How to Troubleshoot & Replace Whirlpool AP6009347 / WP4391960 Dryer Heating Element

After watching a few instructional YouTube videos, I got into my old "brown top" Kenmore clothes dryer and removed the bad heating element. The new element had a popped spot weld on the frame, but I fixed that with little trouble (hence the "3" under the How Challenging question). Installed the new element, put it all back together, and fired it up. Works perfectly now. 

Replaced heating element as well as the thermal fuse. This task was very difficult as taking the old heating element out of the housing was not clearly demonstrated in any of the instructional videos. It wound up taking several hours & taking the dryer apart to figure out how to get that housing detached. We were, however, rewarded with a successful fix for minimal cost - can’t imagine what the labor cost would have been if we’d contracted with an appliance repair service! 

Sears diagnosed it as a faulty heating element. They wanted $300 for the repair and the part was on indefinite backorder. AppliancePartsPros got the part to me in one day. I cancelled the Sears follow up service call and the backordered part and replaced the dryer heating element with the AppliancePartsPros' parts using videos on YouTube to guide me through the process. The AppliancePartsPros' videos were great but my dryer is so old its part configuration was slightly different from those shown on AppliancePartsPros. We got it done for $50, including overnight shipping and of course our own "free" labor. 

Replaced it. Appliance parts pros was on the mark with delivery. Great place to order parts specially for older appliances. 

Replaced heater element 

My dryer is 27+ years old. I couldn’t find videos online that matched what I saw when I opened my dryer, but a few stories on this website clued me in on the need to also open the top of the dryer to gain full access. Once I did that, I could remove the housing for the element, disconnect the wires and replace the old element with the new one. Apart from a few rusted screws (lint trap and strap holding the old housing), things went pretty well. Oh and my husband decided we needed to remove the clips connecting the top to base, they are hinges that allow you to raise the top. That complicated the repair because the top no longer had a hinge and they had to be reinstalled. I did that while he was otherwise distracted and I waited for my part. The installation of the new part was easy, the rusty screws were replaced and the dryer works great. 

Watch YouTube videos on how to fix the problem. I took off the back of the machine and removed element housing after checking ohms with voltmeter. Looked up the part number on the Internet and placed an order with Appliance Parts Pros customer service. Part came in days and was easy to install. 

Ordered new one. 

I opened the back cover and checked the continuity of fuse, thermostats, and heater. I fount that no continuity between the two poles of the heater. Obviously, the heater was broken. I ordered this heater from AppliancePartsPros and replaced the broken heater. Now, my dryer is running well, working as before. 

Replaced existing items with the Thermal Cut-Off Kit and replaced the Heating Element. Biggest Problem was the Fastener (1) holding the Heating Element. It`s head was on the back side, out of site, close to dryer frame, near many sharp sheet metal edges (ouch & blood). So a metal shear and pliers made access for my Dremel to grind off the metal screw and the new Heating Element was replaced and held in place with a bolt, lock washer, nut combo. All Works..............def