DE180 Maytag Dryer - Instructions

Installation of drum support kit was difficult because my snap ring pliers would not fit in the snap ring holes. Had to use pliers and screw driver to get them off and to put them back on. That took much patience and time. Installation of front guides was a bit difficult because the rivets were loose and turned when trying to drill them out. Also they were bigger and I needed a larger drill bit than the 1/8 told about in the video. Used drill, screw driver and pliers to get the rivets out. Also took more time and patience to do this. Belt did not need replacement but felt it a good idea to do it as long as I was in there. Belt installation was easy because my dryer has a rear view opening and I could use it to thread the belt. Tried it from the front as shown in the video just to see if I could and found it impossible. Could not even get my hands to hold the belt. Also vacuumed out 20 years of lint and dust that was inside the dryer. The videos were excellent in showing what to do and how to do it. Not sure how well I would have done without them.

Disassembled per instructions. Additional time used to clean inside unit.. Its much easier to install belt on motor pulley and tension pulley ( Roller) from rear access panel. Also ensures proper belt alignment on all items.

Per instructions I printed off online: took off door, then the front panel. Pulled out the old switch/button, connected the new switch/button, made sure the new button was working; put the panel back on then the door and DONE!

I didn't think it would fit as it looked bigger then the old one, I called the service department and they were very helpful. They made note of the fact that I had called with questions in case I had to call again, but it worked, and no one laughed at me. It was very nice of them. Thank you for all the help

I removed the front 2 screws witha phillips shorty due to there proximity to the floor. I removed the heater plate the wiring and the heating element in about 10 minutes, the only issue I had was sue to the fact that the heater is 2 pieces and not totally cylindrical it was kind of a pain to get it back into the hole on the back side, I ended up having to form it better into a circle so that I could get it in. After that the rest putting it back together was no big deal. The unit now works great.

Undid two screws in lower front of dryer and popped off front. Removed screws holding lint screen duct and brackets supporting tumbler and removed duct and tumbler quite easily. Pulled, cleaned and oiled rear rollers, replaced front glides, and thoroughly cleaned exhaust duct of lint. Put new belt into position on the roller before sliding tumbler back in, then pulled belt over tumbler as it went in. Be careful to follow belt path directions correctly.
Key to this repair was obtaining the parts so easily from Parts Select.com. Ordered at 2pm and had them 2pm the following day. Unbelievable! These machines are relatively simple to keep running when the parts are available so easily. Thanks for great service.

Turn off circuit breaker or unplug. Remove two screws 4 inches from bottom front panel of cabinet with stubby phillips head. Pull panel towards you about 30 degrees; then wiggle it down, to free two steel spring clips holding it to cabinet. Pull off red and yellow wire from door switch. Now set front panel aside. Blower assembly is facing you at lower left. Open the housing by removing six small screws from cover and one attached to dryer base. Remove spring clip from end of shaft. (A circlip pliers helps to prevent it from springing off somewhere.). Squeeze spring retainer surrounding blower wheel shaft with regular pliers, and wiggle the blower off. Replace in reverse order. Be sure insulation around blower wheel housing seats properly into front panel. This keeps the hot air flowing up past the lint trap.
Easy job, about half hour. Mine took longer, because I had removed the belt and drum, thinking the noise came from bad drum support rollers. It was just the plastic blower wheel shaft seat, which had worn itself round. Cost $20 (including shipping) and my 29-year old Maytag is as good as new--at least for now.

Unplug the dryer. Remove two screws to remove the front drum housing. Remove 4 screws to remove the front drum housing. The front panel and front drum housing do not need to be unwired to work on the blower. Loosen wire harnesses and move panel and housing out of the way. Remove 2 spring clips holding the blower assembly to the motor shaft. Remove blower. Install new blower and re-assemble in the reverse order. The other stories written on the subject were spot on. This repair also made the clothes dry more quickly. I did not realize that long before the ryer made noise, there was a reduction in air flow. A simple vacuum switch to monitor air flow would tell you when there is a problem or that the filter/duct needs to be cleaned.

I had my oldest son who was home from college help me. We removed the front face of the dryer and put the unit on it's back. We removed the door switch and the blower unit. I didn't get a good look at how the belt was routed when we removed the drum but was able to figure it out when we put it back together. Not only was the belt frayed and dry rotted, the blower squirrel cage was free-wheeling on the shaft. I found a tab of metal I was able to insert in the flat of the shaft between the cage bushing and the shaft and I put the squeeze ring and snap ring back in place. We also discovered the source of much of the rattling noise we had grown accustomed to was actually change pieces trapped under the drum ribs. We removed them and put the ribs back in place and we installed the new belt and figured out how the belt routed around the shaft and tensioning pulley. We cleaned all the trapped lint out of the dryer and reassembled the unit. It now works like new. Thanks!

I removed the front panel (two screws at bottom, then lifted bottom toward me until the top holders slid out). Then I unscrewed the front assembly that holds the dryer drum (four screws), first propping the drum from below so it would stay in place. I removed the blower housing (seven screws) and could see that the blower wheel was loose on the spindle. The 'D' shaped fitting had rounded out. A pair of snap ring pliers made removing the retaining ring and the wheel clamp a cinch and saved a good deal of teeth gnashing. I slid on the new blower wheel and then did everything in reverse. One caution: be sure the drum is pushed firmly up and back when reattaching the front assembly. (It can be done successfully with two hands). I had to re-do this part of the reassembly because the bottom of the drum was rubbing against the blower assembly. Once that was corrected, the dryer ran noiselessly. Thank goodness for PartSelect's diagrams. They're invaluable.

Unplugged the dryer, Very important, there is voltage on on of the wires to the heater.
I first removed the 2 screws on the lower part of the front cover and rotated this out of the way, no need to disconnect any wires. removed 2 small screws that hold the heater assy. cover plate and the one screw in the front bottom of the heater assy. I then removed the one screw at the top back of the heater. this completely frees the heater assy.
I then removed the push on wire from the thermistor and the other wire from the lug and I transferred the thermistor to the new unit. Now it is time to reverse the process making sure the entire circumference of the heater assy goes into the hole in the back. This can be a little tricky if the new assy is out of round. Just work it in, it will fit. Very easy, only about 20 min from start to finish...

No tools required, just insert the new lint filter in place of the old one. My dryer is about 20 years old. I think I was lucky to even be able to find a replacement lint filter.

The directions for the door latch kit told you to take the front of the washer apart to remove the old latch. But in my case the latch was broken in such a way that was not necessary. The new part just popped into place! No more fridge magnets holding the door closed!!!

And the new lint filter is great, the old one was so gunked up with old lint it was becoming difficult to clean.

I don't really know how old my dryer is, I purchased it used about 3 years ago.

Took longer to open the box that it did to drop the new lint filter into the dryer. Washed a load of clothes and the new dryer filter worked great

Thanks.

R. Bonker

Removed front cover.removed 4 screws holding drum in place. Cleaned out lint from everywhere. Placed new belt over drum looping it over idler arm & motor pulley. Pushed drum back ; rotated drum to see that belt was engaged. Put front drum bracket in place. Put front panel in place with 2 screws at the bottom. Tested motor & rotation of drum; then checked heat. All worked fine. Took 1 hr. but most time spent cleaning lint.