DE180 Maytag Dryer - Instructions

Just pulled out the old filter and inserted the new one. went great and fit good.

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...

Not certain as to reason for no heat, I first completely disassembled the dryer. This probably wasn't necessary but since the dryer is around 28 years old, I wanted to inspect and test all wiring, thermostats, etc. Testing revealed that it was the dryer element and it was quite easy to remove and replace the entire heater assembly.

I'm glad I completely dissassembled the dryer because it gave me a chance to clean up a few decades of lint accumulation on and in every part. Reassembly was a little more problematic as it takes a couple of extra hands to hold and align the drum and the top once you've reassebled the base, sides and other parts. Not overly difficult, just make sure you note where all the wiring is to be reconnected and save the screws and bolts in a baggy until you're ready for reassembly.

Other than waiting for the part to arrive (3 days) time spent in dissassembly and reassembly wasn't much more than a couple of hours.

The numbers on the metal plates were the JC Penney numbers - that no one recognizes. I eventually found the model number inside the timer case on a printed schematic. I started by disassembling whatever metal covers were removable by finding sheet metal screws and unscrewing them. If you pull on the sheet metal covers, you can find where they are connected to the frame. Eventually, I found that both the heating element was broken and the thermostat was fried. It took a while looking at various websites to find the proper parts. It's all OK now.

I bought a new one and replaced it.

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.

Looked in one of the back removable panels and saw the broken belt. Took the machines front panel off per a You Tube video and saw the repair was simple but too the time to vacuum out a large amount of Lint Debris that had accumulated over the past 34 years all over the inside of the machine which is dangerous.. After cleaning it all up I simply put the new belt on and put everything back together and it all works nicely again!

I removed the front of the dryer and the drum support plate. I drilled out the old rivets and installed the Glides with the enclose rivets. The Glides came loose in a few days! The holes in the glides are larger than in the old Glides. I disassembled the dryer again and reassembled with my rivets. This time I held the rivet gun inside the perimeter of the dryer so that the head of the rivet is opposite the initial installation. So far, so good, except the dryer still squeaks. The idler pulley is now the culprit. White grease burned up. I reassembled with high temperature grease. If that does not work, I will need another idler pulley. The journal looks very worn. the dryer is 30+ years old.

I UNPLUGGED TH UNIT.Removed the 2 screws holding the front panel in place, disconnected the electrical leads on the panel. These screws are located on each side of the panel 3 in. from the bottom. Removed the 4 screws holding the shroud. Disconnected the ground wire on the shroud & set both aside. Installed the new belt per the diagram & instructions. Turned the tumbler by hand a few times to verify proper installation. Re-installed the shroud & front panel including reconnecting the leads & ground wire. You need to use both hands in a tight space to install the belt on the pulley & guide(a littledificult) The new belt fit perfectly & the instructions were easy to follow & accurate.

We had trouble getting the front of the dryer off; we tried to pry the top off. It works better if you remove the screws at the bottom of the front panel ;) Once we had the front off, we used a 1/4" ratchet wrench to take the front off the fan housing. We took off the compression clamp off easily with a pair of priers. Removing the retainer clip was harder; we ddn't have the right tool. We removed the broken fan. We ordered the part, easy peasy, from this website. Had to buy a $9 tool to put the retainer washer back on. We reassembled the fan housing and put the fron back on. It worked! Total cost: ~$30.00. Actual time (excluding waiting for parts and buying tools): 2 hours.

Fallowed instructions on YouTube

Followed instruction video

I had replaced other parts on this dryer before (drive belt, interlock switch), so knew how to remove the front. That is easy to do. Didn't even have to pull dryer away from the wall. Removed heater assembly. NOTE: take a picture, or note which wires go where! Took a chance that it was only the heating element after measuring the resistance of the element and noting that it was an open circuit (very high resistance). Could also have been something else in addition, but turned out, not. The hard part was getting the new housing assembly to fit in the circular hole at the back. It comes as a poor fit, not shaped right. I eventually just used pliers to bend in the edges, like crimping, and finally got it to fit in. Some pushing to get all screws back in place and now it runs and heats. A great dryer, over 30 years old, and still going. Well worth the effort to repair.

Overall, the repair was pretty easy. I'm a 52 year old woman who has never done drier repair. I replaced both front glides, both drum support roller wheels, the idler pulley wheel and the tumbler and motor belt. Including vacuuming out the inside of dryer and washing down the inside and outside of dryer with cleaning wipes, the whole project took me 2 hours. (if done individually, time would have been 20-30 minutes). You must have correct tools, so I did have to purchase two tools that I didn't have. My only suggestion in replacing the idler pulley wheel and the tumbler/motor belt would be to take the small access panel off the back of the dryer for easier access to the parts.