3RLEC8600SL2 Whirlpool Dryer - Instructions

Remove top, front and drum. Top is removed by sliding a putty knife under the front corners and pushing the tabs back. Front is held with screws. Disconnect two electrical connectors. Rollers are easily accessible and changed.

Watched instructions, Ordered the kit and repair was fairly easy until the time to line up the cover over the fan wheel. That was difficult part. Would be best to have two people at this point to hold it and align the screw holes. Otherwise its was a fairly easy operation.

Disconnected Power cord, removed vent pipe, removed back panel, had to slide top cover off to remove additional screw holding back on. Went down to where the Idler Pulley was, removed old piece by depressing on the spring loaded actuator and slid it off the belt and all. Replaced same as removal.

Turned off my circuit breaker first. Removed back panel with a 1/4 nut driver. Replaced the dryer fuse first. Very easy but did not fix the problem. Watched how to videos to narrow down the parts I might need. Purchased the thermal cut off kit. Installed the High limit thermostat first. Tested the dryer, no dice. Finally installed the Thermal cutoff. BAM!! I have heat. Since this is an older dryer I did need to use some WD40 to loosen some of the connections. Total cost of parts including tax and quick delivery was $48.30. Fantastic. My old man told me it was unfixable. He was wrong. I WIN. This site is a great teaching site. Thank you!

Took the front part of the dryer out, released tension on the idler pulley, took the drum out, and remove the old drum seal. Make sure you remove the old adhesive with sandpaper or wire brush. Put the new adhesive on the seal, not on the drum. Adhesive is very runny. Seal may need to be stretched to fit the drum. Set the seal on the drum, let sit a few minutes. Put everything back together.

i took off the back of the drier and with a screw driver removed the 2 screws and put the new part on

Just like the video, just followed the video
Thanks,

I did what any novice would have done. I took the entire thing apart to get to the gas jet. I did not know about the thermal fuse until I got to the schematic behind the timer and controls. I was a tech back in the 70's and 80's and only worked on electric dryers. Back then I would remove the heater core and twist the coils together to save money. So I had no idea how a gas dryer heating unit worked. So now any one that reads this. You do not have to take the dryer completely apart, I did that for all of you. Just replace the thermal fuse on the back of the unit by unplugging that wires and removing the screws! It looks like a long white piece of plastic with 2 wires to it. You will find this under the full metal shield on the back of the unit. This should be about a 1 hour repair at the most!

I removed the back panel and tested the Thermal Fuse, the Thermostat and the Heating Element with a meter. The Thermal Fuse gave a bad reading. I proceeded to clean the dryer and lint pipe of all lent. I installed the new Thermal Fuse and put the back panel back on the dryer. The dryer worked for two loads of clothes and the Thermal Fuse blow again. I'm now at the end of my rope. I don't know what else to check and I can't continue to buy parts for only two loads. I guess I will have to invest in a new dryer.

I simply removed the rear panal of the dryer. Removed the two wires from the fuse at the rear of the dryer. Attached an OEM meter across the two fuse connections and had no continuity. Ordered a new fuse and recieved it in 2.5 days.Replaced the fuse,reconnected the wires and replaced the rear panal. Started dryer and it now blows hot air and runs like new. I can't say enough about PartSelect. Great diagnosis using their website, the delivery was fast and I recieved the correct part at a good price. Very satisfied, Thanks PartSelect. Fred F

I removed the bottom access panel, with 2 hands i reached in behind the blower, i released the belt, i used a screwdriver to pop the retainer from the pully spindle, i removed and replaced the pully, i snapped the retainer back on and replaced the belt. I made sure the belt was on track and all was good. I put the bottom panel back on, it took all of 5 minutes. The hardest part was the retainer clip faces the rear of the dryer so you have to feel it. Also , the space is tight, use a smaller flathead screwdriver to get behind the clip, it will pop right off.

Checked this site for most likely needed parts and ordered. Located full repair manual inside unit after removing lid. Followed instructions in manual to take apart and remove the drum; took pictures at each removal step and used pill organizer to keep screws in correct order and quantity. The metal cylinder in the center of the idler pulley had ground away so the idler pulley with bracket was replaced. (There was a lot of metal dust that had to be cleaned.) One of the rollers did not turn smoothly so that was also replaced. After putting drum back in, reversed the steps to reassemble and referred to photos to make sure did in correct order and did not forget anything.

Take pictures along the way.
1. Remove lower front panel using screwdriver to lift up on tabs on top of panel.
2. remove door
3. unplug moisture sensor plugs
4. remove lint trap
5. on back of dryer, remove screws holding upper lid
6. slid up lid forward just a small amount, its hooked in towards the front of the upper lid. you will need to do this so you can can remove two screws under the lid holding the front panel of the dryer on
7. remove the front panel screws mentioned in step 6.
8. Remove lower front panel screws
9. remove front panel
10. reach into dryer at the bottom and release tension from belt pulley, sliding the belt off. (make a note of how the belt is routed around the drive and idler pulleys)
11. slide out tumbling drum
12. with drum removed, use socket wrench and socket to remove old idler pulley.
13. install new idler pulley
14. reinstall tumbling drum
15. slide belt back around tumbling drum, looping belt around drive pulley and around idler pulley.
16. When belt is installed, rotate drum a few revolutions to ensure belt rides correctly.
17. Reinstall front panel
18 slide top panel back into place and secure with screws from back
19. reinstall door
20. reattach moisture sensor plugs
21. reinstall lower panel

Removed two hex screws from upper back clips. Removed 2 Phillips screws under lint trap. Used flat head screwdriver to pry up top on front right and left side clips. (FYI: top pry's up off retaining clips in front). Remove two hex screws on right and left front panel. Un-plugged wire harness front right side. Lifted up and removed front panel. This hold the drum in place. Simply removed drum, installed new belt, replaced the two drum wheels and put everything back together the same way I took it apart. 30 Minute project :)

I removed the base cover and cover over my lint blower. The thermal fuse is located on top of the blower housing. I removed the thermal fuse utilizing a small nutdriver and installed the new fuse.