Tumbler and Motor Belt

Unplugged dryer. Front came off easily. Removed front of blower. Wheel came off fairly easily - could then see that shaft of motor was circular with flattened side but inside of old wheel was rounded. New wheel popped right on. Took tumbler off so I could clean lint out more easily and get a good view of how the belt threaded through. Put the tumbler back on and reached back with both hands to thread it. Took a half dozen tries until I was sure it was seated correctly and not twisted. Put front... of dryer back on. So far (a week or so) the rumble is gone. Seems blower wheel was the cause of the rumble. Belt didn't seem worn but replaced anyhow.

1. Removed front of machine (2 screws at the bottom).
2. Removed 4 screws from inside the dryer, to take off the blower housing.
3. Removed 4 screws and took out the large metal piece which supports the drum at the front. Removed the drum.
4. Replaced the two rollers that support the drum in the rear. Cleaned the pins they run on, and oiled very lightly. Also replaced the idler roller. I was surpirsed to see that these rollers use plain bearings, not ball bearings.
5. On the front support piece, drilled out the rivets for the glides, and replaced the worn out glides with new parts. Applied a little glue (3M weatherstrip adhesive) to the cork pieces, to glue them to the metal. Attached the plastic pieces over the cork pieces, and riveted in place using rivets that came with the glide kits.
6. Replaced front and rear felt seals. This was not as tricky as I expected it to be. They were held in by metal tabs. Glued the ends where they came together.
7. Replaced the felt blower seal. Glued to the blower housing.
8. Reinstalled the drum, installed new belt, which came with good instructions (luckily).
9. Reassembled front support piece and the front of the cabinet.

I also cleaned the lint from the cabinet and from the vent hose.

In general, the job went without a hitch, and the machine probably has quite a few years left, despite the fact that it's 18 years old. This gives me a good feeling.

I'd say this would be challenging, though, for someone who is not pretty experienced with machinery repair. Also, the cost of the parts was significant enough that it would not have been unreasonable to have opted for a new machine.

I searched the internet and found my symptoms really seemed to indicate a problem with the blower wheel, which was very noisy. Feeling confident that was what I needed, I ordered the blower wheel, and also the tumbler belt (the belt was 12 years old). Both parts were genuine Maytag and arrived quickly. Before the order arrived, I went ahead and UNPLUGGED THE DRYER and disassembled the dryer using the partselect.com helpful parts diagrams and the repair notes of others. This allowed me to confirm the blower wheel was in fact loose on the motor shaft. I removed the old blower wheel and belt. Shop vac'd out the entire dryer cabinet. This way I was able to take my time with preparation, and when the new parts arrived, I was ready to just pop them into place. If you disassemble before you order, you can also determine if the tumbler front guide set and /or rear tumbler roller wheels also need to be replaced (mine did not), but this would have been the perfect time to replace those too. I saved a bunch of money and have the satisfaction of having done this job myself. Dryer works great now.

I noticed a rattling noise coming from the dryer. I disassembled the dryer to troubleshoot. I assumed the rollers were bad, but I discovered that the blower wheel was loose on the motor shaft. The rollers were fine. I also discovered the belt was worn.

I ordered a new blower wheel and belt. Replacement was as described elsewhere.

I couldn't get to the screws on the front panel because my screwdriver was too long. So I put a pressure treated 2x4 under the front dryer legs to elevate it. I used pressure treated lumber because that's what was in the garage. Untreated wood would also work.

After removing the front panel screws, the bottom of the front panel needs to be tilted away from the dryer. At about 20-30 degrees of tilt, the front panel will suddenly drop away from the top.

Rotate the front panel to your left so that the wires don't get stretched. It isn't necessary to unplug the wires. But after touching the wires and getting shocked, now is a good time to unplug the dryer. In fact, it would have been better to unplug the dryer before you start any work on it.

Remove the front bulkhead and lint filter housing as a unit. 4 screws hold it to the dryer.

Remove the screws holding the faceplate of the wheel assembly, and remove the faceplate.

Next remove the spring clip from the blower wheel shaft. Then remove the circlip using a circlip plier. The wheel will now slip off the motor shaft.

Put the new wheel on the shaft, making sure to align the flat part of the shaft with the flat part on the wheel. Install the circlip and spring clip.

Replace the faceplate, Note that the perimeter of the face plate goes inside a groove. Install the screws.

Replacing the belt has been covered before, so I'll leave it at that. Just make sure that the belt goes on the proper side of the belt guard.

Install the front bulkhead-lint filter housing. Make sure the lint filter housing lines up with the blower wheel housing and goes inside the felt.

Install the front panel. Make sure the felt doesn't get pinched by the drum.

The first time I disassembled the dryer, it took about 1.5 hours. The second time was only about 45 minutes. The third and subsequent times were even quicker. Practice makes perfect.

I have a 15 year old Maytag dryer that finally broke its belt.

First I unplugged the dryer from the outlet, and then I removed the access plate in the back of the dry by removing the four screws. Once I removed the plate, it was quickly obvious that the belt had broken, as bits of belt were all over the interior of the dryer.

I removed the front panel of the dryer (where the main door is located) by removing the two retaining screws at the bottom of the panel. After removing the screws, I was able to swing the entire front assembly up and remove the panel. The door sensor is attached to the front panel by two wires; I simply pulled the two wires from the door sensor, which allowed me to completely remove the front panel from the dryer.

I removed four screws on either side of the dryer which attached the front tumbler assembly to the dryer frame. The tumbler assembly also has the lint screen attached to it as well. Removal of the lint screen allowed me greater access to the internals of the dryer. I took the opportunity to use my Shopvac to clean out the accumulated 15 years of dirt and lint from inside the dryer.

Once the front tumbler assembly was removed, the main dryer tumbler came out easily. I removed the tumbler from the dryer and inspected it for damage. I also did more cleaning inside the dryer with my Shopvac. Removal of the tumbler is required for installing the new belt.

I wrapped the new belt around the tumbler and reinserted the tumbler back inside the drier. I reinstalled the front tumbler assembly, but I didn't tighten the four screws until I was sure the main tumbler was seated correctly on both the rear and front tumbler assemblies. Only then did I tighten the four screws.

I then went to the back access panel on the dryer and threaded the belt around the dryer motor rotor and belt tensioning roller. The new belt twisted a few times in the process, so I manually rolled the tumbler to straighten out the belt.

Once I was confident the belt was seated properly around the tumbler and motor rotor, I replaced the front dryer panel loosely. I also reconnected the two wire door sensor and then plugged in the dryer. I purposely left the back access panel off, so I could observe the motor and belt while the dry was running. I turned the dryer to a non-heat setting (i.e. air fluff) and started the dryer. I observed the rotation of the belt for about 2 minutes to insure it was rolling properly. Next, I set the dryer to a heated setting and ran it again for 2 minutes to be sure all the heating elements were working. It is good to check both the rotation of the belt and the heat elements prior reinstalling the back access panel. There is nothing worse than putting the dryer back together only to discover the belt is improperly tensioned/seated or the dryer heater elements are no longer working.

I secured the dryer front panel using the two screws. I reattached the back access panel with the four screws. Finally, I reconnected the dryer hose.

Dryer is running like new and haven't had any further problems.

Took the two screws out of the front of the dryer. Tilted the bottom out until the clips in the top came loose. Disconnected the door switch and put the front panel aside.
Removed 4 screws holding front drum support in place using small socket set. Pulled drum support off and set aside.
Took note of how the belt ran through the idler pulley, pulled up idler pulley until the belt slipped off idler and motor pulley. Drum pulls straight out of dryer.
With the drum out there is plenty of room to get to the screw holding the idler pulley arm in place, remove it so you can pull the old pulley and washers off shaft. Reassemble using new parts and reattach idler arm.
Put the drum back in place, wrap new belt around drum (non groove side against drum), thread the belt around the motor shaft and work it back around the idler pulley. This was the hardest part of the job since your working in tight quarters and you can only fell what your doing.
One the belt is in place, rotate the drum by hand to make sure the belt tracks properly. Finish cleaning up any dust accumulation inside the dryer/fan assembly. Reattach the front drum support, reattach the door switch wires and reassemble the front panel by tilting the panel until the top catches, swing down into place and attach bottom with the two screws. Done!

After much coercement from my wife, I listened to the squealing noise she kept telling me about. Then it quit working completely and I had no choice. Probably the motor. Not being one to want to do this more than once and figuring after 16 years all of it could be bad, I ordered all moving parts, as well as new front and rears felt seals for the drum and the blower seal. Everything in taking the dryer apart was straight forward and obvious. The tricky part was getting the belt back on the tensioner. Working from the front of the dryer, I did this one-handed via the lower left side around the motor while my wife held the drum in place.

The repair itself was pretty easy. Though I had figured out what needed to be done on my own while I waited for the belt to arrive via Fed Ex, the belt arrived with instructions that described the plan I had already figured and if I hadn't known what I was doing, the instructions would have been a great help.

STEP ONE, UNPLUG THE UNIT (and/or shut off the gas supply), CAREFULLY. Then, I took the front of the unit off by removing the 2 screws on the front panel near the bottom of the unit and disconnected the wiring that shuts the unit off when the door is opened. Set the front door panel aside. Then I removed the front of the tumbler retainer along with the exhaust duct and lint screen assembly by removing 4 screws that affixed the reatiner frame to the rest of the outer cabinet. Set this aside as well. Remove the entire tumbler unit. Set aside. Remove 4 screws on the back of the unit that hold the tensioner and motor access panel and remove it. Set it aside. At this point, I vacuumed every bit of lint and debris from the snapped belt out of the enitre unit, lubricated/greased all moving parts, cleaned off the friction bearing surfaces, and collected loose change ($1.35).

When the belt arrived, I unwrapped it, and placed the smooth side to the tumbler and rubber banded the slack off to the bottom right side (sort of the 4:30 position as you put the tumbler back into the unit). I carefully jimmied the tumbler back into the unit BEING CAREFUL not to pinch the groved belt between the tumbler and any other parts inside the cabinet. I replaced the tumbler retainer and screwed the 4 bolts back into place. I spun the tumbler over near the tensioner assembly (so I could see the slack through the access panel hole in the back) and removed the rubber band. I threaded the belt through the tensioner and over the drive pulley and rotated the tumbler clockwise to align the drive train of the belt. I plugged the 2 wires back into the switch on the inside of the door panel and then I replaced it on the front of the unit and screwed the 2 screws back in at the bottom front of the panel. I plugged the unit back in and tested opperation. It worked great! I unplugged the unit again (I'm not finished yet). I then replaced the access panel on the back of the unit and screwed the 4 screws back in. I moved the unit back against the wall and plugged it back in. Done! The dryer is less noisey now and more efficient most likely b/c I cleaned all the lint out of the thing! Thanks for the prompt shipment of the belt!! I'll get a few more years out of this dryer before spending $700 on a new one!!! Thanks again!

1. Unplugged dryer, removed front (2 phillips screws near bottom) set aside with wires attached
2. Removed front support (4 hex head screws)
3. Drilled out pop-rivets, discarded old glides (why didn't Maytag use rollers?)
4. Riveted new glides in place.
5. (Oops!) trimmed cork pads, smeared with glue, shoved under glides, held down until firm
6. Removed drum (pushed belt back to groove, pulled drum off rollers, lifted belt off drum, worked drum out) Left belt on pulley and tension wheel as pattern when I replace it.
7. Scraped old gasket felt off back chassis and front support
8a. Folded gasket lengthwise and glued into front support channel with fold on outside diameter. It was too short.
8b. (Oops! Why didn't this come with instructions?) Pulled it out, reversed it and replaced it with fold to inside diameter. It fit. Glued ends together.
9. Glued other felt gasket into back chassis. (Good ventilation needed here!)
10. Replaced rollers. (This did have instructions, despite being easy. I didn't use any grease. Experience as a locksmith says don't lube anything that isn't sealed from dust. I also vacuumed out 15 years of dust.)
11. Replaced belt. (The old one looked fine, but I was advised to do the belt and rollers along with the glides.) The grooves touch the drive pulley, the flat goes around the tensioner, and the belt exiting to the left seems like it will rub the pulley, but it doesn't once the drum is installed.
12. Turn the drum around (Nice, it's symmetrical!) and work it back in.
13. Lift the belt around the drum edge (I used bull clips to hold it in place.)
14. Check the belt on the pulleys, move the drum in more, take off clips, move the belt to the groove.
15. put the drum on the rollers, lift the belt out of the groove, and spin the drum a little while watching the pulleys to check it.
16. Screw the front support back in place.
17. Screwed the front on and plugged it in.
It works!

Utilizing the online schematics, I disassembled the dryer, marked and disconnected all wires, and removed the drum. Once the drum was removed, I thoroughly cleaned the inside of the dryer and removed all lint accumulation from the heating element, motor, and blower fan areas. I replaced the front guides and drum support rollers/shafts, belt and idler pulley. I reassembled the dryer and it worked! Be sure to lay all the screws and parts in a logical sequence as you disassemble the dryer, it makes reassembly much easier.