FDE546LES0 Frigidaire Dryer - Instructions

Motor replacement requires removing/releasing the top and front of the dryer, then removing the drum through the front of the dryer. The top is hinged at the rear and the front can be pried up. The front is held by two sheet metal screws that are accessible once the top is lifted up. Three screws hold the drum to the bearing at the rear of the drum. A small access door on the rear panel allows removal of the idler arm and its spring. You will need a socket drive with a short extension to remove the fan assembly from the motor at the front of the dryer, and it has a LEFT-HAND thread. The most difficult part of the replacement, once you figure out how to access everything, is getting the drum re-attached to the bearing at the rear of the drum. It can be hard to align the three screws, and once you have that done they need to be carefully tightened a few times after rotating the drum a few cycles, to get all the play out. Once the motor was replaced the dryer works like new.

After the part arrived, I located a pair of needle nose pliers. Then removed the broken one and inserted the new one. It was very easy.
I also noted that the new part was of a better design than the original. It should not need further attention.

Basically, i followed instructions on 1 video i seen, but was able to shorten repair by not removing drum, and was still able to access the thermal limiter switch to remove old one and install new one. Worked like a charm. Thanks Dan

followed video and replaced part( cleaned and vacuumed dryer while I had it apart),relatively easy repair

The repair was a bit more simple that what I had read here earlier, to see if I could handle it or I would have to call someone. The biggest relief was that I didn't have to remove any of the connectors from the control panel. Only 4 total connectors were removed at the Heating Element itself. Here's the steps I performed: 1) Pop the top off by prying the lid to release the 2 front clips and lift the top all the way up (like the hood of a car). Rest this against a door or wall. 2) Remove the rear access panel (2 phillips screws) on the bottom left of the unit. Remove the tension from the dryer belt and take it off the pully. 3) Go back to the front and remove (4 allen heads) from the back of the dryer drum. The drum should now have some play. 4) remove a plastic retainer that stops the drum from being lifted out. Now you should be able to lift out the drum. There is a ball & socket fitting that needs to come apart. This can be done by sharply lifting straight up. This gives you access to the heating element and you should be able to see where the coil has burned, thus opening the circuit. 5) remove (4 phillips screws) from the back panel of the dryer. Remove two pairs of connectors that attach to the heating element. Now it's out and you can begin the swap of the new element and reverse this process to put it back together. If I had to do this again, it would take less approx 30 minutes.

the catch on the door was worn and cracked.... so I noticed it could be easily popped out with a screw driver and when the new part came in the mail 2 days later, it was just as easy to pop back in with no tools required. Now the door stays shut really good!!!

removing was easy just open lower rear LH panel . Ordering was easy ,shipping seemed like alot? to install the new belt pop top of dryer I used a screw driver to help. remove front panel 2 screws then it also has about six clips may have to have gloves on so you do not skin your hands like I did.... lots of sharp edges. pay attention to the clips, so if they come off they will not be lost. panel will tilt slightly fwd then raise up and set aside. now you can slip the belt over the drum. I kept all the slack at the top till it was in position. the groved rubber side goes against the drum and the motor pully. then extend the spring tensioner into position . I rotated the drum a few times by hand to make sure everything was in position. replace front. check it is lined up well before forceing clips in. check felt material is properly in place, as you rotate it into position. push down top . good to go. I ran it for awhile watching everything work before placing it back in service. you may want to clean it out some while it is apart I used an air compressor and shop vac simultaniously as that seemed to work best. Wanted my son to do it as I think he had it over loaded as to why it broke? It maybe the bearings are going but it felt solid ?? I should find out in a month or so shich was which! I did not see any easy way to get to grease it. The belt was easy though pretty sure my son could have handled it!

Girls you can do it on your own!

The easiest way is taking the back off the dryer but if you can't do that just pop the top up and unscrew the front. Just make sure you remember how you take everything out and put it back in the same.

The most difficult part is trying to line up the holes for the heating element, and holding it there while screwing the element in place.

It's a breeze!

first i removed the top -second I removed the two screws hold the front on - thrid I unpluged the wiring to remove the front - fourth I removed old part and cleaned off old glue -fifth I applied new glue and new part - sixth I reasembled - worked good as new

The hardest part was getting to the part and removing it and putting it back on. The schematics that you had on your website helped us locate where it needed to go and, hopefully, that will solve our problem.

First make sure dryer is unplugged.Next beware of sharp edges, this dryer has plenty. Remove 2 screws from kick panel,remove kick panel. Lay the kick panel aside, it makes a good "bowl" to hold screws.Remove 2 screws from top, located on back,remove top.Unplug the 2 sets of wiring connecting the front panel, the zip tie has to be unzipped, and if stripped should be replaced when reassembling. Remove 2 screws inside cabinet that hold front panel, near top. Remove 2 screws that hold front panel, in front and at bottom of front panel. Front panel is held in place by spring loaded clips, remove by pulling outward,a putty knife may be slid in to persuade it to pop off, be careful of scratching paint. There is a small panel on the back of the dryer held by 2 screws, remove to access the pulley that maintains tension on belt and release belt. Pay attention to the belt route through the tensioner to insure eaiser assembly later. Remove nylon drum retainer in front of cabinet at top, held in place by 1 screw. The drum may be lifted out and placed aside to access the heating unit(Don't place it on a hill, HaHa). The entire heating unit may be replaced, I opted to replace just the element, as it is much cheaper.
Use a flat screw driver to slip old female plugs off male element plugs, Use needle nose pliers to flatten tabs that hold male plugs of element in the ceramic housing. Remove old element, being careful not to damage any of the insulators. If the new element is not stretched out to about 46 inches "relaxed", carefully stretch it. Place one insulator slightly off-center on the element and place it into element housing. Plug in element into ceramic plug housing and bend the tabs to retain it. carefully begin putting in insulators, one at a time and reattaching element. Do not bend the element or cause any of the coils to touch each other. When all insulators are in place, plug in element and assemble dryer in reverse order. Mke sure belt is oriented with grooved side facing drum, and reach through the rear access panel to run belt through tensioner, make sure spring is attached with s-hook ends and belt is properly threaded. Reaasmble in reverse order, being careful to make sure drum bearing is seated properly, and drum "ring" of front panel is centered in drum. After dryer is assembled try it out on cool and work your way up to hot, and let it run a few minutes to get rid the new smell. Hope this will help.

Very easy and straight forward repair.

Unplug the dryer and move it to a location that offers some room to work.

Use flathead screw driver to pop the front side top of the dryer up then lift the top of the dryer up to expose the drum.

Use phillips head screw driver to remove the two screws from the access panel on the rear of the dryer. Reach into the access area and remove the drum belt from the tensioner assembly. It's spring loaded so watch your fingers.

Disconnect the wiring harness at the right front of the dryer.

Remove the two screws that secure the front of the dryer to the sides.

Remove the front panel of the dryer by pulling the panel forward then up and off the two tabs at the bottom.

The felt strips and glides (which are worn off if you are doing this repair) are glued to the front panel of the dryer and now need to be removed. Removing the old felt will take some time and is the most difficult part of this whole repair.

Use some goof off or similar solvent adhesive remover to ease the removal of the felt. A putty knife will likely be helpful too.

Once the felt is off, wipe off any excess solvent and make sure the area to be re-felted is clean and dry.

Apply small serpentine bead of provided adhesive to the felt strips and glue the new strips on to the dryer. There is more than enough glue in the tube provided to get the job done. After applying felt strips, let them sit for about 30 minutes before reassembling dryer. You may want to use some light duty clamps to hold the felt in place while the glue sets but that's probably not necessary since the glue sets rapidly. Follow the directions on the glue tube.

Reassemble in opposite order.

Take the opportunity to vacuum out your dryer and give it a good inspection while you have it cracked open. You just might find those socks that disappeared.

Here are some "while your at it" ideas:

Replace both upper and lower felt strips.
Vacuum out entire dryer cabinet and the foam seal on the air box.
Replace drive belt.
Replace light bulb.
Replace bearing ball on rear of drum or apply some lubricant to the bearing.

I'm not saying do all these things, I'm just suggesting these items as things to consider based on the age and usage of your dryer.

This is an easy one person repair that requires no experience or special tools. Don't pay the repair man. Do it yourself.

I took the repair video in with me and set my lap-top on top of the washer.
My dryer did not match the type on the video exactly (mine has the controls in the front instead of on top and in the back) - however - the parts replacement for the rear drum bearing itself was the same.
After getting the front apart and releasing the drum the rest was pretty easy. Didn't really need instructions for the heating element - that was an obvious change out.
The tips on the video changing the rear drum assembly were very helpful.
Just watch the vid and do it! It took me exactly two hours since I was also changing out the heating element and I did it on a Friday night while having a couple tasty beers.
One tip I would give is the old grease in the bearing is very messy and I got it all over my shirt and pants - and when changing that stuff out don't lean on the front of the frame - I did and bent it out of whack a bit.
The dryer runs like new now that it's done!

All I did was push the new part into the machine! So easy!

Almost exactly as per the videos available on the PartSelect web site. The only additional information that would help is that the vent on the back of the unit can be removed to allow for access to the belt spring pulley. This avoids having to reach around from the front of the unit and feel your way to remove and re-install the belt.