3LER5436EQ1 Whirlpool Dryer - Instructions

Fit great,well please with order!

Removed the dryer's back panel and took a look. Had no idea what to do next, so I read up on it. Partselect was extremely helpful to me, the exploded views with the part numbers called out were particularly helpful. So I determined it was the thermal fuse. Unscrewed the screw holding in the fuse and disconnected the electrical supply. New fuse went in really easily. Job took a lot longer than it had to cause since I was in there, I cleaned out the dryer really good.

Why the fuse blew was interesting: had an extension cord routed over the dryer, well it was situated such that it caused the timer knob to bind up. Apparently, the dryer ran all night because of this and blew the fuse. So don't obstruct the knob or you will be replacing a thermal fuse!

Two Phillips screws, and 2 5/16 bolts and the dryer is open for this repair. Remove the drum and note the placement of the drive belt. Then using a pipe wrench grab the rear plastic fan housing, at the rear of the motor shaft, and turn the front of the motor shaft CLOCKWISE. If the Fan is ceased (as it was in my case) you will need to use locking vice grips (at least 3 or 4 between the fan blades to stop the fan blades from turning on the rear shaft.) while your turning the front of the motor's shaft. If done properly, you should have about 25-30 turns before the motor is free for replacement.
Once this is accomplished, mounting the new motor back into the dryer is a simple matter of reversing your steps. But keep note of the belt placement and the motor wiring placement before starting.

I opted to remove front, top and back panels. This is best done with dryer laying on it's back so drum remains in position. Hold panels and pieces in place with masking tape (2") You should block up the dryer so you don't damage the gas pipe. I opted to total shop vac out the piece and lubricate the rollers and tension pulley. I made more in change than the belt cost!

Overall an easy repair. Belt came with diagram for easy threading the belt.

I misdiagnosed the problem as heater element because I did not have my voltage meter with me. The problem was the heat thermostat that senses temperature in the drum and burns out if it's too high. There are two other safety cut off thermostats that when triggered will reset themselves when the temp cools. All three should be tested before looking for something else, like the cycle selector switch; that one is not only more complex but very difficult to access. One is on the heater element itself, the other senses the temperature of air flowing out of the heater element. I believe this array of thermostats is similar on every drier. Each one should be tested with an electrical multifunction tester before guessing what's wrong. The drum thermostat, a $13 part, was the easiest to replace, once I got the back of the drier completely open, a not too difficult task. And, as I found out talking to a repairman, is the thermostat that most commonly fails. I will add that Partselect was most accommodating in providing advice and in authorizing me to return the heater element and refunding the overnight shipping fee. And their web site is terrific--the only drawback being you have to read it over thoroughly before concluding you are an "expert". I would work with them before any other vendors. Good luck!

I have not received the parts yet waiting on the motor, can’t put the blower fan in without the motor, ordered it , Jan 23rd, still no motor, have to go to laundry mat, have you ever had to do that with 7kids, and you and your wife’s laundry, probably not, because you would have had your motor by now. Maybe you can help me with the part so I can redo a testimonial here for you. 19 days and still waiting

I followed the video. So easy..

I am a 75 yr old woman. I cannot afford to have a service call plus parts. So I ordered the part from this company and used the video instructions to install. Now this should have been a 15 minute process but I was being careful.. I installed and pushed start and Hooray I did it

very easy

I removed the base cover and cover over my lint blower. The thermal fuse is located on top of the blower housing. I removed the thermal fuse utilizing a small nutdriver and installed the new fuse.

removed old gasket took door off 4 screws. cleaned seal area applied glue put on gasket easy

Unplug unit first.
Took the front cover off the front of dryer below the door.

Take the door off of the dryer. Lay it on a towel. Remove old gasket. Clean the channel the door gasket fits into with glue remover. Squeeze high temperature glue into the channel, let the glue set up. Put the new gasket into the channel, tape it down in a few places. Let it sit 24 hours for the glue to set up. Put the door back on. You can put the door on immediately as long as you don't use the dryer for 24 hours. Easy.

I followed the instructions on the video and it was simple. The hardest part was vacuuming out 32 years of lint from around the motor and igniter. I was lucky there was never a fire in the dryer.

Step 1: Unplug the unit, then remove the lint screen and then remove the two screws beneath the lint screen cover. Step 2: At the rear of the dryer there is a small protective metal panel near the upper part of the dryer - remove this first; then at the front of the unit, insert a plastic pry tool between the front edge of the top and the front panel of the dryer and gently pry the top loose. Step 3: Lift the dryer top up and either remove it entirely or let it rest on the back edge and a wall for support. Step 4: On the inside of each side panel near the top front, locate the two screws holding the sides of the dryer to the front panel and remove them. Step 5: Carefully slide the front panel up so that the panel detaches from two metal clips holding the front panel onto the side panels. The drum will likely drop down slightly at this point since it is no longer being supported at the front. Step 6: On the front panel there is a wire that connects the front panel door switch. I left that intact because it was too difficult to remove without risk of breaking it and instead simply set the front panel to the side of the dryer - but if possible remove disconnect the wire and then set the front panel aside. Step 7: Remove the drum by pulling it out, inspect the back felt seal for wear and also the plastic split ring bearings at the front end. When you remove the drum belt the tensioner pulley underneath the drum will likely fall over, but this is to be expected because without the belt and drum providing tension, the piece only fits loosely in a slot at the bottom of the dryer. Step 8: Inspect the drum rollers, motor, and other parts for wear, then vacuum out the inevitable lint and dust inside the unit. Step 9: At this point I also decided to inspect and clean out the lint chute at the back of the unit, so I removed the protective back cover and removed the screws holding the lint chute in place. I then cleaned out the lint that builds up over time inside the chute and checked the two foam lint chute seals at the back of the unit - these needed replacing so I removed the old deteriorated foam and vacuumed off the back of the unit and then adhered the new seals to the back of the dryer. Step 10: Take the new multi-rib belt and drape it around the drum with the ribbed side against the drum - you will likely see a mark around the drum where the old belt was positioned, so use that as a guide. Step 11: Since one of the split ring bearings on my unit was worn, I replaced both at this time by simply pressing the plastic tabs out of the slots at the front of the drum, removed each half of the ring, and reinstalled the new parts - they only correctly fit one way so that the plastic edge lines up cleanly with the front edge of the drum. Step 12: With the felt drum seal toward the back replace the drum - I used a small box to support the drum upon while I reinstalled the drum - this will make it much easier to manipulate the belt around the tensioner and motor. At this point I reached underneath the drum and reinstalled the tensioner. by positioning it in the two small slots near at the bottom panel that are near the front of the dryer motor. Then take the belt and pull it through the tensioner and around the motor pulley at the front of the unit. You will likely have to push up slightly on the drum and tensioner to allow the belt to be pulled through the tensioner and around the motor pulley. Step 13: Rotate the drum slowly by hand at least one full revolution and check to see that the felt seal at the back is not pinched and that the belt does not fall off the pulley. Step 14: I removed the box supporting the bottom of the drum, then took the front panel and fit the front of the drum against it so that the split ring bearing matched up to the front panel. Step 15: The drum will still be somewhat loose and that allowed me to carefully lift the front panel up and then slide it down back onto the two metal clips that hold the front panel to the side panels. Step 16: Reinstall the two screws that also hold the front panel to the side panels. And if you also removed the wire connection to the dryer door, reattach that too. Step 17: If you removed the lint chute, reinstall it from the back while the lid is still off so that it is easier to slide it into position. Step 18: Reattach the top of the unit by seating it against the top of the frame (of course if you disconnected wires, reattach those too) and reinstalling the two screws underneath the lint screen cover. Step 19: Reattach the rear panel cover and small protective metal panel. Step 20: Reattach the flex-hose to the lint exhaust.