DDE7130LB Hotpoint Dryer - Instructions

first I took the dryer apart 1st thing i did was unplug the power supply (safety first) then I removed the top of the unit then removed the front cleaned all the lint from the inside of the cabinet I found the proper belt size on part select.com the next day I had my dryer belt delivered (which cost 1/3 the price of the local repair shop price)
then I placed the belt over the dryer drum and made sure it was in the general location it should be I then replaced the front cover and the top. then I removed the rear cover which was held on by six 5/16 sheet metal screws which gave me access to the drive pulley and belt tensioner the belt goes on by going under the tensioner then around the drive pulley
Then i rotated the drum by hand to make sure everything had clearance I then buttend everything up plugged it and started it up it workd fine and I figure Ill get another 8 years out of it
Thank you partselect.com

I initially opened the front of the dryer and noticed that the drum slides that the drum rides on in the front of the dryer were excessively worn. I then removed the drum and noticed that the plastic bearing that supported the drum in the rear was cracked and the washer(?) appered to be disintigrating. I ordered and replaced the drum slides and rear bearing. The dryer was still making too much noise. I ran the motor with the drum removed and realized that they motor was the remaining source of the excessive noise. I then ordered and replaced the motor with a new one and this solved the problem. Total cost was around $140. Note that when ordering a new motor, the instructions on the web site indicate that you need to order the motor pulley if your existing motor has a pressed on pulley. The new motor was a kit that came with the pulley included, and therefore the additional part was not needed, and had to be returned. The instructional videos and parts schematics on the web site were very helpful.

first had to troubleshoot... used multimeter to check all switches, they were good.

then checked thermostats, good again.

then checked motor centrifugal switch.. good.

with multimeter i found continuity between heating coil leads and heater housing. coil had broken and welded itself to housing.

changed coil in short time with restring kit (which got here amazingly fast) and everything is great.

ps: PartsSelect got me the part super fast and it was what i needed. also at a great price. would order from them again.

added note: if i were to do this again i would order the porcelain insulators that insulate the leads to the coils, they were old and very fragile and i experienced some fragmentation.

thanks to PartsSelect

pried old switch assembly from front of machine with screw driver. removed 2 electrical connections. shorted terminals to verify problem. inserted wiring terminals to new switch. verified operation and then pushed switch assembly into machine opening.

Removed 4 torx head screws under top and above front door. Raised top assembly that hinged at rear. Removed broken belt that laid on top on drum. Remove top left and right (2) screws (inside) and loosened (2) screws at bottom (outside) that secure front assembly of dryer. Make some slack in wires to door switch and light. Lift front assembly and hinge front assembly open to the right taking care not to damage wires. Removed 3 torx head screws from inner drum rear. Remove drum assembly, spacer and heat shield. Cleaned lint and debris from dryer and air duct. Cut and removed old heater elements. Removed 3 power feedthru and 6 ceramic insulators. Installed new heater elements according to instructions that were supplied with kit. To reassemble: Use 3, 10-24x3/4" set screws as guides to mount drum. The set screws are not provided. Install the 3 set screws into drum mount holes on bearing assembly. Slide heat shield then spacer onto set screws. Slipped drive belt over drum and let it rest near the mark on drum that previous belt made. Lower drum into dryer from top, not front and slide onto the 3 set screws. Remove 1 set screw and replace set screw with correct torx head screw. Repeat for other 2 set screws. Re-install the front assembly. Place drive belt on top of mark on drum made by previous belt. Close top and secure with 4 torx head screws. Remove access panel at the bottom of rear panel. Feed the drive belt around drive pully on motor and tensioner. Install rear access panel. I am very happy with the results. The dryer is working as good as new. The job took about 1.5 hours and I saved a bundle not having to replace the dryer or have a service technician do the repair. My thanks to PartsSelect.com, they had a distributor not far away and I received the parts very quickly.

Having recently replaced the heating elements and main bearing on the dryer I knew how to take the thing apart, getting to the motor was easy. However, the fan side of the shaft was longer than the original so I had to bend out the metal front panel where the fan is located so it would spin without grinding against the front of the dryer. That done, the rest was easy to finish, mounting bolts on the motor tightened, one last test before putting it back together and all was well. The dryer now works better than it has for a long time.

Removed the front panel,tiped up the top panel ,removed the drum, drive belt,motor and exaust tube assembly. cleaned and vaccumed all lint from every were. Removed motor from fan blade and houseing. Reinstalled moter and pulley that came with the moter and fan blade. reinstalled all of the rest of the parts and plugedin the wires. once all back together pluged into outlet and turned on and prasto works great.

Open the door. Remove torx screws just above the door. This allows the top to fold up toward the back.

Remove 2 screws with nutdriver just inside the top on each side. Then loosen 2 screws with nutdriver at the front near the bottom. The front can be lifted up and swung around to the right to get it out of the way. Optional: Disconnect the wires to get it completely out of the way.

From the back of the dryer bend the spring-loaded bar that holds a pulley to the belt just enough to release the belt.

From the front pull out the drum forward and out of the dryer. The belt will come with it.

Now you can see the inner and outer heater coil elements. Both of mine were clearly broken. At this point follow the directions in the replacement kit.

Reinstall in reverse order.

To perform this repair (please see numerous descriptions on the web for generic belt replacement) I had to rivet two loose parts to the drum in order to reinstall the drum. Specifically, the loose metal disk and hot air shroud at the rear of the drum (near the rear berrings) made it impossible to realign the parts to reinstall the three torx bolts at the rear of the drum during reassembly. These two loose parts are positioned behind the drum (when looking inside the drum) i.e. between the drum and the rear berrings.

It was necessary to align the mounting holes in the drum, disk, and air shroud outside of the dryer itself and then to rivet them in place (making sure the smooth rivet head was INSIDE the drum as to avoid providing a rough edge where the clothes could catch during tumbling). Just press the 3 torx bolts through the holes to establish correct alignment. Be sure to install the rivets ouside of the contact area between the heat shroud and mounting plate. You should see an indented pattern on the heat shroud that you can use as a guide.

It was also helpful to make a black mark on one of the drum mounting holes (inside the drum) and its mate on the berring attachment plate - to help orient you when installing the drum with the 3 torx bolts. It only aligns one way - and making the marks will save you aggravation while your head is in the drum during reassembly. Loud swearing at this point only punishes your ears because, after all, your head is in an acoustically punishing echo chamber - and the echoes make it seem as if the dryer is actually cussing YOU and your incompetence out...

I hope this helps someone else save some time in reinstalling the drum.

One additional pointer: you must remove the lower plate on the rear side of the dryer to wrap the belt around the tensioner pulley and motor drive. The belt wraps, from right to left, first around the motor pulley and then up and to the left around the tensioner pulley. Just place the belt around the motor pulley, and then pull the tensioner pulley toward you and leftward until it clears the belt, then push toward the front of the dryer - and let the tensioner contact the belt on the right side of the tensioner pulley.

And finally, the ribbed side of the belt makes contact with the drum and the motor pulley. The smooth side of the belt is in contact with the tensioner pulley. Good luck, and may the choice words I used during the process be unnecessary for you... for you... for you!

--Removed bottom rear panel (right under where 220 line comes in) which exposed belt and idler pulley.
--Relieved tension on belt by moving idler arm and moved belt off idler puller (just to the side).
--Removed e-clip.
--Removed old pulley and washers.
--Installed new thick plastic washer first, then pulley, then e-clip.
--Relieve tension and place belt back on new pulley.
--Replace back panel.
-Fini!

my two twin boys Mike and Curtis age 14 did the repare they toke of the front of the dryer then the top put the belt around the drum then put the top and front back on then went to the back and removed the panel and put the belt on the pulley then set the tension wheel then put the back cover back on
the repair was easy I watched to make sure they did it right and did not have to tell them how I am very proud of them they do great work
finding the part was easy and it was here the next day after I ordered it and it was only sent 3 to 5 work days. You guys have a great web site and fast shipping thanks for the good work!

Easy as 1-2-3. I took off the top hinge screws in order to lift up the top of the dryer.

I then took off the front dryer piece with the door intact. The lint filter was in the front door section.

I released the wiring clips to the front of the dryer and lowered the front of the dryer down gently. there is enough slack with the wiring if you disconnect the wirre clips.

I removed the old broken belt. ThenI gently lifted thr dryer drum enough to slid in the new belt with the ridges down. Look for the old belt line (worn area on the drum) and slip the belt up on the drum to that point.

Then I replaced the wiring with clips and put the front of the dryer back together.

Going around to the lower back of the dryer, I unscrewed the back plate where the exhaust comes out. It was 8 screws with a socket.

Once the back was off, I pulled the dryer pully to the right and fed the reamider of the belt through both pulleys ensuring that the ridged side was on the correct side of the pulley. The pylleys match the ridges on the belt. I rleased the tension on the movavle pulley and it was done.

All I had to do was button the back up and do a "dry run" I quick have the drum a half roation from inside the drum with the door open. Then it was all gravy. I was done and saved myself a good deal of money. Look on the net for pics to make thing easier for you. There are people out ther who will NOT charge you for this info.

First i removed the lower rear inspection plate to see what the problem was.
next i removed the screws in the front top panel.
next i lift the top back,the rear hinges held it in place.
next i removed the bolts that held the front panel in place,but before i removed the panel i removed the wires that were connected to the front elements and disconnected then,
next i removed the front panel,then i place the new dryer belt over the dryer drum,but first you have to rise the drum up a little to get the belt under it.
next i put all the front panels back in place,make sure you reconnect the wires that you removed earlier.
next i moved to the back panel, there i position the belt over the dryer drum,then i place the belt over the motor drive pulley, then i pull down the tension bar roller to the left and place the belt over it.Then i replace the rear panel in place.plug in the power core and turn it on. finished. After over 35 years this is the first time i had to replace the belt,matter of fact this is the first time i had to replace anything on this dryer, washers will that is a different story. but the dryer runs great maybe for another 30 +years LOL.

Removed the rear access panel (8 - 10 bolts), checked the pullys. Opened the dryer door, removed 4 allen screws at top and lifted the top of the dryer (like a hood on a car). Removed a screw (phillips) on each side (inside) pulled open the front and worked the belt around the drum. Placed belt onto pullys, plugged in checked for proper rotation of drum then unplugged and installed screws and bolts. - Fairly easy, saved a bunch from a service call. I also found 15+ years of lint inside the dryer. Vacumed and cleaned the inside -it even dries faster! Sorry Honey - No new dryer this year - Now can I go hunting?

I checked the power (OK) and removed the four screws that held the timer/controls (upper panels) cover. This revealed a schematic for the dryer that enabled me to determine the door swich was probably the culprit. I pried out the old switch and, sure enough, it was always open (checked with multi-meter). I found the replacement switch easily using the dryer model number and "door switch" search string. Ordered Sunday night, the part came on Tuesday and took 2 minutes to install (no tools needed).