I’ve been pulling and tugging and yanking with needle nose pliers for 20 minutes and I can not budge the metal connector thingies in order to get the thermostat removed.
Is there some trick to this that I am missing? Or am I simply out of luck because I don’t have the necessary strength?
I think just wriggling the connectors should eventually work. Just to make sure – the dryer is unplugged, right?
Those appear to be ordinary spade connectors, unless I’m looking at it wrong. Are you sure you’re pulling on the right part? Also, if you’re squeezing the outside (female) part of the connector while you’re pulling, you’ll just clamp them on tighter.
Yeah, I’ve been wriggling. And wriggling and wriggling and wriggling. It’s not budging. I’ll try some more.
And yes it is unplugged. 
Thank you for the terminology. Yes, that’s what they are. What’s the right part? I’m pulling on the metal “neck.” They aren’t moving a millimeter even when I wiggle them back and forth while pulling.
Use a needle nose pliers, grab it by the top part (so you aren’t pinching it down harder) and wiggle it back and forth*. Those can be tough, but it’ll come off eventually. If it’s really giving you a hard time, put a screwdriver under it and try to pry it off by twisting the blade (of the screwdriver) to see if that’ll push it up.
After that, you can attempt to use the screw driver to open the connecter a bit.
The last thing to do is just to cut the wire and put new connecters on it, but hopefully it won’t come to that.
*Well, side to side anyways. You shouldn’t be bending the connecter. It would be like trying to get a plug out of an outlet by wiggling it up and down.
Another thing, as long as you’re grabbing the metal, and not the wire, with a pliers, don’t worry about putting some muscle into it. Also, if this is at an odd angle and that’s the problem, take the t-stat out first. Then you can hold the connector with one pliers and the t-stat with another and it might be easier to try to pull them apart that way.
Those things get crimped on really hard at the factory. Sometimes the interior of the connector where it’s split digs into the terminal tab.
Can you remove the thermostat with the wires still on? You might be able to get a better grip on it that way, or at least a better look at where it’s sticking.
I did remove it with the wires still on. I figured it wasn’t that difficult but when it wouldn’t give I thought maybe there was some neat trick I wasn’t aware of. Seems it’s just a matter of brute strength. I’ll keep at it until she gives.
You could just snip the wires. When you’re ready to re-attach it, use butt splices.
In that case, put it back on so you can hold the pliers with both hands and pull on it harder.
Oh, and make sure you know where you’re fingers are. It really hurts when the pliers slips off and you pinch your fingers with it.
Ok, thanks guys. I got it finally. It just required brute force. I’m not that strong, so it was taking longer than I thought. Everything’s done and working now.
A few tidbits to help others who might have a similar problem.
Needlenose pliers don’t allow the strongest grip because of their long jaw length. Slip joint pliers would allow yanking with more force.
While this type of terminal is commonly called a spade connector – even by various pros and vendors who should know better – that is not the correct name for it. The proper term is blade connector (or terminal). A true spade connector is forked to slip around a post or screw.
Some female blade terminals have a retaining tab that has to be pressed to allow release. If it’s encased in a stiff plastic cover like this (common in automotive applications) the cover may have to be squeezed. These typically slip off easily once the tab is depressed, or get chewed up if they’re forced off without releasing the tab.
For really stubborn ones, Joey P’s suggestion to pry it off with a screwdriver can be very effective if access allows.
