Opening the cabinet of an older Whirlpool model
| Note: | | Disconnect the power source to your dryer before you begin to open its cabinet. Either unplug the unit from the wall outlet, remove the appropriate fuse from the fuse box, or flip the appropriate breaker in the circuit breaker panel. |
Pull your dryer out from the wall to avoid hitting the wall when you raise the cabinet top. Lift the lint screen access cover and remove the two screws inside. Do not remove the actual lint screen before you remove the screws. Removing the lint screen first could lead to accidentally dropping the screws down the lint screen shaft and into the blower wheel.
If your older Whirlpool clothes dryer model has a kickplate, remove it first. You can either pop it off, or pry the kickplate off the interior spring catches. Depending on your model, you may have to use a putty knife to push in on the spring catch at the center of the top of the kickplate. With the kickplate removed, proceed to lift the cabinet top.
Use a putty knife, or some other thin and flat object to wedge in under the cabinet top. Your goal is to push each of the two interior spring catches back out of the way, thereby releasing the cabinet top. The spring catches are located one on the left side under the cabinet top and one on the right side under the cabinet top.
Loosen the two bottom screws securing the front panel to the unit. Do not remove them just yet. Locate the two screws at the inside top of the cabinet. They also help to secure the front panel to the dryer unit. Remove these two screws. Balance the front panel as best you can as you remove the two bottom screws that you have just loosened. Disconnect the wire leads connected to the door switch. Hold the dryer drum in place and remove the front panel of your dryer. Some models may have extra screws holding the front panel in place. If you are having difficulty removing the front panel, do a check for more screws.
Reassembling the entire unit is basically the disassembly process in reverse. Reattach the front panel of the dryer in the same manner you took it off. Make sure you reattach the wire leads to the door switch, and replace all of the screws that were earlier removed.
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