Replacing the bearing and belt on a GE DDE6350BBL dryer
My belt broke and landed up in the bottom of the case, therefore no problem removing it.
Having to replace the belt I decided to renew the bearing at the same time.
Detailed instructions, with comments follow for those of you attempting this repair.
Most important, READ ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE STARTING WORK
Take careful note as you take things apart of what they looked like before you started.
First unplug the appliance. Always unplug the appliance before doing any repair.
With the appliance stood in a space where it is accessible all round begin.
Open the front door and remove the small Phillips screws located at the top of the front panel.
( You have to look upwards to see them, normally four screws )
The cabinet top can now be lifted carefully upwards. It is a good idea to use a piece of
2 x 4 to hold this in a raised position for the time being.
Inside the cabinet on the right at the top, behind the door open switch, remove the two electrical slide connectors from the switch.
Remove the hex headed screws securing the bottom kicking plate, ( four screws )
Remove the two longer hex screws securing the bottom of the front panel, ( two screws )
Look inside the cabinet, each side towards the top there is one hex headed screw securing the top of the front panel to the sides ( two screws )
Hint head of screw faces back of cabinet.
The front panel can now be removed by lifting slightly up and away from the rest of the case. Do not try to move it too far, just turn it through ninety degrees and lean it against something heavy. Hopefully placed there to lean it on before you started.
Using a torx screw bit, remove the three torx screws securing the drum onto the bearing.
( A noise will be heard like something dropping, we will take care of this later.)
Lift the drum out of the case and set it aside.
Using a Phillips screwdriver remove the four screws securing the bearing to the casing.
Lift out the complete old bearing assembly.
Now is the time to thoroughly clean all the parts, before reassembly.
A Hoover with a crevice tool is good for removing most of the lint in and around the case. In severe cases it might be necessary to use a wire brush to loosen the lint.
Look in the bottom of the case and find the spacer, which fell off when you removed the drum. It is circular with a large hole in the centre and six holes around the side.
It is a good idea if you are adventurous, to remove the slide connectors for the heater elements and remove this assembly for cleaning. If you are not adventurous then cleaning it while installed is possible but be careful of the wire spirals, they are fragile
Helpful hint.
At this point take one of the old screws, which secured the bearing into the house.
Take this screw to a good hardware store and ask for two extra screws three inches long with the same thread. Make certain the thread is the same. Bring your new screws home, put them in a vice and saw off the heads, thus leaving two pieces of threaded rod three inches long of the correct thread. Doing this will save you a lot of aggravation later.
To replace the bearing, assemble the new bearing with a small quantity of high heat grease applied to the bearing surfaces. The old circlip can be reused without problem as long as it was not damaged when removing it.
Hint the new bearing is supplied with an 'o' ring in the groove where the circlip goes, this 'o' ring has to be removed before assembly.
If you have removed the heater assembly for cleaning it should be reinstalled now.
Install the new bearing in the casing using the four new screws provided.
Carefully screw your two threaded rods into two of the three holes in the bearing surface.
Locate the spacer plate onto the threaded rods and slide back until it is in the correct position.
Hint, it will only go on one way round, with all the holes lining up correctly.
Place the new belt loosely around the drum before it is installed in
Parts Used: