Blower Wheel

Unplug the power cord from the unit. Remove the lower front panel; then the upper front panel including the door (unplug wire to door switch). Then remove the cover on the fan housing. Need to block the motor from turning; I used a stick to jamb the front of the motor; then unscrew the old blower fan and screw on the new one. Then replace the cover and put front panels back on.

Because the wheel had stopped and the shaft kept turning (junk from child's pocket got in there), the nut stripped itself away from the wheel causing low RPM and low air movement (lazy flame, vibration and clothes not drying)

I had to use a screwdriver to break the wheel away from the center nut and remove the fan. I then removed the air fan housing (3 bolt behind the fan wheel). I used a small pair of vise grips to hold the motor shaft staionary while I used a pair of channel lock pliers to remove the nut that was molded into the fan from the motor shaft. It was harder to get the nut started then I would have thought.

Once complete, I put the fan housing back on and threaded the new wheel on easily. The motor has external fins on it which turn with the shaft-I held one lightly while I threaded the fan on to keep the shaft from turning. Tighten just slightly more than hand tight-don't go crazy-it's threaded to stay tight with rotation. Works great and very quiet now.

Remove the 2 screws at bottom of front panel, remove lower panel. Then remove the two screws at bottom of front door. Lift door forward so spring hooks can disengage from the top panel. remove door, disconnect the 5 wires to the door latch and light. remove the two screws at top of dryer to lift up top panel. Remove 4 screws at the front holding the drum. Disengage the belt from the tension pulley and remove drum. Replaced both roller wheels at the rear of the drum( one was broke). Then remove the screws (about 6 holding the plate in front of the blower wheel. Use a wrench to hold the nut at the back of the motor and a scocket wrench to remove blower wheel. (The Blower wheel was broken from the shaft and was spinning freely). Then do it all backwards to re assemble. i spent more time cleaning the lint from the inside than I took making the repair!

This was my first time repairing a dryer. If I knew when I started the project what I know now, it would have been an easy repair. First, you should know that the series number (used for selecting a wiring diagram) is the last two digits of the unit's serial number (not model number). In my case, the series number was 11. The hardest part for me was figuring out how to take the dryer apart. I made the mistake of starting with the top instead of the front. In fact, I removed the control panel and disconnected all the wires, labeling them carefully, and creating a diagram, so i could put it all back together later. I now realize I could have left that all together and just lifted the top up in the front without removing it. That knowledge would have saved hours of work, so I hope it helps someone (prop up the front a few inches and start by removing the panel on the lower front, then remove the screws on the main front panel, and then pull out the bottom of that panel toward you until the top of that front panel disengages from the top of the dryer - the rest is obvious). So it turns out there were two separate problems: 1) the blower wheel had broken completely off of the motor so it wasn't spinning - this is why hot air wasn't being pulled through from the heater in the back of the dryer; 2) the pulley on the spring-loaded lever arm attached to the motor was squeaking due to lack of lubricant. So the solution was to replace the blower wheel and spray WD-40 in the pulley (and also, for good measure in the roller bearings that support the drum in the back of the dryer). Most of the time spent on the repair was just due to my own mistakes. In particular, once I got everything back together after the repair, it stopped squeaking and there was good airflow, but it wasn't heating. I spent an entire day trying to troubleshoot the lack of heat. I tested and bypassed all of the thermostats and heater fuses and the heating element still wouldn't come on. I even managed to accidentally ground one of the leads from the fuse and had to replace a melted wire connector (trip to the Shack). In the end, it turned out that a wire which had been accidentally disconnected from the main power cord to the dryer, I had put back in the wrong spot. There is L1, L2, and neutral going into the dryer. I had the heater on the same circuit as the motor and other stuff. Once I traced the wiring diagram back, I realized this and corrected it by putting the heating circuit back onto L2. Now it "hums like a Singer". If everything had gone smoothly, instead of being a 2-day repair, it would have been a 2 hour repair. 2 hours instead of 1 because to get the leverage I needed to remove the old blower nut, I had to actually pull the motor assembly out of the dryer and move it to my workbench. Someone who is strong or more limber or has better tools might be able to skip that step, reducing the time by about 45 minutes. Good luck!

Had to figure out how to open the dryer - bottom screws in front and work up, removed the drum and found the fan blade was broken. Had some difficulty removing the fanblade from the motor shaft but after that the new one was easy to install. I did need help to place the belt and drum back into place. as one person has to hold the belts on the pulley while the other adjusts the belt while putting the drum back into place.

After removing the lower access panel, I observed the drum and belt and saw it turning freely. The support rollers in the back turned freely and were in good condition as well. At odd intervals the unit made a humming or grinding noise, and i decided to check the blower wheel (the other rotating part in the system). I found that the central hub of the wheel (which is made of a nylon like plastic) had sheared off from the wheel itself. I ordered a new part and started to remove the old wheel. **NOTE** many of the stories I read described how this part would have a reverse thread, it did not and that cost me an extra 30 minutes to figure out (the new part had arrows showing the correct direction to put on and remove - the original didn't). Once everything was cleaned and reassembled, I started the dryer again, but got no heat. I had previously replaced the heating element, so I thought my wiring was wrong. That wasn't the problem, but a hint from this site about checking the incoming wiring was the solution, my ground wire had come off the terminal in the back of the dryer and I wasn't getting the volatge across the element that it required. With the ground wire back in place, everything worked fine.

I first unpluged the dryer. Then I
Removed two screws and removed bottom cover, Then removed the door assembly.Here I had to unplug the light and door switches. I then removed the four screws that holds the tub mount in place, Then I removed the eight screws that hold the blower cover in place, then removed the blower. replaced blower and reassembled in reverse. I started the dryer and it worked fine.

Very simple repair. Remove front panel, door, drum etc. Try to keep everything seperated, screws etc. I put lockjaws on the back to get the nut off the front. Make sure to check the housing for "melted on" blower wheel residue. Easy enough to remove. I checked with my local parts dealer he wanted twice the price and needed to order it (at least a days wait). PartSelect sent the exact same part in a day and a half. Put everything back the same way I removed. Hardest part is the drum and belt. While you have everything apart don't forget to clean the thermastats etc. PartsSelect was quicker and cheaper.

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

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.