DLL3480SBLWH Hotpoint Dryer - Instructions

I had to take the top panel off of the dryer which is 2 screws inside the dryer door jam. Then the front panel had to come off which was 2 screws inside the dryer above the tumbler. One on each side. Then it lifts off of two hooks at the bottom. Then the left panel (left if you are looking at the front of the dryer) had to come off which was a few screws on the back, a few on the front, and one on the bottom. Once I had the panels off, I unscrewed the blower wheel which is one screw. I took the blower wheel cabinet loose but didn't remove it. There is a metal collar that holds the motor to the bracket. Pull it off from the top. Unplug all the wires attached to the motor. I took a picture of the wire connections with my phone for reference with the new motor. Remove the belt. The motor should pull out towards you. The new motor comes with a pulley. Put the pulley on the motor and tighten locking screw. Put new motor in dryer and replace the metal collar. Connect all wire connections. Reconnect the blower wheel and tighten all screws to the blower wheel housing. Now, I plugged the dryer back in and tested it without reattaching the belt. Know that if you do it this way, the dryer will not stay on because there is a relay switch that is engaged only when the belt is on the pulley and there is tension on the belt tensioner. When the dryer motor worked properly, I replaced the belt and put all the panels back on. Plugged it up and it worked beautifully.

Aligned new handle with slots in dryer door and snapped into place. It took 5 seconds.

The info from your web site was helpful. I had never taken a dryer apart and the instructions made the job easy. Used socket set to remove the back panel and top control panel. Then used a phillip's screwdriver to remove the two screws that hold the top of the dryer; these screws are accessed by opening the door to the dryer. To remove the front of the dryer remove to the two screws that are located at the top upper corners where front panel meet the side panel. Once these two screws are removed, remove the belt from around the drum and lift the drum out. The drum bearing is located on the back of the drum; remove the remnants of the old bearing and replace it with the new one. Retrace your steps to put the dryer back together. To get the belt back on track you will have to remove the lower back panel to access the belt drive and tension pulley. It is not difficult. God bless you.

disassembled chassis of dryer, unbolted top, lifted top to expose drum. bolted top back on. resumed repair next morning. unbolted top. lifted drum (it moved up and down about 1 inch) and got new belt around it. rebolted top down. tipped dryer to its back. unbolted and removed panel at bottom, exposing drive motor and tensioner spring. positioned belt around drive motor spindle and tensioner spring. replaced panel. reconnected dryer to electricity. reconnected gas using new flexible connector.

New handle popped on easily. After 2 weeks the replacement handle just broke.

inserted the latch into the opening in the front face of the dryer

Researching on the web I thought the trouble might be lint buildup or trouble w/ one of the parts involved in spinning the drum. However I cleaned out all the lint and replaced the belt and idler pulley and this didn't improve the smell (drum bearing was fine). I then concluded the trouble was the motor. Running the motor w/o the drum in place confirmed this was where the noise/smell was coming from. Replacing the motor was fiddly--I had to remove the clip holding the motor (pried the top w/ a screwdriver), wires (made a diagram so as to put back in same order, they were hard to get off--a pliers did the job), clamps holding the motor on the duct, the motor mount, the duct, the fan. Putting all this back together took a while (not hard just fiddly). Tested the motor w/out the drum in place and it sounded fine. Put the drum and back/front/top panels back and the dryer runs fine now. All parts came quickly and exactly matched the parts in my 1993 Hotpoint dryer. As others have said the pulley kit is not needed--these are included w/ the motor. BTW I am a 53-year-old lady. Thanks to all who took the time to write up their experiences--big help!!

The dryer was making horribly loud sounds, and sometimes catching my clothes where the drum meets the door and messing them up. It was also taking a long time to dry. I ended up replacing the following parts: 1) FRONT DRUM BEARING, 2) THREE DRUM SLIDE BEARINGS, 3) AIR DUCT FELT SEAL, 4) REAR DRUM BEARING, 5) HEATER COIL (not the entire heater coil assembly ~$100, but the restring kit ~$15) 6) IDLER PULLEY WHEEL, 7) SEAL on AIR DUCT ASSEMBLY (just went to home depot and found a 3/8" foam seal with one sticky side in the section where home weather proofing stuff is). Everything is very easy to understand and complete for the 'occasional do-it-yourselfer'. The following things i would offer as advice to those attempting to do this: 1) Remember to remove the wires from the DOOR OPEN INDICATOR SWITCH before you try to pull off the front end. 2) Vaccuum all the lint out. Be diligent about the lint in the motor stuff, and the air duct fan. 3) The pully tensioner is tough to access. Removing and re installing the belt is challenging because you have to reach under the drum, into the machine 'blind'. It will help to have a pully diagram. The belt goes over the tensioned idler pulley before going around the right side of the drum (if you're standing looking at the front of the dryer). 4) There are tabs, which hold the electrical connectors in the bracket of the heater coil assembly. Having Strong needle nose pliers is reccomended. Also, it may be easier to bend the tabs down on the new heater coil if the heater when the heater coil peice is not attached to the back of the dryer, after the new coil is already restrung on the ceramic holders. Although there's only 3 wires for the heater coil, remember which wires go where. 4) The front drum bearing requires a surprising amount of force to remove and re install. Remember to take off the plastic felt seal tab on the side before you remove, and to put it back when youre done. 5) The screws in the back of the drum which hold the bearing slide on are tough to put back on since you need to reach through the drum and screw with one hand, while holding the piece in place on the back of the drum with the other. Having a helping hand there makes it easier.

Very easy to install, snaps right in.

The part was shipped quickly and I received it within the week. I was afraid that because it is an older dryer the new handle would not be compatible, but it was! It installed easily, it only took a few seconds to clip it in and now it's as good as new!