DE24CA Maytag Dryer - Instructions

Because of the nature of the noise, and knowing nothing of appliance repair, I assumed that there was a loose belt. I figured that the belt would be accessible from the rear of the machine. After much disassembly, I discovered that the belt was in fine shape and not the problem. But every time I spun the drum, I could still hear the rumbling sound. Eventually, I discovered that the from paned of the dryer is the easiest to remove. Once I removed that, I discovered the blower fan housing. A few screws later and I could see that the plastic fan center was worn out. I had a part number so I simply did a quick internet search and found several sites that stocked it. PartSelect had the best price and the best shipping prices as well. I placed the order on Saturday afternoon. I got the confirmation immediately, and the shipping information on Monday. On Wednesday the part was waiting at my door! It took about 15 minutes to re-assemble the dryer and now, about 18 loads later, it's perfect!
Thank you PartSelect!!!!
Joe G

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.

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.

I bought a new one and replaced it.

Removed front panel and tumbler, replaced roller axle,
wheel, and front glides. Anybody can do this.

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 back panel of machine which exposed badly worn idler pulley. Have had problem before on another dryer so I was sure what problem was before I started. Removed snap washer and cloth washer and then bad pulley.(It was very worn and wobbly).Cleaned shaft with small piece of emery paper and put two drops of oil on shaft and replaced old pulley with new one.Put back washer and snap washer.Drive belt had slipped away from its proper position so I had to remove the front panel of the dryer to place the belt back and realign it on the drum and around the new pulley and the motor drive shaft. Not really that difficult.....Machine now runs like it's brand new.....

I took off the front of the dryer with the screws at the bottom. I removed what wires would easily come off and took a picture to remember where they go. Then I took of the front panel and had to take off the cover for the blower wheel. Some screws were difficult to reach because they were in a very tight space. I used a combination of needle nose pliers and a hex screw bit to loose hared to reach hex screws.
For the felt seal on the front panel, I used a flathead screwdriver to remove the old seal and replace the new seal. The most tricky thing was making sure the seal was laying right along the drum when putting the front panel back on. Once back together, the skidding sound disappeared.
Replacing the blower wheel is pretty easy once I got past the difficult screws holding the cover down. I used snap ring pliers to remove the snap ring then put the new blower wheel on and put it all back together. I found that the tip diameter of the snap ring pliers needed to be less than 0.05'' to fit into the snap ring holes of both the snap rings for the roller wheels and the blower wheel.

The video was excellent and made for an easy repair. Would highly recommend.

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.

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 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.

This should have been a simple repair, but turned out to be time consuming and moderately difficult. I hope these instructions will help anyone who encounters the problems described here.

After a period of the dryer not being used, the idler pulley wheel froze on the shaft of the idler pulley arm, so I needed to replace both parts. After mounting the new wheel and two washers on the new arm and securing with a retaining ring, I went to install this assembly by going in through the small access panel at the rear of the dryer. I slid the belt off the old idler pulley wheel and unhooked the spring from the idler pulley arm; the arm was mounted on a sleeve fastened to the motor bracket by one screw. All that should have been necessary was to back out that screw and replace the old idler pulley assembly with the new one.

That is where the trouble started. Backing out the screw with a socket driver, I found it would go a few turns, then start to bind. I tried turning it in and out to get the threads to engage, but it kept binding. Eventually I gave the screw a hard turn, and then it would turn freely but not move in or out.

Looking on the internet for advice, I found a video that asserts for another model Maytag dryer using the same type of mounting for the idler arm, that there is a design flaw. You can find the video by searching for “Maytag dryer idler pulley defect”. According to the video, the sheet metal screw used to mount the idler pulley arm can gradually loosen due to the pressure and vibration, and begins to “waggle” which eventually damages the threads. I believe this is what happened to my dryer. The video suggests replacing the sheet metal screw with a machine screw and nut for a more durable union.

So now I understood how the screw could be stripped just sitting in the dryer, but that didn’t help me get the screw out. Working through the rear access panel, I tried pulling on the screw head with several types of pliers, pushing the point from behind with a piece of wood while turning the head with a socket driver; eventually I was able to use a pry bar under the screw head and sleeve to apply pressure while turning the head, and with that method the screw backed out. With the screw removed, it could be seen that the threads in the middle part of the thread length were almost completely worn away.

The screw sleeve got somewhat deformed in this process so I ordered a new one, along with an exact replacement sheet metal screw, hoping the threads in the hole were still intact. With the old idler pulley arm now removed, I could transfer the old idler bracket spacer to the new idler pulley arm. When the ordered parts arrived and I tried to mount the idler pulley arm, the new screw would go in only a couple of turns before binding. Rather than risk winding up in the same situation by forcing the screw, I decided to use a machine screw and nut instead.

The original sheet metal screw was a #10. A machine screw the same size would not fit through the hole, and I could not fit my drill into the dryer cabinet in a position to enlarge the hole, so I used a #8 machine screw with a nut and lock washer. First I put some grease on the contact areas of the screw sleeve and idler bracket spacer, then inserted the machine screw through the hole and put the lock washer and nut on the other side of the mounting. The space around the nut is very limited, and most of my tools were too large to hold the nut while the screw was tightened. It was too small for a socket or adjustable wrench, and the clearance from the exhaust duct was too small for the handles of most tools. Eventually, I found a needle nose pliers with short handles that did the job. A thin open end wrench might also work. Then I reconnected the spring and belt to the idler pulley assembly, and closed the access panel. So far the dryer works, but if the #8 screw turns out to be not strong enough, I could get an extension for my drill and enlarge the hole to fit a #10 machine screw and nut.

Looking back on the job, the most difficult part of this repair was removing the damaged screw. This and several other steps might have been a lot easier if I had removed the motor bracket (where the idler pulley arm is mounted) from the dryer and worked outside the cabinet. Part Select has an excellent video “Replacing the Drive Motor” that shows how to do this. It would be a lot of disassembly work, but for someone with good assembly skills could be easier in the long run.

Hopefully most folks out there who replace the idler pulley arm on a dryer will find an easier situation than I did. But for any who have to deal with a stripped mounting screw, I hope this summary will help you resolve it.

First, it is IMPERATIVE that the dryer is unplugged from the wall or the appropriate breaker is turned off to prevent electrocution!!! The front of the dryer is removed by removing the two screws at the bottom of the front with a Phillips head screwdriver. Next, remove the door wiring from the wiring clamp and set front / door of dryer to the side. Next, remove the bulk head by removing four nuts from the sides with the appropriate nutdriver. The drum belt will have to be disconnected from the motor pulley by lifting the spring of the pulley to release belt tension. This can be done from the front or back access panel of the dryer. The back access panel gives you a better view of the motor pulley and attached belt. After removal of the belt from the motor pulley, the drum of the dryer can be removed. Next, remove the heat shield at the front of the dryer. It is held on with two nuts and can be removed using the appropriate nut driver. Next, remove the blower wheel housing cover using the appropriate nut driver. The blower wheel will be next. It can be removed by using a pair of pliers to remove the circular clamp. A pair of snap-ring pliers will also be need to remove the snap-ring also holding the wheel in place on the motor axle. After the blower wheel is removed from its housing, the housing will need to be removed. The housing is again held in place by several nuts and the appropriate nut driver will be needed to remove them. Next, take all wiring loose from the motor. It would be a good idea to photograph or note how and what wires were attached in specific locations on the wiring harness. The new motor may be different when it comes to wiring and will be accompanied by a wiring diagram and the needed connection ends for the wiring. If it is a different wiring layout, as was my motor that I ordered from this site, a set of wiring strippers / pliers will be needed to cut, strip, and crimp the new connectors. After wiring has been removed from the motor, remove the motor by removing two nuts with the appropriate nut driver from the bottom of the motor mount. The motor, mount, and pulley will then all come out as one piece. The motor will then need to be removed from the mount. This can be accomplished by using a flat head screwdriver and a hammer. Place the flat end of the screwdriver into the raised edge of the motor mount clamp and pull away from the locking bracket. If needed, use a hammer to give that extra tap to the end of the screwdriver to remove the clamps. After the motor is removed from the mount, an Allen wrench will need to be utilized to take the belt glide / seat off of the motor axle. You will also need the snap-ring pliers again to remove a snap ring from this axle as well. Clean the motor mount and dry thoroughly. Grease the pulley housing where it contacts the motor mount for smooth gliding against the mount. It is important that you use a NON-FLAMMABLE grease. This is the end of the "tear-down" phase. Now is a good time to vaccum and clean the inside of the dryer cabinet. This will help insure that excess lint and fuzz is removed to prevent an accidental dyer fire. Next, place the new motor back into the motor mount in reverse order. Make sure the belt glide / seat from the motor axle aligns with the belt marks on the pulley. Reassemble the dryer in reverse order, making sure to follow the wiring diagram provided with your new motor. Also you need to insure that the motor is turned at a 45 degree angle to allow the dryer drum to pass the motor without striking it. After reassembly, plug in the dryer and attempt to start. If your dryer does not start, troubleshoot the wiring first. Wiring was the most difficult part of this repair and working in the tight space provided was a trick. Also look up a video of the repair! This helped me tremendously. Videos can be found on this site or at YouTube.com.