DE18CS Maytag Dryer - Instructions

Followed instruction video

After viewing repair video I used those instructions, after removing drum place new belt on drum, I used scotch tape to hold belt in place, tape belt with 2 inch strip about every foot around drum, leave extra belt that connects to drive motor folded down and taped to drum. After installing drum connect belt to drive motor and roll drum to remove tape. This will keep belt from sliding out of place on drum while installing.

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.

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.

By watching a video I disassembled the front and took the dryer tub out and replace the two rollers and it took about 60 minute.

Fallowed instructions on YouTube

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.....

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.

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.

Opened your replacement part and found a broken fin on the blower wheel. no way I was going to return it and wait another week for another part. Perhaps you folks need to inspect what you send out. 1 blower wheel with a broken fin and 2 clamps. Replacement was easy and quickly accomplished. Having replaced drum rollers and the belt this dryer is almost new. Thanks

Removed the damaged legs, replaced with parts from this site and leveled the washer .

The repair video is terrific and many others here have thoroughly described the steps involved to replace the drive motor.

The biggest hurdle for me was that the motor came with a new switch that required a different wiring configuration. No wiring diagram was included. Several others had posted questions about wiring in the Q&A and unfortunately PartSelect kept copy/pasting the same confusing and incomplete answer over and over:

"The Yellow goes to T6, Red to T5 Black to T2, blue to T1 and the white you will remove the blue jumper lead between the switch terminal 4 and 1/4" protector tab, connect the grey harness lead to the 1/4" protector tab."

Reading that doesn't tell me what to do with the white wire, doesn't address that my blue and white wires were crimped into the same connector from the factory, doesn't address that I had 2 black wires crimped into the same connector from the factory, and doesn't address a factory ground wire that connected the frame of the OEM motor to the bracket that the motor sits in.

With all the other excellent info supplied by PartSelect, this was surprising and frustrating. The sales dept ignored an emailed question from me, and the Q&A section didn't allow me to post a question.

Searching the internet, I found a wiring diagram on aceappliancesd dot com that addressed my dryer's OEM wiring configuration. Here's what I ended up with:

TI - Blue and white, crimped together into a single connector
T2 - Black & black, crimped together into a single connector (the wiring diagram I found said this should be black & brown, but they both look black to me)
T5 - Red
T6 - Yellow
1/4" Thermal protector tab - Grey (from the harness)

The new motor switch had a grounding tab with nothing connected to it. I removed the screw holding that tab into the switch and connected the (also grey) OEM short ground wire from the motor frame to the mounting bracket.

I had to cut 2 of the pieces of tape holding the OEM wiring harness together in order to get enough slack for all the connections to reach. If you do this too, make sure all the wires are still clear of the moving parts and the hot bits. You may need to retape the wires together at a different location to keep things tidy.

I also laid the belt over the drum and put 2 pieces of tape over it to hold it in place while I got the drum positioned, then I reached through the back access panel to loop the belt around the motor pulley and idler. Once that's done, just reach over the top of the drum and peel the tape off. I found that much easier than trying to loop the belt by reaching through and past the drum.

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

actually used the videos available on your website and it made the job really simple other than the fact that I live in Florida and it was 96 degrees and my dryer is in my non-air conditioned garage.

Tip: If the belt broke make sure the Drum Rollers are not seized which could have broken the belt. I recommend if replacing the belt replace the Drum Rollers (2- required) at the same time.
The instruction sheet that came with the Drum Roller kit is straight forward. It provided detail on what to disassemble to replace the rollers. So follow the instructions. Tip: Make sure you have a C – clip ring pliers to remove the C clip. The instruction sheet calls it the snap ring
The Idler Pulley came with no instructions, however it was easy to replace. The idler pulley is secured with an “E” shape clip which can be removed with a small straight blade screw driver.
The instruction sheet on how to install the belt was good showing how the belt is routed. The instruction wants the belt installed from the front around the tumbler then from underneath the tumbler towards the back and around the motor pulley and idler pulley. It is hard to see the motor and idler pulleys from underneath the tumbler. However I think it was easier if the tumbler was moved forward enough so you can see the motor and idler pulleys from the top. Install the belt as shown in the instruction sheet diagram around the motor pulley with the groves of the belt are against the pulley, then around the idler pulley. While holding the belt with slight tension, move the tumbler back into position while routing the belt around the tumbler and slowly turning the tumbler until the belt is completely installed. The belt should be about 1-1/2” from the back screws which hold the tumbler baffles. Note: the belt should be installed with the flat side against the tumbler. The belt should not be in the back grove of the tumbler.