MDET446AZW Maytag Dryer - Instructions

Removed lower panel, door assembly, belt and drum.
Removed blower wheel cover.
Used dremmel tool to cut plastic from metal that attaches the blower to the motor shaft.
Used adjustable wrench to keep motor shaft from turning.
Used vise grip to clamp on metal and turned to loosen blower wheel.
Attached new blower and re-assembled.

Dryer stopped tumbling, so bad belt was my first thought. Dryer is in vacation home so did not have immediate access to it to diagnose. Ordered belt and discovered that the poorly designed motor pulley had broken and the belt jumped onto the motor shaft and burned through the original belt. Week 2 after ordering pulley, installation went per YouTube video. Glad I also replaced the belt because it was brittle and cracked. Suspect it had been slipping because sheets would ball up into a log, possibly because the drum wasn't spinning fast enough. Anyhoo, after repair all seems OK.

I followed the instructions and it went very well. The only confusing part was the drive belt for the tumbler barrel I just had to visualize the threading arrangement to get it right. Much like a car fan belt.

I first watched the video and disassembled the dryer to see if I could determine what part was squeaking. All looked good except the wheel on the Idler lever which was tight. I vacuumed up the years of lint and reassembled the dryer and waited for the parts to arrive. I ordered the idler lever and also the 2 drum support wheels, belt and 2 drum guides since I thought that is was a good idea to go ahead and replace these parts once I had the dryer disassembled again. Good choice on the belt as once I removed the old belt there was a crack on the underside of the belt. I bought snap ring pliers at home depot but the tips were too big to fit the holes on the snap rings on the drum rollers. I bought another snap ring plier set from an automotive store that came wth 5 snap ring attachments - but again all were too large to fit the snap rings on the drum support rollers. I used a nail and small screwdriver to expand and pull off the snap rings but this approach was frustrating and time consuming. Not sure where to get snap ring pliers that are small enough to fit the holes on the snap rings - so hope that you have better luck locating a set thats small enough! I was able to return the pliers that I purchased - so all good. I was surprised at how easy the dryer came apart and how easy it was easy to work on. When disassembling the dryer - we took pictures of the wire connections before we disconnected them, however at one point we tilted the dryer back to clean behind it and the top slipped a little away from the side panel of the dryer and one of the wires that was connect to the wire block that is up by where the power cord connects cam loose - and it took some time to find and figure out a wiring diagram for this connection. Suggest that you take a pictire of this wire connection block once you lift the lid - just in case a slip occurs and a wire may disconnect. When replacing the idler lever -
have a little grease available when you install the new idler lever (between the arm and the bolt area as it constantly moves and the old brease has probably worn away) . After making these repairs I dont think I will ever buy a new dryer as any part , including the heater and motor would be easy to replace and cheaper than a new dryer.

I had already taken the dryer apart prior to changing the felt seal. Had oiled the rollers, greased the bearings & vacuumed the whole inside of the dryer out. Had used a high temp lubricant on the seal & had stopped squeaking for about a month. I ordered 2 seals & when they arrived, I popped the top of the dryer off using the putty knife to pry the spring latches. I opened the top up & leaned it against a wall. I disconnected the wiring to the light & the switch in the door, making note of the wiring order. Then used a nut driver to take the 2 screws from the inside out, that holds the front cover in place. Then the same for the 4 screws holding the front bulkhead in place. Then lifted up & out from the unit. Then used the putty knife to scrap the adhesive & old seal off the bulkhead. Cleaned as much of the adhesive off, then applied some high temp silicone adhesive to the bulkhead, placed the new seal on, using some clamps to hold it in place. After making sure it had adhered to the seal & bulkhead. Did the reversal of the above mentioned steps. Moved the unit to laundry room, plugged it in then started it & voila no more squeaking dryer.

Removed front panels and swiveled lid upwards. Loosened tensioner, removing belt and then carefully extracting the drum. Replaced 2 drum glides on underside of front panel. Next 2 rollers, which appear to unscrew, but do not do so. You must remove the retaining ring (surprise! ...and 2 screw drivers later). This was the longest and most frustrating part of the whole ordeal. Then just reverse the process for reassembly. This was my first electric dryer repair and it really wasn't too bad. Online docs I found were somewhat helpful, but really luck and perseverance. I did save probably $300 in replacement costs, which is quite satisfying. .

The repair looked simple enough until it came time to take the out wheel off. Because you can not hold the motor shaft(and the wheel screws on) it was necessary to remove the whole motor assembly and then grind the out shaft down, then use a small screwdriver to take the remaining shaft off.
I must say it was nice to recieve the part in as fast as I did we live in a very rural area and things like that are very hard to find

I pretty much followed a lot of the earlier postings on partselect.com that provided encouragement to pursue replacing this part on my 17 year old dryer (sorry, money is tight these days and I prefer repair to $800 replacement).

I'd like to add that I borrowed a pair of snap-ring pliers from work which made removal and later securing of roller onto shaft much easier and probably avoided a lot of knuckle bruising and cursing.

I erred though in a couple of places during the replacement. Disassembly took about 20 minutes. However, when I re-assembled I had mistakenly already put the roller onto the shaft before trying to put the drum back in. That isn't possible so I had to remove (an initial groan but only a few extra minutes in the end) the roller from the shaft, then reposition the drum and then the roller back on the shaft.

I also decided to replace the belt while I was in there and I should have taken a picture or made a drawing of the belt route before I took it off since I was later left pondering how the heck to snake the belt onto the shaft and also the tensioner. A quick trip to the internet though showed me a similar route and reminded me how to route it.

I'd also like to add to be cognizant of the wires on the door and front panel when disassembling.

Anyone with any sense of mechanical ability and a little common sense ought to be able to do this repiar.

Thanks Part Select!

Being my lousy Maytag washer died THE PREVIOUS DAY, spewing water, etc. and I had rushed out and bought a new washer, I was determined not to replace the dryer (though I now am a serious NON_FAN of Maytag).

I disassembled the whole dryer and finally got to the blower wheel which was broken lose from the molded nut. I supposed something like a dime or penny got in there to shred it.

PartSelect's website allowed me to find the part in 5 minutes. It was on my doorstep the next afternoon.

Installation was straightforward BECAUSE I stacked all the screws and and labeled them appropriately. It took about 30 minutes to reassemble and the toughest bit was getting the drum in with the belt positioned properly.

How to take apart a dryer:
The first way:
1) Remove front lower panel (2 screws on bottom).
2) Remove the front black plastic air duct.
3) If you have long arms, or an extention socket wrench, you might be able to reach the heating unit, otherwise use the Second way:

The second way:
1) Remove front lower panel, as this will expose the screws to the dry door unit.
2) Remove dryer door unit (2 screws on bottom, 2 spring clips on top), and disconnect assoc wires.
3) Remove dryer lid:
3.1) Remove 2 screws on front (previously hidden by door unit
3.2) Remove 2 clip hooks on back of dryer
3.3) Lift lid rear above center guides, and wiggle away from front spring clips
4) Lay dryer on back, as this will allow easier removal of the drum
5) Remove screws securing the heater control unit.

Attempt 1: Disconnected heating element and saw that the heating coils were broken. Ordered new heating coil and new belt.
Attempt 2: 3 weeks after installing new heating element, my wife informed me that the unit was no longer putting out heat!!! So, I ordered the Thermostat and Thermal Fuse. Put dryer back together.
Attempt 3: Turned it on - absolutely nothing - dead, dead, dead. Discussed purchasing new $600+ dryer. Started taking it apart again, and discovered that door wire was never reattached. Meaning the dryer thought the door was wide open.
Attempt 4: Now the dryer squeaks. Took dryer partially apart and added white grease to wheels that support the drum. Currently, all is well with the world.

Moral of the story: Replace the entire heating unit, check belt for cracks and grease the wheels if you get a chance.

Used spackle knife to pop clips on top of dryer. Raised lid of dryer to expose belt. Next used nut driver to disassembly screws from front door and then base ( bag them. Labeled bag and marked inside of dryer with corresponding number to match hardware) disassembled dryer door latch switch and marked red + and white no marking. ( Middle connection not used) removed dryer clean out screen and then removed dryer face next removed dryer blower cover no hardware ( just lift upwards see side clips) opened up side of dryer to gain more access (spread apart manually) removed belt and marked where belt was on tumbler postion with permanent marker used 2 car hold down cords to hold drum in place with back of dryer next removed belt from idler (note to make a drawing so that you know how to wrap this around the idler otherwise the belt will appear to be too large. Remember to reconnect spring. Next step was to removed drum rollers. . . This required a retaining ring pliers cost about $15. I replaced the snap retaining rings. This was easy but requires that you pull the drum forward about 4 inches to position. Next replaced belt and reassembled. Project was a success and runs like new. . . . Saved me $129 service call plus $65 parts without maytag mark-up plus additional labor for the job $130. My cost $65 + $15 tool (retaining ring pliers) $80 versus $259 + ( $65 *50%)ark up on parts) $80 versus $356 -- thanks parts select for saving me $276 during the christmas holiday.

My son will discribe how he did the repair.
First I opened the top, then I removed the front with a 1/4 inch ratchet and socket. I took the cover off the blower housing with a nut driver. Used the appropriate socket and a 1/2 inch ratchet, and an adjustable wrench to hold the motor shaft and removed the Blower wheel. I replaced the broken Blower Wheel and put all it back together.
Our dryer is now working great and there are no unwanted sounds emanating from within. We are very happy with PartSelects promptness and that we recieved the correct part as ordered. PartSelect website was easy to navigate. We plan if the need arises to do so again in the future.
Thankyou Frank and Rodney

My son n law took the fron off the dryer, whilw I looked on the inertnet to locate whatever part we would find to be in need of. He pulled the front panel off and the drum out to dicover it was the bracket and glide. They were easily replaced by popping the bracket out and snapping th new one in then placing the guide on it proper spot.

Ordered the part, you made it so easy. Received it in two days, very fast, by regular mail. Perfect fit. Pulled out the old broken one and put in the new one!

No problem