64198439 General Electric Dryer - Instructions

first I took the dryer apart 1st thing i did was unplug the power supply (safety first) then I removed the top of the unit then removed the front cleaned all the lint from the inside of the cabinet I found the proper belt size on part select.com the next day I had my dryer belt delivered (which cost 1/3 the price of the local repair shop price)
then I placed the belt over the dryer drum and made sure it was in the general location it should be I then replaced the front cover and the top. then I removed the rear cover which was held on by six 5/16 sheet metal screws which gave me access to the drive pulley and belt tensioner the belt goes on by going under the tensioner then around the drive pulley
Then i rotated the drum by hand to make sure everything had clearance I then buttend everything up plugged it and started it up it workd fine and I figure Ill get another 8 years out of it
Thank you partselect.com

The end repair was very simple and took minimal effort. The time and difficulty was all in the testing. I disassembled the dryer and removed the drum and then hard wired each thermo-fuse to determine where the fault was. After test all of those I was stumped. When I opened the door the light would not come on so I assumed it was a power fault closer to the source. However after all of my testing I couldn't find anything wrong. I then removed the light bulb and realized it was burned out which led me to the door switch being the fault. I removed the switch and soldered the three wire together and the dryer started right up! All I had to do was order a new $15 part, unsolder the wires and plug them in. Would have been so much simpler if that light bulb hadn't of been burned out causing me to over think my diagnosis. This was my first major appliance repair and I did it with only the help of the parts diagram provided on the website.

I confirmed the dryer wasn't making any heat by running it for a few minutes, then opening the door. The air was cool, so I knew it wasn't making heat. I searched on Google and discovered that it could be the thermostat control or heating element. I began by unplugging the dryer from the 220 plug and moving it into the garage. I then unscrewed the top four Torx screws that hold the control panel in place. I immediately started to take lots of pictures of the wiring with my digital camera because I have no idea how to read a wiring diagram and knew I would never be able to remember which wire plugged into the appropriate control. Trust me, this is the smartest thing I've ever done. I unplugged all connections and draped the wires out of the way. Then removed the control panel completely and put it on my workbench. Then I unscrewed the top panel which exposes the drum. I was really surprised to learn how simple a dryer really is. I then unscrewed the front panel with the door. There are 3 or 4 wires that you will need to disconnect on the left side of the door. You can then remove the front door panel and set it up against a wall or whatever. At this point the front of the drum is NOT supported so it will rest on the small bottom panel in the front. Then you have to release the tension of the belt around the drum, which is easy enough to do. Just reach through the front, under the drum and pull the tension toward the right side of the dryer. This will release the tension and you should be able to slide the belt off of the roller. You may also have to unscrew the sides of the dryer panels in the front so that you can pull the drum out. It's fairly lightweight, just big and awkward. Once the drum was out, I could clearly see that both heating coils were burnt in two. There are some wires you'll need to disconnect on the element housing then there are 4 screws that hold the housing to the back of the dryer. Unscrew these and pull the element out. From there, I just followed the directions that came with the heating coil parts and reinstalled new coils. Once the coils are in place, just work backward putting things back together. Now, when you take the dryer apart, it's a GREAT idea use compressed air or a vacuum to blow or suck out all of the lint inside. I also blew out the electric motor and got everything all nice and clean inside. I also vented my dryer directly into my garage. It's an electric dryer so no dangerous fumes. Plus side to this is that I'll have heat in my garage during the winter months. Also, instead of the dryer venting 50+ feet out the side of the house, it now vents 3 feet to the garage. The dryer will now dry a full load of clothes on MEDIUM heat in 50 minutes. It used to take 80 minutes on high heat. This is a difficult fix, but if you take your time and lots of pictures, you can do it and save yourself a ton of money.

pulled out door striker anddoor latch out with pliers and just pushed in new parts. works like new in under a min.

Removed 4 screws from top of control panel , remove 2 from back to lossen top of dryer. Removed rear lower access cover,6 screws on back of dryer exposing pulley and tensioner, remove broken belt and vaccuumed out a ton of lint , removed pulley and tensioner and replaced. From the front remove 4 screws and take off front of dryer, disconnecting several wires, again vaccumed out lint, lifter drum evough to replace belt. Reassembled

Doing some simple troubleshooting with the volt-ohm meter I determined that the door switch was failed.

The replacement door switch restored the motor circuit keeping my dryer in action.

If you're dis-assembling the dryer panels to remove the drum to acess the bearing located at the rear of the drum,don't hesitate to buy a idler pulley kit and a belt.It's easier to change them now,while it's apart. besides,their all pretty much in the same state of wear! In lew of prying my son away from the computer,an extra set of hands is a help, I used a scrap piece of 4x4 with a 1 inch whole bored in one side to place the bearing end into to steady it to get the screws started. otherwise you need to have 6ft.arms! re-assembly wasn't bad, a magnetic tipped #3 screw driver eliminates the frustration of dropping panel screws down inside the partially assembled body.

removed 2 screws inside front door, then remove two screws holding front on unit. took belt off and removed dryer drum. remove wire(label them), remove heater element, removed heater coils. pull new heater coils to correct length and install in heater elements. reinstall parts that were removed. there was instructions with new heater element coils.

First, I loosened the the top control panel and then loosened the top flat roof panel which allowed me access to the inside of the dryer. Then, I removed the front panel which allowed access to the drum. I was amazed at the amount of lint that was inside the dryer itself. Most of my time was spent in the disassembly and cleaning of the internal cavity around the drum. I reached below the drum and removed the belt from the pulley wheels and then unscrewed the drum (from the inside) from the back of the dryer and bearing kit. I removed the diffuser and cleaned it thoroughly. Then I replaced the entire drum bearing kit - the old one was almost completely dissentigrated. I probably should have applied some kind of non-flammable lubricant to the new bearing kit - the instructions did not include this step but after about 3 loads a slight squeak (different). I put everything back together - applying the new drum kit will require 2 sets of hands (my 9-year old daughter did great at this). I re-assembled the dryer and it works great, again except for the slight squeak that's still there. I may disassemble it again and apply some lubricant but I do not know what kind to get; I need to check that out.

I did a search on your site to find out why dryer wouldn't start. It said 25 % of the time it could be the timer knob. Checked my old one sure enough it was cracked.Took old timer knob off and pushed New one back on less than a minute. Thank you for your site. It saved me from costly repairs.

Everything is cleaned as it is removed.

Remove the two screws holding the top down.
Disconnect two wires from door switch.
Remove the two hex screws holding the front on.
Remove the 4 screws holding the access panel on the back and disengage idler pulley to loosen the belt.
Remove the drum.
Label the wires then remove the heating element.
Check orientation of ground strap before disassembling rear bearing.
Remove four screws holding rear bearing to back of heating element.
Install rear bearing and ground strap on to heating element.
Reinstall heating element.
Reconnect wires.

Most Important : Get help putting parts back on drum! I didn't and that's why it took over 2 hours.
I will describe how I did it.

Unscrew bearing from inside of drum.
Wrap screwdriver with tape to a little larger than the screw hole.
Use small screwdriver to line up the drum, shim and deflector.
Don't forget the brass shim. It wasn't on the parts diagram.
Start two screws don't tighten them yet.
Remove Screwdriver and start third screw. Tighten all three down.
Put belt on drum.
Install drum and belt.
Reverse disassembly.
When putting the front on make sure drum rests in the felt.

I rated this a bit difficult because I did it myself. With help this is a fairly easy repair.

I inherited a dryer with a weekend lake house purchased 4 years ago. The previous owners had a nice washer/dryer set that was old but worked well. However the dryer looked quite sad because the handle had broken and they had duct- taped the handle back onto the dryer door. What a designer look that was! With so many other things that needed attention around the place, I ignored the dryer handle because the washer and dryer were tucked away in a small closet and only visible when in use. When we decided to do a small remodel last month, the washer and dryer were given a new space that was part of a backdoor entry way. Now the dryer handle was an eyesore that greeted us every time we entered the house. That's when I decided to see if it was possible to replace a part on such an old appliance. That turned out to be a breeze with PartSelect! I went on their web site, entered the model number of the dryer and bingo! A dryer handle was in stock, I ordered it, and it was on my doorstep within 3 days! I pulled off the old dryer handle, used some goop to remove the sticky residue from the duct tape and snapped the new handle in place. Instantly the dryer went from sadsack to smiley face! Thank you, PartSelect!

Dryer would not heat. I found some troubleshooting tips on the internet and dug in. I had to remove the control panel, top, and then the drum. I was going to test the thermostats, but noticed right away that the heater coils were both broken. I thought I needed the whole heater assembly, but found out through parts-select that you could get just the coils and "re-string" it. I also noticed the drum slides were wore out. I ordered a new coil kit and slides and they arrived in two days. Took the heater assembly out of the dryer to re-string it. Was fairly straight forward if you just use common sense. You have to stretch the new coils pretty far and my arms were not long enough so my daughter helped me with that part. Re-strung it, re-assembled the dryer (after giving it a good thorough cleaning of the lint), put the new slides on, and fired it up. Works like a champ again. The instructions included were OK. But if you just looked at what you were doing you'd be fine. I would suggest to anyone that does not know or understand dryer wiring, to take a digital picture of the connections BEFORE you take them apart, as you do have to unhook three thermostats with multiple wires each, to get the heater assembly out.

I removed the door and "flipped" it to open right to left. Rather than remove the existing door latch I added the purchased latch on the right side to enable opening the door right to left or left to right.

I followed the directions that were listed on this site by other Do It Yourself individuals...by the way I'm a lady and more mechanically inclined than my husband, but he was a great help in lifting the drum up and out. (I unplugged the dryer before starting repairs)
1. I removed the two screws located at the top of the dryer inside the door.
2. Top of dryer cabinet lifted up after screws were removed.
3. Located and removed front panel retension screws and removed front panel and set aside
4. slipped belt off motor by reducing tension on idler pully
5. Removed screws inside drum that secured drum to bearing assembly
6. Husband and I lifted drum up and out of cabinet (this went very smoothly and took less than 15 minutes time.
7. Followed supplied bearing drum instructions and removed old bearing and installed new assembly.
8. Thoroughly cleaned out internal cabinet, blower, and motor areas
9. Reset the idler pully into proper position.
10. Tipped dryer on 'back' to reseat the drum With A NEW DRYER BELT (taped temporarily around the drum) into the bearing shaft (I may not be using the proper terms)
11. tipped dryer upright and while Hubby balanced the drum, the front panel was resecured to the rest of the cabinet.
12. Removed temporarily applied tape that held the drum belt in the general position, then using the rear access panel, I slipped the belt over the motor into the proper posisiton.
13. Top cabinet was reapplied and screwed into
place.
14 Plugged in and tested the dryer...NO SQUEAKS and it works beautifully and quietly!!

The job is not terribly difficult, but I am only 5 feet tall and the drum is bulky to work with and balance. Reaching into the cabinet to slip the belt onto the motor stretched my arm to the limit.
I found the cabinet reassembly and realignment of the screw holes quite annoying. But the total job proved satisfying upon completion.