GDG8500 Dryer - Instructions

First it was a process of alimination to find out why it was dropping out. After the problem was found it was just a matter of replacing the holding coil on the gas valve. Thank you fred kenney sr

Doing some simple troubleshooting with the volt-ohm meter I determined that the door switch was failed.

The replacement door switch restored the motor circuit keeping my dryer in action.

If you're dis-assembling the dryer panels to remove the drum to acess the bearing located at the rear of the drum,don't hesitate to buy a idler pulley kit and a belt.It's easier to change them now,while it's apart. besides,their all pretty much in the same state of wear! In lew of prying my son away from the computer,an extra set of hands is a help, I used a scrap piece of 4x4 with a 1 inch whole bored in one side to place the bearing end into to steady it to get the screws started. otherwise you need to have 6ft.arms! re-assembly wasn't bad, a magnetic tipped #3 screw driver eliminates the frustration of dropping panel screws down inside the partially assembled body.

I am a seventy year old recent widow, I have never repaired any appliance before. This was the first time I had ever seen the inside mechanisms of a dryer. I read the reviews on your site and followed the instructions of other do-it-yourselfers. However I could not locate the screws to remove the front of dryer. I would like to know if this dryer can be accessed through back of dryer, for future references. This is a 20 year old dryer, very well made, and I am reluctant to give it up. I think the job would have been much quicker and easier if the dryer front could be opened, as I would have also liked to check the main burner, valve, and belts, etc. for wear and if all was working efficently, as well as do a thorough cleaning. I did locate the igniter part through small door on bottom of dryer, I loosened the screw on igniter, unplugged small plug on wire harness and removed part. Ordered new igniter part and it arrived within less than three days, excellent service, as I live on the west coast. I replaced new igniter, turned on the gas, plugged in electrical cord, checked gas valve connection on back of dryer to make sure it was secure, turned on dryer and presto, heat, works just like new so far. A $25 part sure beats a $200 service repair or the cost of a new dryer.The repair job required about 45 minutes total time, most of that time spent trying to remove front of dryer. If a seventy year old woman beginner can do this, it should be a snap for most anyone else.

(I knew the gas coils were bad, since the gas ignitor would glow brightly as the burner attempted to ignite. So I knew everything except the gas valve was operating normally.)

Unplug the electrical cord to the dryer. Remove the front access panel. Remove the retainer clip for the gas coils (2 screws). Remove the coils and unplug the electrical connections. Connect the new coils to their respective electricl connections. Slide the nes coils back onto their respective posts on the gas valve. Replace the retainer clip, and 2 screws to hold it in place. (I then plugged the dryer back into the wall outlet to visually check the burner operation) Everything worked fine so I then replaced the front panel.

After much coercement from my wife, I listened to the squealing noise she kept telling me about. Then it quit working completely and I had no choice. Probably the motor. Not being one to want to do this more than once and figuring after 16 years all of it could be bad, I ordered all moving parts, as well as new front and rears felt seals for the drum and the blower seal. Everything in taking the dryer apart was straight forward and obvious. The tricky part was getting the belt back on the tensioner. Working from the front of the dryer, I did this one-handed via the lower left side around the motor while my wife held the drum in place.

The repair itself was pretty easy. Though I had figured out what needed to be done on my own while I waited for the belt to arrive via Fed Ex, the belt arrived with instructions that described the plan I had already figured and if I hadn't known what I was doing, the instructions would have been a great help.

STEP ONE, UNPLUG THE UNIT (and/or shut off the gas supply), CAREFULLY. Then, I took the front of the unit off by removing the 2 screws on the front panel near the bottom of the unit and disconnected the wiring that shuts the unit off when the door is opened. Set the front door panel aside. Then I removed the front of the tumbler retainer along with the exhaust duct and lint screen assembly by removing 4 screws that affixed the reatiner frame to the rest of the outer cabinet. Set this aside as well. Remove the entire tumbler unit. Set aside. Remove 4 screws on the back of the unit that hold the tensioner and motor access panel and remove it. Set it aside. At this point, I vacuumed every bit of lint and debris from the snapped belt out of the enitre unit, lubricated/greased all moving parts, cleaned off the friction bearing surfaces, and collected loose change ($1.35).

When the belt arrived, I unwrapped it, and placed the smooth side to the tumbler and rubber banded the slack off to the bottom right side (sort of the 4:30 position as you put the tumbler back into the unit). I carefully jimmied the tumbler back into the unit BEING CAREFUL not to pinch the groved belt between the tumbler and any other parts inside the cabinet. I replaced the tumbler retainer and screwed the 4 bolts back into place. I spun the tumbler over near the tensioner assembly (so I could see the slack through the access panel hole in the back) and removed the rubber band. I threaded the belt through the tensioner and over the drive pulley and rotated the tumbler clockwise to align the drive train of the belt. I plugged the 2 wires back into the switch on the inside of the door panel and then I replaced it on the front of the unit and screwed the 2 screws back in at the bottom front of the panel. I plugged the unit back in and tested opperation. It worked great! I unplugged the unit again (I'm not finished yet). I then replaced the access panel on the back of the unit and screwed the 4 screws back in. I moved the unit back against the wall and plugged it back in. Done! The dryer is less noisey now and more efficient most likely b/c I cleaned all the lint out of the thing! Thanks for the prompt shipment of the belt!! I'll get a few more years out of this dryer before spending $700 on a new one!!! Thanks again!

Unplugged dryer, opened lower panel. Loosened the bolt that holds igniter assembly to gas unit and removed old igniter. Put new igniter in the pinch clamp then (being VERY careful so as not to crack new part) replaced igniter assembly and tightened its bolt firmly. Voilà, ignition!

First, I loosened the the top control panel and then loosened the top flat roof panel which allowed me access to the inside of the dryer. Then, I removed the front panel which allowed access to the drum. I was amazed at the amount of lint that was inside the dryer itself. Most of my time was spent in the disassembly and cleaning of the internal cavity around the drum. I reached below the drum and removed the belt from the pulley wheels and then unscrewed the drum (from the inside) from the back of the dryer and bearing kit. I removed the diffuser and cleaned it thoroughly. Then I replaced the entire drum bearing kit - the old one was almost completely dissentigrated. I probably should have applied some kind of non-flammable lubricant to the new bearing kit - the instructions did not include this step but after about 3 loads a slight squeak (different). I put everything back together - applying the new drum kit will require 2 sets of hands (my 9-year old daughter did great at this). I re-assembled the dryer and it works great, again except for the slight squeak that's still there. I may disassemble it again and apply some lubricant but I do not know what kind to get; I need to check that out.

I used the trouble shooting part of this site and bought the radiant flame sensor and the high limit thermostat. Installation was very easy. The original problem still persisted and then purchased the temp. control thermostat, cycling thermostat and thermal fuse. These parts installed easily as well and the problem still existed.

While using the Multimeter to determine if the gas valve coils were getting voltage during the lighting process I moved the contacts on the two wire coil and noticed that the coil would activate sporadically. As it turned out the coil had a loose connection which would contact while cool and then lose contact when the coil warmed up.

This was a tricky issue to diagnose and am now waiting for a new coil to finish the repair.

I now have an almost complete set of spare parts for electrical issues and got them at a nice price. I will keep them in the event that I might need some of them in the future.

The repair would have been easy and very straight forward thanks to this website if the actual problem hadn't been the crazy heat related bad connection in the coil. Since the flame would light during startup the coils seemed to me to be good. Actually finding a weird issue is the sort of thing I find to be the fun part of repairing things.

Thanks Parts Select ! !

Gregg heagney

Removed front of dryer, unplugged each coil to determine where buzzing was coming from.....determined it was the boosting coil....ordered part and replaced. Dryer works great....we think it had be going bad over time because drying times have noticeable decreased.

I first ordered the coils from a different web site and they sent the wrong ones. The job would have been much eaiser if i had just returned and ordered from here. Instead i cut wires and tried the others but since they were worng, it did not work. I didn't label the wires so it was a puzzle to put it back together. Once i had the wires connected properly it was a simple fix. You just open the top and take the front pannel off, remove the drum and it is right there at the bottom. Two screws take the cover off of the coils and they slide off the gas valve. Slide the new ones on and replace the cover. Put the front pannel back on, close the top and its good to go. I first tried the highlimit thermostat, and termostat with no luck. The flame would light when it was cold, but once warmed up, the flame would ignite and immediatly go out. The coils did the trick.

To be more precise, the clothes weren't getting dry and there was some sort of vibration sound coming out of the dryer. I removed the front panel (by removing the 4 front screws (2 in the door and 2 on the opposite side). I then ran the dryer while inspecting the innards. I notice that the igniter was lighting but was failing to start the gas flame. I could smell a little gas during this period so I know that gas was available but was not getting released in the correct amount. This told me that the gas valve we malfunctioning. I remove the gas valve and broke the igniter (it's fragile so be careful). Some other contributer did the same thing :(
I replace both the igniter and gas valve and presto... it was fixed. My wife was impressed and I looked good. I guess that's all that matters :)

I remove the front control panel and to get to the bottom front dryer door off. Using my volt meter i checked all the sensors and thermal. I surf the internet for hint and some one mention to replace the coil since some time you could have one goes out and the other working still. After i replaced the coil kit it works like a champ.

I tested the dryer coils and found that they were getting a voltage but would not open the gas valve. Coils were not bad but weak. After they warmed up they would not open the gas valve. It took 10 min to repace both coils and the heat sensor.