I have a 20 year old GE oven. The old broiler element burnt out and I have replaced it.
The element is shaped like a W, where the two ends go into the back of the oven through a mounting plate. It WAS held up by a support going from side to side, attached to the top. The new element is like the old one, except there is a support going from the mounting plate to the center of the element, supporting it there. It seems reasonably stable, without the side to side support, though not a much as if I put the old side to side support back in.
Sadly, there is a second issue. The wire only came out of the back 2", so it was hard to see what I was doing. The element end is connected to the feed wire with a screw. When I screwed it in, it bent the back of the element instead of screwing in. When I realized what was going on, I secured it with a vice grip and got it to screw in properly. Nothing is broken, nothing is shorted, the element heats up properly. Can I rest easily, or should I get a new one?
I tested the old one. Bending the end like I did the new one didn't seem to do anything to it. Bending it back broke it. In theory, heat should take stress out of it, shouldn't it.