DLL3980SAM Hotpoint Dryer - Instructions

Opened up the package and took off existing door handle. The new one snapped right into place. This took all of 10 seconds!

I read all the reviews first, and decided on the best method, which is, disconnect utilities, remove four phillips screws under front of top,swing top open like a box lid, pull the two spade connectors off of the door switch, loosen the two hex head screws under the front of the front panel,remove the 2 hex head screws near the top of the front panel, and free the wire harness along right side of machine, this will allow you to swing the entire front panel to the right side,now remove the three torx screws inside the drum,this will allow the drum to be removed, exposing the bearing assembly at the rear of the drum. My machine is 20 years old, and when ordering parts, my machine #s were not listed, but they looked identical, but my bearing's shaft had a circlip retaining it in the bearing receiver, which had to be removed,( the newer shaft just inserts into the receiver, which is screwed into the back of the machine). Make sure to install the ground strap like the one you removed.My best advice for someone thinking about this repair, take it apart first and survey the parts needed before making the decision to repair your old machine, my drum's old bearing allowed the machine to function, and the shaft wore through the bottom of the receiver, allowing the defector, a round disc of thin sheet metal at the back of the drum (a $128 part), to make contact with it's housing, severely damaging both parts, making further investment in this machine unwise,even if I replaced the disc, the cut in the back, would allow really hot gases to escape into the dryer's interior, a scary scenario. I cut my losses and bought a new dryer last week. Anybody want to buy a brand new rear bearing assembly & belt for a GE dryer?. If you only have to replace the bearing, the job is a snap, but prepare to do a lot of dust removal!. Steve

The instructions that came with the bearing were limited and the illustrations were too dark to see. However, after reading the reports of others on this website, the repair was very easy.

Prior to disassembly, remove theaccess panel on the rear of the dryer. Pull the belt drive pulley arm up and the belt will easily slide off of the motor pulley. The belt can be left on the drum.

Then, remove two screws at the inside top of the dryer door. The top of the dryer will then lift up at the front and slide forward to remove. This will allow you access to two bolt head screws on each side of the front panel. Remove these two screws and then lift the panel slightly up and forward. The front panel will then be free and the dryer drum will slide forward and out. Remove the four bolt head screws (behind the electric elements) from the heater element on the inside back of the dryer box.

You can now exchange the bearing on the drum and the bearing insert on the dryer heating element simply by removing the old and reinstalling the new just as the old was removed - four screws for each.

You will need an assistant to re-install the bearing. Someone needs to hold the three pieces behind the drum as you insert the three screws. You'll also need a star wrench set for this.

The drum is easily reinserted - just be careful to get the front of the drum placed into the front bearing surface when reinstalling the front panel. One word of caution, My wife tried to remove the felt bearing on the bottom of the front panel thinking that it was lint.

I found that the inside of my ten year old dryer was unbelievably full of lint. I'm sure that the efficiency improvements by cleaning the air passages will be substantial and I've just saved $400 on the price of a similar dryer ($900 if my wife and I decided to upgrade to the "new" model that we wanted but really didn't need.

All I neede to do was buy the new part and snap it into place on the door. The hardest part was making the door usable while waiting for a new handle. The solution was good old duct tape. I just taped the old broken handle in place until the new one showed up.

Old handle popped out by pulling back and out. Inserted new handle by pushing in and forward. Easy!

Removed 3 torx screws on the control panel. Removed two more regular screws from the dryer opening. This allows removal of the top. Removed some panels from the back to access where belt feeds through the motor. Found the belt snapped in two inside.

Now that I knew what the problem was I found partselect.com on Google. Ordered the part friday morning with ground. The belt arrived SATURDAY MORNING! I didn't even know fedex would deliver ground shipments on Saturday. Less than 24 hours later I had it. AWESOME.

Removed the front panel by removing two hex bolts to allow me to drape the belt over the drum. Not having seen how the belt was originally around the tensioner and the bad diagrams included with the dryer, it took some figuring to get it back on right. But we did it and we're back in business. I will absolutely buy from PartSelect.com again!

I removed several torx srews across the back control panel. Removed two philips screws under top of front dryer door. Pulled up on top surface of dryer case. Removed two more screws on backside of front door panel. Pulled front door panel forward and inserted drum slides into slots that they just popped into with a small button rod to keep them in place. The old drum slides were completely worn down or fell off. It runs like a new one again. It is over 10 years old.
The new door handle just snapped into place.
Original door handle had been broken off for several years.

Unplug appliance !!I remove the 2 screws holding the backsplash asm on. Tip backsplash forward. remove rear cover screws & cover. Remove timer 1 screw. remove knob, pulls off. transfer wires to new timer 1 @ a time , making sure to place wire in correct position, letters on old & new timer indicate location. Reinstall knob. Reinstall timer & backsplash cover & remount backsplash..Plug in dryer & Check operation

Key starting point is to remove top cover by removing two long screws located at the front of the cover
Remove control panel and it's bottom and side supports.
Remove short vent pipe by bending retainer tab.
Support the drum at the top using piece of rope.
Remove main rear cover (leave bottom attached).
Remove electric heating unit and install new bearing carrier from kit.
Reinstall the the heating unit
Remove three screws (inside the drum)to release the inner drum cover and release the bearing carrier.
Install new bearing carrier. Note: the three holes in the bearing carrier are not tapped, I suggest that the screws be installed (threads cut) into the bearing cover before attempting to install the bearing carrier.
Install the new bearing carrier. Note: pilot one of the holes using a small nail etc. then go on to install screws in the other two holes remove the pilot device and install the third screw.
Reassemble in reverse order.

Removed the star bit screws on the top of the control panel then removed the front by opening the door and removing the screws in the upper corners of the door jam. I then removed the top which exposed the drum slides. NOTE: This model requires 4 drum slides and NOT two as specified in the video.

Snapped right into place , less than a minute, if that

looked at video of dryer disassemble, replaced 4 bearing slides, reassembled. Dryer is perfect now , no noise. thank you for your parts.

This repair was a no brainer repair. The factory replacement knob that I bought from this site comes with a new "D"-Ring. Some other aftermarket parts houses sell the knob and the "D"-Ring as seperate parts. The knob from this site already has the "D"-Ring ring installed in the knob. My "D"-ring was broken and I simply removed it with my fingers. All I had to do was properly align the new know knob with the timer shaft and press it into place. If your "D"-ring is not broken and not still inside the old knob, you will need to pull it off the shaft with a pair of pliers before pressing the new knob onto the timer shaft. Dr. "B" The Hot Rod Doc

Still waiting for your parts. over two weeks to get part which was a hinge for something, I don't know what, but not my dryer seal. You said you would refund shipping and wrong part and charge me for a new order. End result was I got charged extra shipping for your mistake. The part still is MIA and it has been 5 weeks since I originally ordered. Will never do business with you again.

Replaced High limit thermostat per video on the website. However, the flange of new thermostat is flat, while chassis it mounts on is round to conform to drum of dryer. So new thermostat was not flush with chassis. Dryer did not shut off early (that problem solved), but instead continued to dry clothes beyond time necessary. Note that old thermostat had one side of flange slightly bent and probably more flush with chassis, and better able to sense when hot temperatures were reached. I dismantled dryer again, slightly bent new flange, re-installed. Seems to work better now .