MDE216RED1 Frigidaire Dryer - Instructions

1) Unplug the unit.
2) Remove all screws from top of the unit except for the one in the center front that does not go through the outer casing.
3) Find the Thermal Limiter which is on the back wall near the top on the left side when looking from the front.
4) Disconnect the two wires
5) Remove the two screws that mount the limiter to the back wall.
6) Use an ohmeter to test if a current flows through the unit. If no current flows through (an open switch), then the unit will need to be replaced.
7) Clean any lint that you can at this point.
8) Use two screws to mount new Thermal Limiter
9) Reconnect the two wires to the Limiter.
10) Attach the top of the dryer case.

This unit is a stackable washer&dryer,so first pull unit away from wall atleast 4 foot. Unplug power cord,then take10 dagree front panel off then the control panel off and unplug the 5 connetors if your unit has that many,then lay panel asside. Take dryer door off,makes it easier when putting it all back together. Now take front panel off and the dryer lent tube,now just take the 3 center phillips head screws out and slide drum out. Pull upward on what they call the shaft which held drum on. Now these are the parts you should order. Belt,grounding ball clip,grounding ball,drum support bearing,bearing bracket,and most important part is the shaft. The shaft is ur insurance for the whole job. Use a good grease like white lithium grease and coat the shaft end and the drum support bearing. The grease will cut down on friction for a while,and re assemble the way you took apart. Reminder grounding ball goes behind drum support bearing not in front. Good luck and please vaccum.

had to remove the belt and drum and then remove the motor and replace it...put the belt on and then the hard part was to get the drum in place without the belt coming off. New Motor works quieter than the old one did, so I assume the dryer came with a defective motor to begin with and then the shaft finally broke. It runs very quiet now, but never did before. Even a service man came when it was new but said that was normal. Now we know it was not....there was a problem from the start.

After reading about similar problems people have had with this make of dryer, I focused attention on the thermal limiter. I determined that it was the culprit by "jumping" it with a 6" piece of wire. Then I simply went on the site, ordered the part. It arrived a few days later and I pulled out the old one, screwed in the new one, and the dryer is good as new.

0) Turned off breaker at panel and disconnected power cord from 240v wall outlet
1) Removed screws that hold electrical cover plate on back of dryer.
2) Lifted the top of dryer using putty knife on 2 top edges of lid. This lifts up like a cars hood.
3) Removed the screws that attach the power cord to the terminal block and disconnected power cord
4) Removed screws that attach terminal block to dryer
5) Removed melted terminals by prying out of terminal block. Note metal lip on terminal has to be lifted in order to slide connector out. Also unscrewed ground wire from terminal block to dryer.
6) Drew diagram of what color wires go to what terminals
7) Cut terminals off of wires and connected new terminals. Crimped closed and used butane solder torch to solder connection between terminal and wire
8) Reconnected terminals to terminal block by sliding in. **Note, had to file down the edges of the terminals using moto-tool to make it fit as they are connected together using break-away tabs that leave a large piece of metal connected not allowing to fit in terminal block
9) Reconnected terminal block to dryer and reconnected ground wire.
10) Reconnected power cord to terminal block with screws
11) Replaced cover over wiring terminal block
12) Reconnected power cored to 240ac wall outlet
13) Turned breaker back on

Other repair stories about this product are very accurate and I used them to do the repair, so I see no need to be redundant.

I'd just like to draw attention to the following:
Disassembling the dryer is somewhat easy. Replacing the heating element is very easy.
Replacing the belt is very easy.

Replacing the drum bearing is somewhat difficult. I purchased a "T" screwdriver in order to get more torque on the screws. When I had the drum bearing in place and the screws partially inserted, I laid a piece of thick foam on the floor and set the drum, bearing side down, on the foam. It is very difficult to get enough tension on the screws to get them through the bearing plate, but setting the drum up this way at least allows you to use gravity to your advantage.

Thanks again to Part Select for making the part purchasing experience so effortless.

Thanks to other writers of "Repair Stories" for making my repair so easy.

I read your suggested test to determine where the problem was that was making the machine not start.
Got part . Took off back control panel. I put the part on as your instructions guided me . SUCCESS!
I set the timer and pushed the button and the dryer began turning immediately.

Unplug dryer (gotta say it). Remove the two screws that hold in the lint catch. Remove top of dryer (two screws in back hold brackets, the front snaps on). remove two screws along the front edge to take front panel off the dryer (there are also clips). Unhook the two electrical connectors that control the door shut off. Once the front is off, remove the old glide and felt and install the new parts. Be sure not to step on the tube of contact cement, making it explode inside the bag. That sucked. Reassemble.

Removed dryer front, unscrewed 3 screws in center hub, replaced bearing assembly. Removed old basket seal with razor scraper, cleaned surface with mineral spirits, applied new basket seal. Replaced dryer front and project was done. Dryer has no more sqeaks.

Had to pretty much disassemble the entire dryer. The schematics on the web site made it a snap to do. One word of advice. I you have to replace the rear drum assembly, the drum has to come out the front of the dryer. Part select made this a very positive experience.

Part arrived earlier than expected & when replacing the knob I merely lined it up with the timer shaft which was a 1/2 round shaft. It slipped on very easy & I just pushed the knob on as far as it would go. Replacement of the knob makes life much easier in being able to turn the timer on without use of a wrench. Very, very satisified customer.

Make sure you order a new belt and a new drum glide with the rear drum bearing assembly. If your bearing is worn out, so are the belt and drum glide!

1) Use a flat screw driver or putty knife to release the blind clips that hold the front side of the top of the dryer cabinet down
2) Swing dryer top up and remove two screws that hold the face of the cabinet.
3) Unplug the wiring harness and remove the cabinet face.
4) Remove the 3 screws that hold the drum to the bearing assembly (accessed from inside the drum. This makes it easier to remove the drum as the bearing assembly can be difficult to remove before you see how it snaps together
5) Reach under the drum and take the belt off the motor pulley, then remove the drum
6) Remove the old bearing assembly from the socket (slide up then out)
7) Remove the two screws that hold the bearing socket to the dryer
8) Fasten the new socket to the dryer (you'll need help doing this unless you have REALLY long arms because you have to reach inside the driver and the back of the dryer at the same time)
9) Grease the socket with the supplied high temp grease
10) Bolt the new bearing assembly to the drum and put the new belt around the drum
11) Put the drum back in and snap the bearing socket in and down
12) Guide the new belt around the motor pulley & tensioner
13) Glue the new drum glide / felt piece to the front cabinet
14) Put the cabinet back together

I contacted a company to come out and diagnose the problem. They informed me that the thermal limiter is bad and needed to be replaced for $15 for the part and $85 labor. I found the part on this site for about $10, and did the repair myself. The dryer was mostly dismantled so I pulled the drum back, and replaced the part. The tricky part was the pulley system was, so make sure you see it before hand or find a diagram online. Once that was figured out, I set the drum back up, greased and tightened the pulley, reattached the front of the washer with connections, and closed the lid.

Very simple to take dryer apart ,1st top snaps off and 2 screws and front comes off,Dryer needed new front guide but I replaced rear support and belt also as recommended, good time to clean it out too.Hardest part was getting old guide and lower seal off, don't know if it's right but I used a small die grinder with a wire brush attached and it went real quick to clean old felt and glue off. $85 and dryer runs like it is brand new. easy for anyone with some mechanical ability. PartsSelect webpage made getting the right parts fast and easy

Repair to replace motor and blower kit. Disconnected Power Source and turned off breaker. Removed top and front with screwdriver. Removed back plate with screwdriver. Disengaged belt. Removed plastic piece in front top with phillip screwdriver. Removed Drum. Disconected thermostat from blower. Unplugged motor connections. Removed screws holding in blower unit. Removed blower unit and motor as a unit. Removed pully unit (2 Screws). Took off blower unit security nut to be used on new unit. Took old seal out of pully unit. (New Motor has one installed on it). Put pully unit back in. Put in new motor and blower unit. Screwed them in place. Reconnected thermostat. (2 screws).
Connected electrical plugs to motor. Put drum in and plastic piece in front top of dryer. Hooked belt back up from rear. Replaced rear door. (2 screws). Reconnected ground wire on back top of dryer. Put on front making sure all wires to Timer are connected(they can pull off when taking drum out). Close front. Polug dryer in. Reset dryer in place. Turn on Breaker. Done.