MDE10DAAEL Maytag Dryer - Instructions

I found that I replaced more parts than I needed to fix fhis problem. The source of the rumble was the blower wheel connection to the motor, allowing the wheel to wobble (plastic wheel flat spot worn off over time, no firm lock to the motor shaft). But the dryer should be good for another 10 years!

Disconnect dryer from electrical outlet and exhaust.

Remove the back access plate to release the belt from the pulley. Remove the two screws at the bottom front of the dryer, rotate the front to release it at the top. Remove the wires from the door status switch. Remove the 4 nuts holding the drum support frame and pull straight out. Remove the drum. Remove the two bolts holding the thermostat cover (silver odd shaped metal plate at the front of the dryer). Remove the dryer blower cover plate by removing the 6 bolts holding it to the blower housing. Remember to remove the bolt holding the plate to the bottom of the dryer. Release the door status wire from the clips on the left side of the dryer and set the blower housing plate to the right, out of your way without removing the wires. Remove the blower wheel by removing the Circlip at the front of the shaft and then removing the shaft compression clip. Pull out the blower wheel and then remove the rear Circlip from the motor shaft. The back of the blower housing can be removed by removing the 4 bolts holding it to the motor support frame to make access easier but this may not be necessary. Release the 5 wires attached to the motor. Release the front and back motor clips. I used a large straightblade scerwdriver to press down and out on the end of the clips. Lift out the motor. Remove the rear pulley from the motor using an allen wrench and transfer it to the new motor. Set the new motor in the support frame, ensuring the lips of the vibration isolation rings are pointed down to slip over the frame and are not facing up towards the clips ( makes clip instalaltion much easier). Hook up the wires, following the color coding on the motor controller you are attaching to. Reinstall the blower back housing if removed, rear circlip, blower wheel, front circlip, shaft compression clip, blower housing front cover (Including the bolt to the dryer bottom) , reroute the door switch wire up the left side, reinstall the thermostat cover, reinstall the drum and belt, reinstall the drum front support frame (ensure the felt seals for the drum and the blower cover are properly aligned and seated correctly), hook up the door status wire when your set the front cover and install the 2 screws, reinstall the belt through the pulley and idler wheel (make sure the belt smooth side is against the drum) through the back access panel and reinstall the panel.

This is hardly a "repair". You toss out the old lint screen and put the new one in. The hardest part was getting the lint screen out of the plastic bag it came in...

ta da it is done...

From previous experience I suspected the thermal fuse. Turned off the power and removed the front of the dryer by removing the two philips head screws in the door hinge and the two screws on the opposite side of the opening. The front came off easily since all that holds it in place besides the 4 screws are two spring clips. The thermal fuse is located on the side of the chamber enclosing the heating element. I removed the wires connected to the thermal fuse and temporarily joined them together with a spade type connector in order to determine if the thermal fuse was the problem. Turned the power back on and tried the dryer......it ran normally. Turned the power back off and removed the thermal fuse by taking out th two screws with a 1/4" nutdriver.
Ordered a replacement thermal fuse, installed it (with power turned off) and put everything back together. Dryer functioned normally after the thermal fuse had been replaced.
The thermal fuse can be removed and reinstalled using a 1/4" nutdriver. The wires are connected with push on spade type terminals.
Note: The swing damper on the dryer vent (the hooded cover where it exhausts to the outdoors) was jammed in the closed position with an accumulation of lint, which caused the dryer to overheat and blow the thermal fuse. If you experience a blown thermal fuse, always look for the cause or you'll blow the replacement within minutes of running the fryer again.

Turned off circuit breaker. Removed two screws at base of front panel with stubby Phillips-head screwdriver. Swung panel up about 30-degrees, and removed panel, disconnecting red and yellow wire to door switch. Removed four sheet metal screws and took off large drum support bracket. Checked drum support rollers and shafts. They were fine. Reset circuit breaker and turned on dryer. Rattling noise still present.
Removed six small screws holding blower fan assembly. Shaft receiver on squirrel cage fan was worn completely round (it should fit onto a half-round shaft). Ordered new blower fan from PartSelect.com. Replaced tonight, and it works beautifully. This dryer is 29-years old. All it's ever needed in the 10-years I've owned it is a belt replacement and this repair. Long live the 1970s Maytags, and good parts suppliers like this one.

Removed the screws and took the door off then took the front panel off and popped up the top. Then pulled the drum out. Took snap ring pliers and removed rollers and replaced with new rollers then vacuumed all lint from machine and reversed operation to put everything back together. Operation was a total success!

First I unplugged the machine. I removed the two screws in the front panel and tilted the bottom of the panel out unclipping it at the top. I removed the lint duct whichis held in place with several 1/4" hex head screws. Then I removed the blower cover, also held on wth 1/4" hex head screws, exposing the blower wheel. Using snap ring pliers I removed the snap ring at the end of the motor shaft. Using needle nose liers I removed the spring clamp around the center hub of the old blower wheel and pull the blower wheel off the motor shaft. After cleaning as much lint out as I could I put the new blower wheel on the motor, secured with spring clamp and snap ring. Then I put the blower cover and lint duct back on and put front panel back on.

Followed the instructions on the video, and saved 500 hundred dollars. I was already shopping for a new dryer. Thanks so much!

Took off back cover, thermostat was easily identified because of photos I've seen on website. Took 2 connectors off, removed 2 screws and removed old thermostat. That was pretty much it!

NOTE: Replacement thermostat 694674 has an adjustable temperature range setting that MUST be manually set prior to installing! You need to use the enclosed chart to find your original part# and make sure the setting is matched. My original part# 341146 had a "D" setting so I had to change but very easy to do.

Unplugged the dryer!!!! Removed two screws from lower front panel. Pulled bottom of front panel forward which allowed clips holding top of panel to release. Unlcipped wires attached to door switch on front panel. Set aside front panel. Removed 4 screws(2 on left & 2 on right) from the drum retainer ring. Set aside retainer ring. Removed thin metal cover protecting blower wires. Removed several screws holding blower cover. Note blower is located on lower left below the lint screen. Used snap ring pliers to remove snap ring securing old blower wheel(an external snap ring). Removed old blower wheel from motor shaft. Inserted new blower wheel on motor shaft. Replaced snap ring. Replaced blower cover. Replaced thin metal wiring cover. Replaced drum retainer ring. Reconnected door switch wiring. Replaced front panel. Done. A hint on the maytag dryer. If your drum wiggles out too far the belt on the drum might not stay aligned. There is a groove on the drum...the belt should NOT sit in this groove...it should ride on the drum about an inch in front of the groove!!!

I just inserted the door catch, which by the way fit in perfectly. Thanks. Took 5 seconds to repair.

Using the instructions accompanying the belt I bought from you,I removed the casing an front support for the drum. I then tried to follow the instructions to install the new belt from the front and found it to be absolutely impossible.I saw that there is a removeable plate on the lower right corner of the back that,if removed, would expose the motor and idler pulleys that are the object of the installation so I removed it and,without much difficulty, installed the belt. One problem in doing so involved the belt's tendency to slide into the groove in the drum when manipulating it onto the pulley set so I enlisted the aid of my wife to hold it in place from the front while I successfully and rather easily did so.

Sans manual, I turned to the web to find out how to open up the dryer. Maytag uses two Phillips screws on the bottom front panel. Once removed, the front pulls out at the bottom and slides free from the top. Caution, wires on the left side of the front panel prevent total detachment from the dryer. A 1/4 hex screwdriver was used to remove the cover to the blower housing. Once the cover is unbolted attached wires prevent its complete removal and can be set clear of the blower housing. Pliers were used to remove a pinch clamp from the squirrel cage fan (blower assembly) and snap ring pliers were needed to remove the retaining snap ring. The fan was easily removed from the motor's rotor. The loose fan caused damage to the blower housing which I believe was the source of the original rattle. Once the fan had been removed, the housing was removed by using a 5/16 socket on the end of an extension. The replace parts were installed in reverse order and fit perfectly. Other work included the replacement of the drive belt for the drum. PartSelect was chosen because it had the parts in stock and could be shipped overnight.

Removed the Front panel (two philips screws) and then removed the front support bracket (4 hex nuts - two per side). New support bracket required the install of two front glide bushings which are comprised of a teflon like tab and a similar but smaller cork tab (no instructions or indications as to the order of placement) however most logical placement had the cork covered by the teflon tab). The teflon tab was riveted to the support assembly on each side with the supplied pop rivets. A plastic filter/air discharge chute was removed from the old support, cleaned to remove residual lint and years of collected garbage and then secured to the new support. The tumble drumb was easily aligned and matched to the front support as the support has alignment tabs which match the frame. While disassembled the entire unit was cleaned to remove copious amounts of lint and dust. On note - make sure the drive belt has not relocated in the tumbler groove located at the back of the tumbler - insufficient tension results and no tumbler action. Proper alignment will save you the re-removal of the front plate to access the belt. As this is a gas unit all fittings were re-attached and checked with soapy H2O to prevent an early forced remodel of the laundry room!

Researched for part on PartSelect, ordered part, arrived next day, cut open delivery package and plastic bag containing lint filter and placed new filter in dryer filter channel. Quick & super easy - my kind of DIY!

It was very easy to access the parts that needed to be replaced (blower wheel, belt, and glides).
1. Unplug the dryer power cord.
2. Removed the two screws at the bottom of the front dryer panel. Pull the bottom of the panel forward, which frees the retaining clips at the top of the panel.
3. Disconnect the two wires from the back of the panel, and remove the panel. The drum will be resting on the motor/blower hosuing.
4. Slide the belt off of the back of the tumbler, and remove the tumbler (have to angle it a bit, to clear the frame) and the belt.
5. Remove the thermostat cover (piece of angled sheet metal, in front of the blower unit).
6. Remove the screws from the blower housing, and lay it forward, to expose the blower wheel.
7. Remove the snap ring, and then the retaining ring from the blower wheel. Remove the old wheel.
8. Install the new wheel, then the retaining ring, and then the snap ring. Reattach the cover to the blower assembly.
9. Reattach the thermostat cover.
10. On the tumbler, drill out the rivets for each of the glides, and remove all glide parts. Install new glides.

This is a good time to complete any general cleaning inside the dryer cabinet, especially in the area of the motor. Since there is limited access to the motor itself, might help to use the blower function of a shopvac to blow out that dust.
Vacuum out all lint from around the felt drum seals.

11. Loop the new belt over the tumbler, and install the tumbler (the glides go towards the front of the dryer). Note: to keep the belt from falling off, I taped it to the drum with two pieces of painters tape..the blue tape that comes back off easily.
12. On the back of the dryer, remove the access panel, and complete installation of the belt to the idler pulley.
13. If you taped the belt to the drum....don't forget to remove the tape now. Reinstall front panel to dryer.

This was my first experience working with snap ring retaining rings. Even with snap ring pliers, they are difficult to remove without stretching them out. Be sure to order a new one with your blower wheel.

Also my first experience using a pop rivet gun ( to install the new glides). Found a rivet gun at Lowes for $9.99. Worked okay, and all rivets set properly. Good thing, because you don't get any extras with the glide kits.

After replacing the parts, and starting up the dryer, all of the clunking/squelling/rumbling noises were gone. There was a noticable smell while the new glides got broken in...smelled a bit like melting rubber. However, after a couple of drying cyles, the odor was gone.