GLGQ Frigidaire Dryer - Instructions

We followed the instructions for the drum glide replacement and changed the belt and drum support bearing piece, cleaned it out too. Works like a charm. Thanks for saving us a bundle.

1. Unplug dryer from outlet
2. Using Lg. flat screwdriver, pry under the front edge of the top and release two spring tabs
3. Lift up top and tilt back out of your way
4. Unscrew two phillips scews on inside of front panel
5. Lift up and out the front panel. Two spring clips at bottom.
6. Rlease tension on drum belt at the motor. Access panel at rear of dryer.
7.Unscrew 3 screws from inside, center rear of drum.
8. Remove drum through the front of the dryer. You may have to spread the sides apart a little bit for it to fit
9. Lift up on the rear drum bearing to remove it from the bearing retainer. ( U shaped plastic socket)
10. unsrew 2 screws and remove the bearing retainer, ground ball. Ball retainer is on outside of dryer.
11. Vacuum everything--duct, blower, lint trap, ect.
12. Intall new bearing retainer and grounding ball, an assistant is helpful at this time, one to hold ball retainer on rear of dryer, one to screw it in from the inside
13. reassemble remainder of parts in reverse order.

The motor bearings had stiffened up – classic planned obsolescence.

I could tell the motor was bad, because when I tried to spin the drum by hand, it wouldn't turn in any direction. (Normally it can turn fairly easily.)

(Helpful hint: As you remove screws / parts, place them in a plastic baggie, and write on the baggie from whence they came. This is especially helpful if you have to order parts and then wait a few days for them to arrive.)

You can replace the starter motor without removing the drum, but it is easier if you do remove the drum. Plus, I decided to also replace the drum belt, since it was 9 years old and is a wear part.

UNPLUG THE DRYER BEFORE YOU BEGIN.

1. Pop off the top cover; it has two spring clips at the front, then it hinges up. Disconnect the green grounding wire at the back, then slip the cover off the hinges and set it aside.

2. Remove the front panel:

a. Looking down into the dryer, disconnect the electrical harnesses that go between the front controls and the body. You may have to cut a nylon cable tie to access one or more. (Note that they have shapes that won't allow you to mix them up later). Also, there are two wires that attach to connectors in the top middle of the dryer, which are difficult to get at; you may need a needle nose pliers to pull them. Remember their color-coding for reinstallation.

b. Remove the two phillips screws located about 8 inches from the top, on either side, inside the body, that hold the front panel in place.

c. The front panel is now held in place by spring clips. Pry it gently to pop it loose. It will hinge out, then you can pull it up. Notice how the front piece has felt pads that serve to hold the front of the drum; you'll line it up the same way when it goes back together. Set the front panel aside.

3. Remove the rear motor vent plate.
a. It is at the back, lower right of the dryer (which is lower left once you're behind it). 2 phillips screws hold it in place.

b. Now look inside to see the motor and belt. Memorize how the belt feeds around the motor pulley and the larger, white plastic tensioner pulley. Notice how the rear motor bearing sits in a half-round metal plate, held down by a spring clip. (Make a drawing if you like.)

c. Move the spring- loaded tensioner arm to take tension off the belt, then slip the belt off the motor pulley.

d. Notice that the tensioner pulley, arm and spring are all held in place by the spring. Note that the tensioner pulley can slip off its shaft. Note these things for when you put it all back together later.

e. Now undo the tensioner arm spring and remove the arm, pulley and spring. Set them aside.


4. Remove the drum:

a. There is a yellowish plastic block at the top front of the open dryer body that holds the drum. Take it out with a phillips screwdriver.

b. Slip the now un-tensioned belt off the drum, to the back, so it hangs over the heater element body. You can leave it there for now, so you don't forget to install it before you put everything back together. If you're going to replace the belt, now is a good time to do so. (Check the length of the new belt against the old one, to make sure they're the same.)

c. Now you can remove the drum. It uses a center ball in a socket joint at the back to hold it in place. Use a screwdriver to lever upward on the back of the drum. This will pop the ball up, and then you can pull the drum out from the front.

5. Clean it up.
Now is a very good time to vacuum out any lint in the fan area, inside the dryer body, etc. Also consider removing the lint trap assembly from the dryer front ( 2 phillips screws) and vacuuming it out as well.

6. Remove the motor.

a. First, remove the fan that's attached to the front of the motor. Use a socket (7/8", I think) to unscrew the fan from the front of the motor shaft. IMPORTANT: The fan has a plastic hex nut sh

Took the face off, and replaced the worn down drum glide and felt. Works just fine now.

Unpluged dryer. Removed the top of dryer by pushing in a retaining clip on both sides of the front lip with a screw driver. Remove the two screws on both sides of front panel. These screws are square head or phillips #2. Unplugged the wiring harness to front panel (make sure power has been disconnected). Support drum and lean front panel away from dryer body. Front panel will pull off of tabs at bottom. The old drum glide is fiberous and hard to remove. I removed most of it with the pliers, but had to carefully scrape the balance of the glide off with the wood chisel. The adhesive that comes with the repair part has an acetone base, so I used acetone (or you could use nail polish remover) to remove the old adhesive. Once the acetone has dried, I applied an 1/8" snaking bead of adhesive to the front panel. There is more adhesive in the tube than you need so do not use too much. Make sure that you get adhesive as close to the base of the lower seal as you can. Follow directions on adhesive tube and then attach the glide. I let it set up for about 30 seconds. Place the front panel back on the tabs of the dryer. Carefully lift the drum an fit it on the front panel and insert the two screws holding the panel to the base. Reconnect the wiring harness and make sure it is not in contact with the drum. Check to make sure that all of the electrical connectors on the timer are still in place. Reassemble the dryer. Reconnect power.

I felt ,if I was going to replace the top drum glide and lower basket seal, I might as well replace the belt ,bearing assembly and the idle pulley assembly and avoid having to replace these sooner than later. All of the parts showed alot of wear and the belt like all drive belts, should be changed every 5-6 years.
DISCONNECT ELECTRICITY and GAS LINES
1.popped top by pushing and prying at front /top clips about 2-3in. in from side edges. lifted it off
2. removed the front panel by removing the 2 top front screws from the inside, then the two lower screws from the front after removing the small white plastic hole covers. disconnected the multiplug electric connector top right. set panel aside.
3.remove small back panel.and loosened belt.(observe belt path and idle pulley assy.
4. lifted drum and slid it out the front.
5. using socket, removed rear plastic bearing housing and replaced the same. be careful of observing the small ball bearing and the small piece on outside back panel. replace the same. you wil probably need a second set of hands to hold the piece on the outside when screwing in the screws from the inside.
6. unscew the "bearing" from the rear of the drum and replace with new one.(the screws are self-tapping and go in HARD!!)
7. apply lubricant liberally to plastic bearing holder
8. place new belt around drum(rubber side against drum cloth side out.
9. idle pulley assy. is removed by removing spring and just sliding assy out of holder. replace with new
10. replace drum and belt
11. take front panel and remove top drum glide and lower basket seal.( i marked where the two seal/glide come together with a marker )
12. scrape and remove as much felt and possible. I then used "goo gone" to remove all the glue. clean well and using the provided high temp adhesive reattached glide and seal.
13. reassemble and enjoy your NEW? dryer

The top of the dryer was easily removed by prying the front up with a screwdriver then tipping it back and off of the mounting brackets. Then the front of the dryer was removed by unscrewing a single screw on each side that held the front to the side panels then pulling the front away from the dryer. Once the front was off, the coils were easily accessible on the bottom left side. A metal bracket held the coils on and was somewhat tough to get the two screws removed on it as they were stuck, but once they were removed the coils easily came out and I was able to replace them in minutes. The whole job took 15-20 minutes and I now have a dryer that heats through the entire drying cycle.

For the glide, I want to advise people that to replace the entire glide you need to order two front drum glide parts as each is only half.

First, unplug the dryer. Then, open the top so that you can get access to the work area. On each side of the inside front, there is a screw that connects the front panel to the side panels. Unscrew those screws and pull the front panel until it disconnects from the side panels. Be careful as there are wires that are secured to the bottom of the top inside lip of the front panel. One set of wires goes to the light bulb in the dryer door. You don't need to disconnect the wires, but be sure you don't damage the wires by pulling the front panel too far away from the dryer.

Once you have the front panel out of the way, you can see the front drum glide. In my case, one half was loose as the plastic plugs that pop into recesses to hold the glide in place had broken off. Remove the damaged glide section and replace it with the new section, popping the plastic plugs into the recesses. Don't be afraid to slap the glide to lock the plugs in place.

For the felt, I cut the part of the old felt that was pulling away from the front panel. I then used a flat-head screwdriver and wire brush to remove as much of the old adhesive as I could. Then, using the high-heat adhesive that came with the new felt, I put a generous amount on the front panel where the felt needed to go. I used a toothpick to spread the adhesive to get maximum area coverage. I let it set for a minute or two, and then placed the new felt. I used small clamps to keep the felt in place until the adhesive had time to bond. I only kept the clamps in place for 10 minutes.

Once I removed the clamps, I let the felt continue to adhere to the front panel for 24 hours before reassembling the dryer. Again, be careful of the wires connected to the front panel as it appears very easy for them to be pinched or cut when putting the front panel back in place.

When the dryer was reassembled, I plugged it back in and have had no more troubles.

Took out the old srews and screwed in the new.

The high pitch squeel was the result of a failing drum bearing. It was particularly evident when first turning on the dryer, but became softer as the dryer heated up. In order to replace the drum bearing, I removed the top panel and front door panel.

The top panel was easily taken off by removing 2-screws from the back edge of the panel, and sliding it back to release it from the front panel seam.

The front panel is more involved, but still relatively easy for your average "do-it-yourselfer". I removed the front door panel by first removing the control panel (4-screws; 2 on top and 2 from the back of the panel). I removed 2 cable assemblies from the control panel via connecters (different sizes so didn't need to mark) and 2-wires attached to the large control panel mode selector (I marked these 2-wires). I set aside the control panel. I removed the front door panel by taking off 6-screws (2 on top, 2 on the bottom, and the remaining 2 on the inside of the panel on either side of the drum). After removing these 6-screws, I carefully pulled the front door panel away from the front of the dryer, carefully releasing 4-alignment latches (2 on either side). The front door panel was still electrically attached to the machine so I had to disconnect a couple more wires. I carefully disconnected 2-wires from the door light assembly and 3 more wires from the door switch (I marked the 3-wires on the door switch). I set aside the front door panel.

From the back of the dryer, I removed the small motor access panel on the bottom left corner. This panel also provides access to the drum belt. I released the drum belt from the motor drive wheel by releasing spring tension at the tensioner. The belt can easily be disconnected from the motor drive wheel and tensioner assemblies.

Removal of the drum was now possible. With the front door panel removed, the front of the drum is maintained in place via a small plastic stop on the top crossmember. I removed this stop prior to removing the drum. With one hand, carefully grabbing the belt that is was loosely draped across the back of the drum, and the other hand holding the front lip of the drum, I provided a quick and forceful upward motion to the back of the drum in order to dislodge the drum shaft from the bearing housing assembly. Once this was accomplished, I simple pulled the drum out of the dryer housing via the front of the machine.

The drum bearing repair kit ordered came with the replacement ball bearing, bearing housing, drum shaft, high-temperature grease, and attaching hardware.

I replaced the drum shaft on the drum via the 4-screws accessed on the drum rear panel.

I removed the old bearing/bearing housing via the 2-screws holding it in place. I wasn't too concerned about loosing the small ball bearing as the kit provided me a new one. I generously applied some high-temperature grease to coat the interior lining of the new bearing housing. I also placed a dab on the back seat where the new ball bearing sits. This helped hold the bearing in place while reattaching it. I reinstalled the bearing housing to finish replacing the repair parts.

Reassembly of the drum is in the reverse order. I paid particular attention to making sure the new drum shaft properly seated with the new drum bearing housing.

After reinstalling the drum and while the front door panel was still off the dryer, it was easy to inspect the blower housing. I found the squirrel cage had broken loose from the molded nut that attaches it to the motor shaft. That would explain the heat problem; the heat was not being exhausted through the duct.

THE SQUIRREL CAGE IS REVERSE THREADED. I was unable to remove the nut from the motor shaft as the design encompasses a metal bushing molded into a plastic nut shaped form. The plastic would not hold up to the force I was applying trying to loosen the squirrel cage. So I ended up removing the entire motor and blower housing assembly from the base

Pulled unit out from wall to access back panel. Top needs to be removed to get to the screws that hold on the front panel and door. These need to be removed to get to the valve and burner.

Once your in, the sensor, thermostat, and igniter are right up front. Sensor and thermostat were easy, the igniter breaks very easily...how do I know? Cause I broke the one I bought and had to get a new one.

I also replaced the coil set for the gas valve, because I had read that they can go bad and cause a gas fume smell. The coils are cheap, so you may as well as do them at the same time.

Anyway, once the repair was complete, I reassembled the unit and hooked up the vent.

Runs like new, and the clothes dry quickly.

What the pictures do not show is the inner clamp spring that grips the selector switch shaft so it will not easily fall off. It is not shown or mentioned but in fact was installed in the knob.

When I described the noise to a YouTube appliance diagnostician, I was directed to check the felt seals front and back of the rotating drum for wear, tears, or foreign objects. As it happens the felt seals looked find and there were foreign objects so, not wanting to disassemble and reassemble the dryer more than I had, I ended up replacing all the replaceable moving parts that I considered possible culprits: The idler tension spring, the idler tension bracket (which includes a nylon pulley wheel), the drum belt, the five rubber-tipped bearings that support the drum and keep it in place, and the foam seal on the blower housing which seemed a little brittle and old, as well as high-temperature adhesive for the latter. The instructional videos here and on YouTube were extremely helpful (I doubt that I would have attempted this job at all, had I not watched these ahead of time). The most time-consuming aspect was waiting for the arrival of the parts as I didn't order them all at the same time or all from the same place (I ordered from whomever could ship me a given part the fastest. Disassembly took less than an hour. Re-assembly with the new parts in place took about the same but was a little more awkward because this appliance sits in a very narrow closet and it's difficult to ensure that the 4" flexible duct stays in place when sliding the appliance back into the closet. No regrets. Now I know the basics if this dryer needs attention in future and I also know all the parts that I can eliminate as suspects in any future maintenance (the parts that I replaced)

took off back vent panel, removed belt from idler pulley. tried motor again to see if it would work under no load. motor was not seized just would not run. concluded it was the motor. I removed the 2 mounting screws from the back of motor area. from there removed top of dryer and bolts for the front door panel. propped open the door panel to get to the fan housing and 2 front motor mount screws. disconnect the fan wires. pull out fan and motor assembly from front of dryer. I used a medium sized locking wrench behind the pulley and then mounted the wrench (attached behind the pulley in a vise) from there I was able to use a socket to take off the plastic nut at the end of the fan. Notice that it is a reverse thread so don't strip it. dismount motor from bracket and reasmble with new motor. all the steps in reverse. Since the motor was out it just made sense to replaced the belt at this time. took about 45 minutes to disassemble and just over an hour to get it all back together. Make sure you clean out the lint box from inside the dryer.. over the years it will accumulate a lot of nasty dust bunnies. check that all the surfaces are clear of dust and the back of the vent pipe to..

1) Removed Top Dryer Cover (pushed 2 compression clips on front side 1" from top and 2" in from each side) to gain access to terminal block in rear.
2) Removed 2 screws over terminal block cover and 2 screws holding bad terminal block in place. Removed 3 screws holding bad power cord,
3) Removed good terminal connectors from bad terminal block and reinstalled them in the new terminal block.
4) Cut dryer wire from bad terminal block connector and soldered (optional) them to the new terminal block connector. Installed this connector into the new terminal block.
5) Installed new terminal block in dryer with 2 screws.
6) Installed new power cord on new terminal block ensuring contacts were tight and cord had pull guard properly installed. Reinstalled terminal block cover with 2 screws.
7) Reinstalled Dryer Top Cover.