DDC4580BCL General Electric Dryer - Instructions

Removed from lower panel. Just popped it open
with a screw driver.
Unplugged dryer and shut off gas by the gas shut-off valve.
Loacated the gas igniter element and removed it
by pulling up. It is only healed in place by a metel
like a clothes pin.
Using caution slid new unit down and into the pinching device.
Plugged in power cord and the gas.
Turned the unit on and it worked !!!
This was worth the try. Better than buying a new
dryer with the economy the way it is now.

Removed front panel and rear access panel of dryer. Removed drum just far enough to access old drum bushing and removed and replaced it. Removed pulley spring arm retainer bracket in back of dryer. Removed old pulley and nut and replaced them with new ones and new bushing. Only problem encountered is when my daughter's cat ate 2 of the bolts that hold the rear access cover. Dryer runs well and quiet and cat is fine.

pull top and front of dryer (6 screws), take belt off drum and pull drum out the front of dryer. Take the three star head screws out of stainless heat vent inside of drum and take old bearing housing out of back wall of dryer housing. Pretty much self evident putting everything back in, some trouble installing new bearing housing in back wall of dryer, screws are hard to turn in by hand (new hole). Vacum inside of dryer housing, install everything the way in came out, , plug it in and WA-LA.

I removed the rear panel to access the drive belt. Lowered the pulley to remove the belt and then took off the front panel and popped the top lid off. The belt was slightly frayed on the edges and looked a little old. Inside of the dryer was filled with lint, noticed the vent that sucks the lint from the dryer was almost totally blocked because off caked on lint. Probably from the moisture when we lived in Tx and had it in our garage. Sucked it out with the shop vac and scraped the rest. Removed the whole drum and that's when I noticed the rear drum bearing was totally destroyed and only a piece or two remained. Ordered the drum bearing and drive belt. I was about to put them on when I saw the drum slides were worn pretty thin. So I had to order more drum slides. That's why it took me so long to repair the dryer. If I had the parts already, it would have only taken an hour or so. I was pretty excited that I did it myself, since my husband usually fixes everything around the house. Easier than I thought :o)

first I removed the screws with the nutdriver at the bottom of the dryer at the back..then I could see the belt was broken...next I took off the 2 nuts at the back that hold the top on ..then opened the dryer front door and unscrewd the 4 screws holding the top on....then I lifted the top up and to the side...then all I had to do was take out 2 screws one on each side of dryer front and the the front was open enough that I could slide the new belt on dryer..then screwed the front back on...then placed the top on and went to the back of dryer and put belt on pulley using the diagram I found in the instructions inside the dryer top...really a lot easier than it sounds...easy fix saved me from buying another dryer

After opening the front door there are screws that are holding the top to the door. Take those screws out using a Phillips screwdriver. The top should lift up and rest at a near 90 degree angle.

The door has two screws at the bottom that need to be taken out. Once those are out there are two screws on both sides at the top holding it to the frame. Remove those as well.

Before you remove the front you should document the wiring for the door light switch. I took these off to give the door a little extra room so I could rest it on a toolbox without taking all the wires completely off.

Once the door is free, on the back there is a metal plate with two screws in it roughly in the middle of the unit. Unscrew the top completely but leave the bottom screw in and just slightly loosen it. This will allow it to swing down out of the way without the need to completely remove it and have one more part to put back together in the end.

What this plate is covering is the center of the drum. There is a small metal tab that you can push on and it will push the drum out so it can be removed. Gripping the drum, you can lift it out by guiding it through the notches on each side where the drum protrudes.

With the drum removed you'll see the motor and idle pulley. On my model the pulley was attached to a metal rod that was spring loaded. The pulley is held on by a small tension washer that was easily removed with pliers. Installation was somewhat more difficult but mostly just getting it lined up and started. Once on the rod it was easy to push it into place.

With the new pulley installed it's time to install the new belt. To do this first put the belt over the drop and then replace the drum back into the frame. Once the drum is pushed back into the hole it will support itself.

Now you need to remove the panel on the back to get access to the motor and pulley. This panel has a lot of screws. Once that's off you can then guide the belt over the motor and get the idle pulley to put tension on the belt.

Once that is complete just replace all the screws you removed, plug it back in and watch as your new belt moves the drum once again.

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.

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.

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.

Unplugged the power cord, turned off the gas. Then I closed the gas valve feeding the gas igniter assembly. I disconnected the gas pipe from the gas igniter assmb. Then I removed the two screws holding the assmb. on to the front of dryer. From this point the assmb. can be lifted off a supporting bracket. Three cables must be removed in order to remove the assmb. from the dryer. The gas igniter measured very high resistance and actually fell apart. Reassemble in the opposite order as above. Parts diagrams on Partselect.com were invaluable.

shut off gas supply, pulled elect plug on dryer, removed gas supply assembly ( 4 screws and 3 plugs ). found broken gas igniter cleaned with air compressor. replaced gas igniter.

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 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.

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.

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.