How to Troubleshoot & Replace Ge AP2620171 / WE11X10007 Heater Element Kit

I replaced the heater coil. When we moved into this house 10 yrs ago, the movers, setting up the dryer, did not properly connect the vent hose. Lint build up was significant and I was lucky there was no fire, but the inadequate air flow caused overheating on the coil resulting in failure of both coils. Disassembly went well following the video. During disassembly I noted the need for new bearing slides and the felt trap duct. I also replaced the dryer drum belt, as a precaution that probably was not needed. Reassembly was painful. My dryer is either older with far less clearance around the thermostats or the tech in the video is tiny with tiny hands. I eventually took photos of how the wires were connected to the video, disconnected the wires from the thermostats, reinstalled the thermostats and reconnected the wires. The only clarity I would have liked was when ordering the heater coil, the order came up with the "also ordered" components and I ordered the bearing slide. I wasn't clear that that meant only one slide, 4 are needed. That "also ordered" should be for 4 slides. In my youth, I was a test engineer and when one wearable part, like the bearing slide is needed, all should be replaced. I now must get around to order 3 more and take the dryer apart again. The heater coil came with 6 additional replacement insulators. 11 or so are needed for complete changeout. I really could have used 11 and would have ordered extra if I had found out how. My coil had failed due to overheat, which also oxidized the insulator metal holders and they were very brittle. Enough broke just taking out the old coil that I needed all six and as an ex test engineer would have preferred to replace all insulators due to the heat damage. It all works now though, thanks, the videos were a great help. 

I determined that the outer coil of the heating element was open and not heating. I decided to order the heating element kit and replace just the coils instead of buying a new element assembly with the new metal mounting plate. When I got the kit the instructions said not to rebuild the heating element if the metal mounting plate is rusty or badly discolored. Fortunately mine wasn't, but I think this should be revealed in the description of the kit. Also look at your ceramic insulators and make sure that no more than six need replacing for that's all that come in the kit. Restringing the coils is not difficult but can't be rushed. After reassembly the new heating coils made the drying time a lot shorter. While the dryer drum was out I vacuumed the inside thoroughly to remove lint and also vacuumed the air flow path in the front panel and blower area. Some hints on dis-assembly: On my dryer the drum belt tension arm can be pulled back and hooked onto the motor mounting bracket to completely remove tension from the belt. This is helpful when it's time to route the belt on assembly as you don't have to hold the tension wheel back while trying to route the belt around the motor pulley and the tension wheel. Once the belt is in place it is easy to reach in and release the tension pulley arm from the motor mount bracket and let it tension the belt. I removed the 4 torx screws holding the control panel which made it easier to remove and re-install the top panel of the dryer. When removing the drum, pay close attention to its alignment with the scallops in the side panels and it will come out the front fairly easily. It was very satisfying that the repair worked. 

Upon examination of the dryer, I noticed that the belt was intact, though a little worn and hard. However, I noticed that the belt had came of the idler pulley. So I put it back on and had the owners try it out on their next load of wash. It, once again failed to keep the drum turning. So I ordered a new belt and idler pulley (order # 8676164). I found it necessary to remove the drum, in order to change out the new pulley. However, while trying to reinstall the drum, we damaged some of the insulator mounting plates, which were very brittle, which caused the heater element coils to rub against the drum. I then ordered a heater element kit, 2 bearing slides , dryer drum front support bearing, and lint screen housing seal, and a screw ( order # 8707123). The repair was divided into two different sessions. One to unhook, and remove the heater element assembly, and remove the old heat coils. During that time, we changed out the dryer drum front support bearing, and installed 2 of the 4 needed bearing slides. I realized that there were two more of the bearing slides needed which had a different part number. I strongly feel that the four bearing slides should be included and already installed on the drum front bearing support. Now for the installation of the heat elements and insulators. I was glad that I still had enough serviceable existing insulator mounting plates to go with the new ones included in the element kit, as the kit does not include the full amount needed to replace all of them. It took me a good hour to install the plates, and string the heat element coils, and another 45 minutes to an hour to reassemble the dryer. In hind sight, I feel it would be well worth it, to spend the extra $70.00 to purchase a fully assembled heater element assembly. It will cut the repair time in half, and remove a lot of margin for error, during the installation of the heat element coils onto the element mounting plate. However, at this writing, the repair was a success. The dryer is once again in operation, alleviating the need for a clothesline. I did have to order 2 more bearing slides to complete the amount needed on the drum front support bearing. 

Before ordering anything, I unplugged the dryer, checked for lint (this HAS been an issue for me in the past). There was nothing blocking the air flow, so I proceeded to removed the belt and drum and inspect the coils. It was clearly broken in two different spots. So I hopped on Appliancepartspros.com and wanted to make sure I was ordering the correct part with assistance from their chat system, I was directed to this heater element kit. In 2 days I received my package. Thank you so much for getting this out to me so quickly! I found the included instructions, threw that in the garbage and went to work. The only useful thing I found in the instructions were how to stretch the coils and what to what sizes. Make sure you take your time and do that right. They need to be spaced evenly. For the repair, once you have the drum removed, there are 4 screws holding the heat shield to the back of the dryer, before removing those, take a few pictures of the wiring configuration to ensure you reinstall the same way, then unplug the 10 wires. (3 on coils, 7 on top) then removed the 4 screws. Now you can take this job to a more comfortable work area. I sat it down on my table and removed the worst insulators (it came with 6, only 1 of mine was bad, but I went ahead and replaced what I could. With a pair of pliers, flip the shield over and bend the tiny tabs on the insulators (keep in mind the 4 little ones just sit in the shield, removed those first so you don't go hunting for them later) Now just wiggle the sleeves out and put in the new ones. Don't forget to bend the tabs so they stay in place. Take your coils, hold the ends and pull them apart a little at a time until you reach 40" and 48" - It's important this is done properly and coils are evenly spaced out. This is where my repair time too much longer than it needed to. After 20 minutes of patiently struggling to feed the coils into and around the insulators, I discovered I ran them backwards! There's only one way to do it properly, so the good news is, you won't install it wrong, lol. Bad news is, you gotta very carefully removed the coils and do it all over again. So, don't be like me. Take your time and really pay attention to which direction you install them. Slap it all back together, throw a damp shirt in that bad boy, plug it in and stand by with a fire extinguisher just in case, lol. Turns out, I didn't need to put out any fires and my clothes dry in normal time again. Overall repair time about 90 minutes. I've always had a knack for taking stuff apart and putting it back together so for me it was very easy, but I see no reason at all why anyone with a little common sense and some confidence can accomplish this on their own. Save a few hundred bucks and give it a shot. I thought it was more of a pain putting the belt back on than replacing the heating elements. Also, if you're concerned or feel totally clueless, I found my exact dryer repair video on youtube, 3 or 4 of them actually. So take the time to look for How to videos! 

Cut the old coil out and replaced it with the one I purchased. 

Replaced the heater coils (one of which was broken) by removing the top, front, and drum to access the heater coils. The plate that the heater coils mount to must be removed from the dryer as well to do the job correctly. I found it easier to unscrew the sensors from the plate and leave the wiring connected. You might as well change the belt while you have the drum out. To fix the automatic dry function I replaced the timer resistor. Very easy to access and swap out. 

Replaced the heating element. GE Dryers unlike most dryer manufacturers require you disassemble the whole dryer to replace the heating element. I initially ordered the wrong heating element and called the customer help line to order the right part for my dryer. I received the parts within two days and I watched the Appliance Parts replacement video, removed to old heating element, stretched the new heating element and installed in existing insulators. A very easy process that saved me $100.00. UI thought I would have to order the heating element assembly ($135.00), I took the chance of just replacing the heating element ($35.00). I sincerely appreciate the customer service, part delivery, and DDIY Video!!! Great company! I will always use Appliance Parts, thank you. 

I accessed the APP website, and learned that this GE dryer has 2 heating elements. A heater element repair kit was available so I ordered it. Upon disassembly of the dryer, I discovered that one of the coils was indeed broken. I removed the old coils, installed the new coils, and now it's really hot. 

I replaced the heater element with help from some videos on YouTube. The entire dryer had to be disassembled, but I had faith and patience. Everything went great and my wife was very impressed. 

Received replacement part and the dryer is working great.