7MWED2040JM0 Whirlpool Dryer - Instructions

The most difficult part of this repair was making sure I purchased the right part !!! Part Select.com has a great website with pictures of almost every part you could ever need. I was able to select the right part and from there the repair was easy.

Solution: electric motor replacement as the integral centrifugal switch lever (plastic cam) wears over time causing the start windings' switch poor contact. Took it all apart, (back panel, front and top) including lifting the drum out to completely expose the motor. Needed to wrench the plastic fan from the inside motor shaft. Tricky part was swapping the original pulley (6 rib belt, still good) for the one supplied for 4 rib belts. I needed to file another flat onto the other side of both motor shafts (old and new) to break them free, using a vice to secure the pulleys. The dryer works perfectly! It's a great dryer that can be repaired by a determined novice. The enclosed instructions were helpful, although if followed about cutting the original motor shaft to obtain its pulley might require drilling the shaft from the pulley = nonsense. Thanks again Parts Select.

Took off back panel. unscrew timer. unplug wire and replace new wires from new timer, one at a time to make sure plugged to right terminals. screw back on the new timer. replace back panel.

Unplug dryer, remove two screws in lint screen door, using a pry bar or stiff putty knife, gently pry up on both front corners to release the clips holding the top down. Use a 5/16" nut driveer two remove the two screws inside at the top of the front of the dryer, remove the two wires on the door switch. Open door enough to get your hand in to support the drum, now lean the front out at the top and let the drum rest. Grasping the front at the top on both sides gently lift up to release the clips securing the bottom front. Release the door springs,open door and replace the hinges. Reverse to reassemble.

Boyfriend stated it was simple, he removed the back and replaced the part using a few everyday tools.

I identified the correct catch of the three that were included in the package by matching its number to that on the old catch that I had pried out of the door using a flat screwdriver. I centered the new catch over the square hole in the door and pressed it into place. Then I used some needle-nose pliers to twist and remove the metal pin that fits into the catch from the main dryer housing. I replaced that with the new piece included in the kit, gently tapping it into place with a hammer. The repair complete, the door worked perfectly. Thanks for your help and for the speedy delivery of the kit.

Replacing the part was easy: unscrew the old one from the front of the dryer after opening door, disconnect and replace with new one. Getting to it was a bit more difficult: Remove 6 screws from the back, 4 that hold the back of the top down and 2 that hold the control panel in place. You had to remove the control panel to free up the wiring bundle (held in place by a tie wrap inside the control panel housing) so you could move the top forwards enough. Then remove the top of the dryer by lifting the back up slightly and moving it forward to disconnect from attachments in the front and move aside to gain access to the switch.

Take back off top of dryer and replace switch

Unplug Dryer.
Disconnect dryer vent line from rear of machine.
Removed 8 screws holding back cover on.
Removed back cover.
Disconnect 2 quick connect wires from dryer heating element tube on right side of the machine.
Remove 2 screws holding element cover in place.
Remove cover and element.
Remove thermostat from unit and connect to new unit.
Re install parts in reverse order of above.

First, removed the bottom cover below the dryer door. This is just held on with two clips that can be pushed in with a flat screw driver. Then remove the springs that go from the bottom of the dryer to the inside of the dryer door. We had to remove the entire front of the dryer, so the easiest way we found was to loosen the two screws on the bottom of the front panel, but not remove them. Then pop up the top of the dryer. To lift the top, first remove the two screws under the little door where the lint trap goes. The top is hinged in the back, and it snaps down onto two clips that can easily be popped up with a flat screw driver) With the top opened, there are two screws accessible. When the front of the dryer is removed, there will be nothing to support the drum, so what we found was that if you rotate the drum, you'll find a point where there's a hole in the top of the drum. If you take the springs that you removed from the bottom of the door you can hook them into this hole, and hook the other end into a hole in the back wall of the dryer just behind the drum. The springs are the perfect size for this, and it keeps the drum from falling when you remove the front panel. then just disconnect the three wires going to the switch inside the front panel, and remove the two screws from the top of the front panel. It should then lift right off. The bearing can just be pulled away and the new one installed. Put everything together again in reverse order.

Followed simple instructions to replace two pulleys and belt. The Virtual Repairman helped me identify the cause in minutes. Took another 5 minutes to place the order and the part arrived two days later. Saved $125 at least. Thank you!

john

repair was fairly cut and dry...if you have any handyman experience....the hard part was partselect web page...starts out easy to locate part if you have the correct model number....however after that it can be confusing as to what you are looking for part wise and if you have located the correct part....diagrams are helpful if you could see them and/or understand them or what you are looking for....as a novice can be fustrateing....even after calling partselect for help/explaination....other wise it went well for a repair and hopeful will get another 10yrs out of this dryer.....

this was very was very easy. But I deviated from the You Tube instructions. One to release the motor pulley. I needed to use 2 adjustable wrenches for a longer lever. I needed to use a hammer to help release pulley. Second to remove the dryer cable I needed to use a small screw driver to aid in the release. ---- the part from the company was a perfect fit.

1 screw to replace.

Went to the site for instructions. Received a nice set of three photos with detailed instruction. Very easy to follow and item just snapped in. If I hadn't looked up the instructions I would have probably risked breaking the new part.