MDE116REW0 Frigidaire Dryer - Instructions

1. After checking the Parts Select website for some useful information I unplugged the dryer.
2. I popped the two clips holding the top down and lifted the top up and out of the way.
3. I used the 8mm socket and screwdiver combo to remove the two screws holding the front of the dryer on. These screws are so close to the sides of the dryer that you need something very thin to seat the socket, it is so thin a small rachet would not fit.
4. Once the to screws are free to forget to unhook the two wires that lead to the automatic cutoff switch on the right. Label them and move them out of the way.
5. The front of the dryer should pivot forward and come right off. Don't forget about the two clips at the bottom, they are not really attached to anything and can be easy to lose.
6. Get your screwdriver and dive into the drum, on the back should be three screws, take those out.
7. Spin the dryer around and take off the vent cover in the lower left corner of the back of the dryer, watch out the socket is a smaller size.
8. Once inside there is an idler pulley like on the back of a ten speed bike, pull the tension out of it and take the drive belt off the pulleys.
9. The drum should be able to be pulled out the front of the dryer, set aside with the door. The screws on my dryer were so tight I had to use a hammer drill to remove them.
10. This is were I got stuck, no one mentioned how to get the bearing plate off, as if everyone would just know. You must lift up on the bearing plate and once it moves up then you can pull it out.
11. Use the 8mm socket to unscrew the old plastic bearing guide. The small metal clip on the back of the dryer will fall off with the grounding ball bearing.
12. With brum bearing kit in hand start off by putting as much high temp lubricant as you can into the bottom of the new bearing guide. I also use a little lubricant like glue to hold the new grounding ball bearing in the little hole on the back of the bearing guide.
13. Here is the tricky part you have to screw the bearing guide into the the dryer while simulaneously holding the little metal clip in place on the back of the dryer. I used duct tape to hold the metal clip and once the screws got started I just took the tape off.
14. Now you have to do the impossible, the bearing must be screwed to the drum. So unless you have 7 foot long arms you can't hold the bearing and drive the screws. Another problem is the bearing itself, the holes are not the same size as the original and they are not threaded. I stripped every screw that came with the kit trying to get them through the metal of the bearing.
15. With an unwilling victim holding the bearing steady I finally got a replacement screw to seat through the bearing. Once you get one the rest are easier.
16. You are ready to reassemble, after vacuuming everything ou, pick up the drum making sure the belt is around the drum about where it was when you took it off. Push the drum through the front of the dryer all the way to the back, aim a little high so the bearing can move down and seat in the bearing guide.
17. Tuck the clips on the front panel of the dryer into the bottom front edge of the dryer and the whole front should pivot up, when you get it almost closed you will have to lift the drum and set it on the front bearing in the door.
18. While holding the front of the dryer on you have to reach inside and get the 8mm screw started on the left or right, if you let go the front of the dryer will pop off and you have to start over with the pivot. Now is a good time to have a magnet on a stick so when you drop the screw or screw driver you don't have to take the front off to retrieve your tools.
19. Once the front is on reconnect the two wires to the switch in the front of the dryer. Remember the ones you were supposed to have labeled earlier.
20. Close the top of the dryer and spin the dryer around so you can reach inside the vent door and pull the tension pulley over and reseat the drive belt. Rem

The disassembly was very easy and it appeared that this would be a very quick repair. But the removal of the old felt was difficult and once it was removed it took a lot of effort to remove the bits still stuck on. The tool of choice to remove the stuck on felt was a small torch. After that use a coarse sand paper to remove the remnants. Glue on the new felt and reinstall the front panel.

I disassembled the dryer using instructions from the following website for White Westinghouse (pictures really helped)
After removing the drum, I first noticed that the grouding ball was sitting on the bottom of the dryer (along with much lint). I then saw that the bracket for bearing support cup and the bearing support cup were both worn well past use. The bracket had been worn down about 1/4" to the SE with matching wear on the bearing support cup. There was a hole in the bottom of the bearing support cup (hence the grouding ball on the floor of dryer).
I installed the new idler pulley assembly and completely vacuumed out the dryer (I didn't know lint could get so stiff!). I installed the new parts from the kit once received (and the new belt bought previously) and the dryer works great. I'm so used to the obnoxious squealing that it seems odd to be so quiet.

The internet is a magnificent thing!

Followed your website repair guides and the great belt replacement video.

Other parts used were; front lower basket seal, dryer seal, and dryer drum belt.

Had no problems except for keeping the drum belt idler pulley tension spring in place. Used the rear access panel to solve this issue.

John H.
Palm Desert, CA

I followed the recommendation from William, from Ardmore, OK and Elvis, from Miami, FL for the repairs. Elvis had detailed instructions as well as William, so I just combined the two and I was able to repair my dryer in three hours time. My sincere thanks to partselect web site in posting the repairs on line and for everyones input. I will be back to use the web site again to troubleshoot my other appliances and order parts (great price, fast service for parts) and I will highly recommend this site to my friends.

Watched on-line video, then applied those steps.
1. Pop the front of the deck loose using putty knife to depress clips;
2. Disconnect wires from light and door switch;
(Before I disconnected wires from door switch and light, I made wiring sketches to make sure I reconnected in original manner.)
3. Remove lint filter mount screws and mount from bottom of door opening;
4. Cut drum belt with wire-cutters and removed it;
5. Remove drum support clip from top center of front panel;
6. Remove (1) screw from each side of dryer body that hold front to sidewalls, removed front panel;
7. Remove drum by lifting the rear out of the bearing, then moving it forward through the machine front;
[While I had the dryer disassembled, I thoroughly cleaned it of lint, dirt & metal filings. The metal filings were from the worn ball hitch and drum support bearing cup. I spent as much time cleaning it out as I did working on it.]
8. Stand drum on gallon paint bucket while removing ball hitch (Use a #2 drywall phillips apex to obtain sufficient seating & torque to remove and reinstall ball hitch screws at rear of drum.);
9. Have a second person hold the new ball hitch in position while starting screws, if necessary;
10. Use nut driver w/5/16" socket to remove bearing retainer & ground ball clip;
11. Install new bearing into retainer clip, insert attachment screws through the holes in both, stick grounding ball in depression on back of bearing as screws are fed through back panel;
12. Hold ground ball clip in place to start one screw, then the other & tighten with nut driver;
13. Start drum belt on motor shaft and position against tensioner pulley;
14. Feed drum through front of machine and loop belt over rear of drum;
15. Slide belt forward on drum as drum moves to rear to keep it aligned with position of tension pulley;
16. Lift rear of drum to place ball hitch on top of bearing, then press down to seat it into bearing;
17. Turn drum to ensure belt alignment, then re-accomplish steps 6 thru 1.

First of all, the folks at Part Select have been terrific. I balled up my address and they were great in correcting my error and getting the parts promptly to me. They provide directions with the parts. And You Tube, is a wealth of information too. The process is to remove the drum and replace the nylon busihing that supports the drum at the back of the machine. Getting it out was no sweat. Getting the drum back in was a bit more challenging single handed. If I was going to make any suggestion it would be this is a good project for two sets of hands with the second set needed for about ten minutes. The You Tube video I watched said putting the front cover with the drum attached to the back of the unit would be the challenge and they were right. Otherwise, super easy and the results are it's back to "new" condition. Thanks again to Part Select!

The new motor from parts select was not correct. The new motor is a bolt on. The original motor was a press on. Had to return at a cost of 42.00 dollars. Had to buy a new dryer.

First of all I would like you all to know that I cheated just a bit. I had SEARS come out and tell me for sure what the problem was, as they took my dryer apart a payed close attention to everything they did. After I was told that it would cost me over $200 (on top of the $109 I just payed for them to tell me what was wrong) to fix the heating element. I replied with a "NO THANKS!", I also told them not to worry putting it back together. It seemed like he was very happy to hear that and thought I was going to buy a new dryer, he even gave me a coupon for a whole 10% off if I spend over $400. After spending 10 minutes or so on line I found the part I needed @ Partselect.com (plug-plug) for like $20. Once I received the part it took all of 15 minutes to take of the old and put on the new. First: Make sure power is off by unplugging or turn off breaker (can't finish a project if a project finishes you)! Second: Find the two power lines sticking out at about four o'clock and disconnect. Third: Unscrew porcelain separator and remove the two coil ends before removing the coil it's self from the arrow like holders. Forth: reverse last three steps with care (coil feels like it could break easily). Fifth: Place drum back in it's setting while making sure that the drive belt that turns drum is placed around motor pulley. Sixth: Button it up the way you pulled it a part. and your done, good luck!

When it comes to repairs the only thing that I can fix are sandwiches. To say that I am a handy man is usually followed by snickers from my wife and friends... However, I was able to completley take apart my dryer, replace the heating pan and coils, put it back together and it works all by myself (my wife was standing behind me with a fire estinguisher when I plugged it in for the 1st time). I took the advice of some of the post I saw on this sight and took some before shots with my camera phone and marked the wires with tape so I knew where to return them and was able to get it all done. I was suprised at how easy it was to do and how simple a dryer really is on the inside. Ordering the part and doing it myself saved me a couple of hundred dollars easy.... this was the way to go!

much as described earler,
1. Removed 2 screws on back at the top and 2 on the chrome vent to access the belt and pulley.
2. Disconnected spring from pulley assembly and removed belt from pulley and motor.
3. Removed top of dryer.
4. Removed control panel.
5. Removed screws from inside dryer tumbler (all of them)
6. Removed bottom kick plate.
7. Removed 2 screws from inside panel (near tumbler) and 2 screws from bottom of front panel. Removed front panel.
8. Removed tumbler housing.
9. Removed heating element cover.
10. Removed heating element pan. (wires first)
11. Removed "bearing" by lifing it up (snaps in)
12. Cleaned and regreased "bearing"
Assembled in reverse order.

Simply popped it back into place, careful not to break the new handle.

I googled and found parts select, listed model make and found parts diagram, found suspected parts from trouble shooting blog. I read repair stories, people who performed identical repairs, followed their lead, made notes ordered parts and
easily repaired my dryer for a fraction of the cost of replacing dryer.

After unplugging the dryer, disconnecting it from the vent, and moving into an open work area, I popped the top open with the blade of a screwdriver, disconnected the two wires that connect to the door switch, then lifted the front panel (with the door) up and away from the drum. Next, I lifted the drum out of the worn rear bearing assembly and lowered it into the dryer in order to release tension on the belt. I then removed the entire drum by carrying it forward and out of the way. I then removed the old bearing assembly, which was loose and covered with metal dust. After cleaning the area with a dry cloth to remove the old grease and metal dust, and vacuuming all the lint off *everything*, I installed the new bearing assembly with a 5/16" nut driver, being careful to position the provided ball-bearing between the plastic bearing assembly and the outer clip. The little ball-bearing is very important, as it is the drum's only path to ground, and prevents the build up of static electricity as the drums spins. I then filled the new bearing assembly with the provided grease. Everything is easy up to this point, but the difficult part for me was removing the old hub from the drum and re-attaching the new one. It is held on by three screws and they become seated very tightly. After loosening them and removing the old hub from the drum, attaching the new one prvoed difficult as well, as the screw-holes in the new hub are not threaded to fit the screws. The screws muct be forced to cut a thread as you install them, which requires a great deal of force. After installing the new hub and putting the new belt (pruchased separately) around the drum, the next step is to reinstall the drum by lifting it in through the front of the dryer and positioning the new hub over the new bearing assembly and pressing it down into place. It will gently "snap" into place as it seats. Then, on the back side of the dryer, I removed the vent panel by removing the two screws that hold it in place and positioned the new drive belt (loosely dangling around the drum) over the motor's drive wheel and behind the sring-tensioned idle arm. Then it is a simply matter to reinstall the front panel by genly lifting the drum and sliding the door opening inside it, then reseating all the little clips that hold the front panel in place. I then pressed the top back into place, reconnected the vent hose, plugged it back in and checked for operation. My fifteen year-old dryer now works like new!

Romoved front from dryer . Then loosened tub , slid belt on , reached in back and put belt on pulley , turned tub till belt went into place and reassembled dryer all with the help of a 3 year old and an8 year old,so in my oppinion it was one of the easiest fixes i've ever done!