wires. You can label them, or just remember where they go.
4. Lay the dryer down on it's back. This make's it easier to remove the drum.
5. Remove the drum, but gently slide the belt off first. Don't stretch the belt removing it.
6. Once the drum was removed, we removed the screws from the inside of the drum.
7. We didn't need to use the entire kit, just the part that sits in the center and spins...kinda looks like a top. (Yes, that's my technical description)
8. We screwed in the new "top" and put the dryer back together.

Really the only part I had to help with (this time)was putting the drum back in to make sure it sat where it was supposed to. It made a big difference that it was laying on it's back...we didn't do that the first time, which was part of our frustration.

Putting the belt back on is a little tricky too. We had instructions still for our dryer to refer to put it back on. If you don't have yours, just google or bing for the instructions. There's website's out there with great pictures.

Dryer started making screeching noises while running, got progressively worse. Without taking it apart first, I ordered a front drum bearing and slides because this site said it fixed the problem the majority of the time. The site said replace the slides in pairs, but there are actually four. I picked up 2 more at a local appliance store, at roughly twice the price. Turned out I didn't need th replace the plastic piece called drum bearing, just the 4 slides that clip onto it. It is really easy to get the top and front off with just a phillips screwdriver. I did not check the rear center main bearing, as it requred removing the drum. The squealing lessended but it still was bad. Took it back apart and pulled the drum, and fount the rear main bearing bad. I found one at the same local store for only 2 bucks more than on this site. This was a bit more of a hassle, you really need two people to get it mounted to the drum. Tip-pre thread the holes with the self tapping screws, it makes it easier to get it together. There was a bit of lint build up under the drum heating element cover, so it was good to clean that out. Also blew all the dirt out of the motor with compressed air and shop vac. There was a access panel on back to get to the motor and belt tensioner. Got the dryer all buttoned up and now it runs nice and quiet.

Pulled the drum an found spade clip burned on wire. Hi limit Thermostat crumbled/ broke while pulling spade clip so I trimmed back the wire, cleaned the spade clip and soldered the wire back on. Isolated the other thermostats in the system and tested for resistance. Reassembled dryer.

We had a squeeking sound coming from our dryer which I felt was probably the belt. When I removed the front of the unit and saw the condition of the slodes and drum bearin, I ordered a set from PartsSelect.com. It only took about 20 minutes to repale the parts, and 5 of that was figuring out the bearing just "snaps on" (I was afraid to just yank it for fear of breaking something else). Probably saved like $75 or so between the parts markup and a service call by doing it myself.

inserted on an angle and snapped in place.
The best part of this story was I ordered the part on a Saturday and got it on Monday evening.
The repair took less than 20 seconds. I am extremely impressed with the fast fast fast shipping time.

open door, remove two screws from below the top. gently remove the top from the side and bottom panels. remove two 5/16 screws from front panel hold panel so it does not fall. the bearing assembly will come out by moving the bearing towards the dryer, and pulling upwards. replace with new bearing, use 4 front dryer slides and reinstall the top and front panel. can be done in less than 15 minutes

Pull the old lint trap out. Slid new one in

The parts came very quickly, and they were the exacxt parts which made installation very easy.
Just open the dryer door, there are 2 screws to remove right above the dryer door that holds the top plate of the dryer. slide the top of the dryer top off by pulling up and ouyt towards you. There are 2 screws that hold the front of the dryer, remove the 2 screws and the front of the dryer will come out towards you. The drum will fall a litttle towards you.
I let the dryer front lean on my leg and snapped out the bearing and drum slides replaced it with the new one. Reverse the order of taking it apart
Now my dryer sounds as quiet as the first day I bought it.

After removing pieces that were stuck in the door, I simply popped the new handle in place. It took less than a minute. What was the easiest was ordering and receiving the new parts- I ordered and 2 days later I received the new parts. I didn't expect to get the new parts for at least a week.