VD331C*429 General Electric Dryer - Instructions

no instructions necessary for this part install

After having a friend who repairs appliances come and diagnose the problem, I was able to find the parts I needed very easily at PartSelect. They came quickly and I removed the front panel, followed the instructions (they were not very detailed) and also had help reading some of the other posts from people on the website. I replaced the parts and the dryer is now quiet and running fine.

I did not have an actual repair. I simply replaced the lint filter that dropped into the receptacle. However, what I want to mention is that the part was available as old as the dryer is and there was a nice photo to scale of the replacement part so that I was sure I was getting the correct piece. A great site to obtain parts from my experience.

Just replaced it with the new one

What to do if you have a load of wet laundry at 23:00, the dryer won’t start, and you have no spare start switch.
Removed rear access panel and discovered the wire from terminal #2 (goes to heater coils) on the start switch had melted and disconnected. The start switch showed signs of overheating but not melted. Removed the switch and found the switch’s actuator button was jammed in the ‘in’ position (dryer won't start). The switch was a friendly one in that it was possible to disassemble it. Most switches today are molded/glued together, but this one could be pried apart. The contacts inside were still in fair condition and, after dressing them, the switch was reassembled. The actuator button had a burr that was filed off and the switch action worked fine. All of the 1/4" male QC contacts on the switch were cleaned with a wire brush. The burned wire was cut back about 6” and a new piece of 14ga wire was spliced in with a wire nut. A new 1/4” QC terminal was crimped to the wire and all wires were re-attached to the switch.
This fix would probably last for a long time to come, but I bought a new switch and installed it and will keep the old switch as a backup.
p.s. The load of laundry was dry by 02:00.

Had to tap three holes in the rear bearing to match the three attachment screws. Screw up with the part.

Removed drum, replaced bearing. Installed new belt. Reinstalled drum. No problem

I watched video supplied from parts select, only took about 30 minutes, hardest part was putting belt back on, couldn't fit hands in easily, but once I did it, dryer is like new, can't hear a thing.

I was unsure of how to disassemble the machine to reach the belt, but a YouTube video gave me confidence. Thanks to Partselect.com, the great customer service, and fast delivery. I had my dryer up and running really fast! The process was really not difficult at all and it gave me a chance to vacuum out years of trapped lint. I am so happy to have saved hundreds of dollars, not having to buy a new dryer.I would urge other folks to tackle these relatively simple repairs, the right parts are a phone call away. Frank

The repair went very well, thanks to this site. Dixie

disassembled chassis of dryer, unbolted top, lifted top to expose drum. bolted top back on. resumed repair next morning. unbolted top. lifted drum (it moved up and down about 1 inch) and got new belt around it. rebolted top down. tipped dryer to its back. unbolted and removed panel at bottom, exposing drive motor and tensioner spring. positioned belt around drive motor spindle and tensioner spring. replaced panel. reconnected dryer to electricity. reconnected gas using new flexible connector.

Based on the symptom (drum not turning), I figured that the belt was shot. I found a video on YouTube that described how to fix it. I also found directions here on this site on how to fix it! Here's what I did: step1: there were two screws holding the top on. took them off and the top swung up, exposing the drum and broken belt. step2: took off the two screws holding the front on. tipped the front forward so I could get the new belt around the drum. step 3: took the back plate off (10 screws). had to remove the exhaust tube first. cleaned out all the lint with the shop vac. there was plenty of lint everywhere. step 4: put the belt onto the motor pulley wrapping around the tension pulley. step5: put everything back together and plugged it in. everything worked fine. it took longer to vacuum all the lint out than it did for the actual repair.

The job is simple once you know how to remove the front panel. The steps are as follows:
1. disconnect the power cord.
2. remove 4 Phillips-head screws under the lip of the front panel that secure it to the top panel (#1 point Phillips-head screw driver)
3. swing the top panel up, it is hinged in the rear.
4. making note of the connection points of the color-coded wires, disconnect the wires to the lamp socket and door switch (I used a felt-tipped pen on the inside of the front panel to mark the connection points, "R" for red, etc.)
5. remove the upper 2 hex-head screws from inside of the front panel (5/16" nut-driver)
6. loosen the lower 2 hex-head screws (5/16" nut-driver) accessible from outside the panel (you only have to loosen them since the bottom mounting tabs are slotted)
7. slightly lift (to clear above mentioned lower tabs) and tilt the front panel toward you. Swing the front panel to the right as though you were opening a door and position so it does not fall.
8. remove 10 hex-head screws from the black lower rear access panel (5/16" nut-driver) and remove the broken drive belt. Note that the narrow black panel securing the power cable can remain in place.
9. at this point take advantage of the situation and vacuum out the years of lint and dust you could not reach before.
10. stand in front of the dryer, lift the dryer drum slightly and slip the new belt (rib side down) around the drum. Position the belt near the rear of the drum along the wear-mark left by the old belt.
11. go to the back and place the belt in the motor's drive-belt pulley, making sure the ribbed side of the belt mates with the ribs in the pulley.
12. position the tension wheel so that the it takes up the slack in the drive belt. Note the flat side of the drive belt will mate with the flat of the tension wheel.
13. spin the dryer drum a few turns by hand to make sure the drive belt lines up properly with the pulley.
14. reassemble the dryer by reversing the above steps, starting at step 8.

It wasn't so bad taking it apart, but getting the drum back on was a problem. So what i did was too turn the dryer over and cut the heads off of three long screws and slid the drum over top of these and it lined up with the bearing housing.After a few tries it finally lined up and then i put the regular screws back in to hold the drum in place, one at a time.

The ordering and receiving of the part were wonderfully easy, but the construction of the lint filter left a lot to be desired. Bits of wire extended past the edge of the frame and drew blood when held, so had to trim the wire screen that extended past the frame. Also, the wire screen was not attached continuously around the frame and had to be clamped and glued. I did appreciate that the filter fit my machine.