DLL3680SBLAD Hotpoint Dryer - Instructions

* Please note, if only the starter switch peg is broken you do not need to replace the starter knob if it isn't damaged. The peg is not attached to the starter knob. You must replace the entire starter unit because the peg isn't detachable.

Remove the starter knob by gently pulling it towards you.

Remove the two screws on the bottom left and right sides of the front panel using an Allen Wrench.

On the rear panel of the dryer remove bolts using pliers or an adjustable wrench. Remove the back panel and place it to the side.

** Important ** Before disconnecting the wires from the starter unit take a digital photo (I used my cell phone) of the starter so you will know how and where to reconnect the blue and brown wires to the unit. Now, remove the wires.

Unscrew the bolt attaching the starter unit to the dryer. There's a hook on the back of the starter unit attaching it to the dryer. Push the starter unit downward to remove it from the dryer.

Take the new starter unit out of the box and connect it to the blue and brown wires. Refer to your photo for proper connection.

Insert the starter unit into the dryer and push it upward so the hook on the back of the starter locks onto the dryer. Screw the bolt back onto the starter unit to secure it to the dryer.

Replace the rear dryer panel and tighten all bolts.

Replace and tighten the two screws on the front panel of the dryer.

Replace the starter knob by lining it up with the peg shape and gently pushing it onto the peg.

You're done!!!

Son found out where the bulb was by using YouTube. I googled lamp for model number and your website came up. I ordered the part, it arrived promptly, and my son installed it.

Easy repair, but did take a little longer than anticipated due to the extra cleaning that I did while the dryer was disassembled (highly recommend). First, unplug the power cord. Then, open the door, and locate the two screws in the upper corners, and remove. This will allow you to remove the top cover. Be careful and work the top panel up and down to loosen the control panel tabs, and set aside top panel. Next, remove the two screws located near the top on the inside of the front panel. Removing these two screws will allow you to lean the front panel forward, lift up, releasing the tabs holding the bottom of the panel. Be careful when you pull the front panel from the dryer as you will need to lift the drum off of the front bearing which is attached to the front panel as it is removed. You will also need to use your needle nose pliers to remove the wires prior to setting the panel aside. The wires are straight forward and power the light at the top, and the safety door switch. I always take a picture with my phone's camera just to validate when I re-connect them. Reaching underneath the drum you will be able to feel the belt and belt tensioner pulley. With both hands under the drum, use one hand to push the pulley to the right, releasing tension on the belt. Move the belt out of the groove, and let it hang freely. Now from the top of the drum, bump the drum to loosen, and remove from the cabinet. It is a tight fit, so you will need to spread the sides slightly in order to remove the drum. Next, remove the 3 screws holding the heat diffuser in the rear of the drum in order to remove the rear drum bearing. (Tip: It would be nice to have a helper hold the new drum bearing in place when starting the screws, and it also helped to tighten each a little at a time to keep the new bearing flat as it was drawn up next to the drum.) Tighten the screws holding the new bearing in place. Next, remove the 4 small screws holding the heating element housing to the rear of the dryer. (Tip: Rather than disconnecting the wires, I used a bent coat hanger to hold the housing while I removed the bearing retainer and clip from the rear of the housing.) Remove the 4 screws holding the bearing retainer and clip, and replace with you new part, paying close attention to the clip's position, and tighten. Replace the housing to the rear of the dryer. (Tip: Now is a good time to familiarize yourself with the belt and tensioner pulley for reassembly. Also, it may be a good idea to look at your belt, and replace as needed.) Next, reinstall the drum and insert the new bearing shaft into the new bearing housing. Using both hands again, reach underneath the drum, locate the tensioner pulley, and belt. Push the tensioner pulley over to the right, and move belt over the pulley on the motor, and behind the tensioner pulley. The belt should be tight. If not, inspect to ensure that the belt is over the motor pulley, and the tensioner pulley. Next step is to reinstall the front panel. I also spent the extra money and replaced the front drum bearing, and slides. Please note that the green slides are on top, and the white slides are on the bottom. Lift the panel over the tabs, lean forward while lifting the tub, resting the tub on the front bearing. Reinstall two screws in the upper corners, and tighten the front panel back in place. Now is a good time to turn the drum to ensure that the belt is in place, and that the drum turns correctly. (Tip: If your dryer is equipped with a light, you may also want to replace the bulb in the front panel (if needed) prior to attaching the front panel.) Reinstall the top panel by aligning the tabs in the control panel with the top panel, being careful not to bend the tabs. Next, open the front door and use the 2 long screws to reattach the top panel to the front panel. Plug in power cord.

First read very helpful reviews on PartSelect from:
Summit Health and Fitness From Flagstaff AZ
and Michael From Warwick RI

The parts diagram on PartSelect is good as an overview. Having two people makes a big difference detaching and re-attaching the drum.

Knowing how to get the lid and front door off each specific model is important. That's where the stories mentioned above were essential. After that, many generic dryer repair stories will work.

I recommend changing all wearable parts while you are in there. I wish I had ordered some new felt, but I did rear bearing, slides, and belt even though the belt probably was good to go.

PartSelect shipped from Windsor Locks, CT. The parts were nearly exact replacements. Some fasteners were different, so I used the old ones and had the tap the sheet metal on the retainer with the fasteners before installing it.

Really glad to have stumbled on this site via Google.

Open door,remove two screws at top,push top up unroll it is straight up,remove two wires for the door switch,remove the two sheet metal screws ,pull up on the complete front asembly then out,hold drum when doing this.then remove trim ring most likely you will need to break it because it's very hard to remove.replace ring and bearing slides

I followed instructions provided by other users of this site. Two screws removed allowed the top to be raised. Two more screws allowed the front to be removed and swung to the side. I removed the felt, and replaced it, after looking which way the bevelled edge faced. The teflon drum slide bearings were simple to replace. The front drum bearing was a little difficult to remove, but I just kept prying with a flathead screwdriver and it eventually began to pop off. I vacuumed and removed a ton of lint from everywhere I could get at, and the dryer now runs quieter with no more clothing getting hung up inside.

I removed the front panel and the top of the dryer, pulled the drum forward and removed the old rear drum bearing then inserted the new rear drum bearing. I didn't replace the washers or the retaining ring in the back. Put the drum shaft into the new rear drum bearing. Put the front panel and the top in place and started using the dryer again.

Top is hinged in back, removing the 4 screws over the door under the top allowed the top to open. Removing the 2 screws near the top of the door panel allowed it's removal. Marked and disconnected wiring. Lifted drum through top. New bearing housing required 3 mounting holes to be tapped to 10-24. Installed bearing and backing shims with old hardened allen head mounting screws inside drum while wife held bearing in back of drum. Furnished 3- 10-24 lock nuts to lock mounting screws in place from their back side. Reinserted drum through dryer top with belt on drum. Hardest part was getting the belt on motor pulley while holding the idler in it's correct position due to small access holes at the very bottom in rear panel. Works just fine again.

After ensuring all 5 temp sensors were not open, replaced the timer assy by removing the back of the control section. ( 5 screws ) . removed both wire connectors and 1 screw. removed the old timer assy and knob. put old knob on new timer, installed into slots, installed screw and replaced wire connectors. replaced back panel and vent hose, applied power. Works like new

The repair in retrospect was very easy. Not knowing alot about the dryer I made one mistake. I put the bearing in backwards and broke the rubber gasket. After ordering a new gasket and paying close attention to what I was doing it worked out fine. Saved me about $200 for a repairman.

Had to skip holes for tabs on corners. could not stretch gasket to fit the holes. Cut off the unused tabs in order to close door. Used pliers to push tabs in holes. New gasket fit sufficently and is better than old cracked gasket.

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.

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.

After identifying the issue, the biggest issue was trying to identify how to get the belt around the drum tumbler. After looking through the back hatch, I figured the best way was through the top. I removed the top just enough to work the belt in between the drum and the front sheet metal. Then I turned it on its side and worked the belt from the back hatch. I pulled the pulley back on the tensioner and slipped the belt under neath. Put it back together, been working great.

I just pulled out the old white frame by hand and replaced it with a new one ordered online. No tools were needed. Simply easily, anyone can do with no required skills.

This saved the appliance from possible damage due to poor ventilation and also save the cost of a handyman to fix the problem.