MDE216RBW0 Tappan Dryer - Instructions

removing was easy just open lower rear LH panel . Ordering was easy ,shipping seemed like alot? to install the new belt pop top of dryer I used a screw driver to help. remove front panel 2 screws then it also has about six clips may have to have gloves on so you do not skin your hands like I did.... lots of sharp edges. pay attention to the clips, so if they come off they will not be lost. panel will tilt slightly fwd then raise up and set aside. now you can slip the belt over the drum. I kept all the slack at the top till it was in position. the groved rubber side goes against the drum and the motor pully. then extend the spring tensioner into position . I rotated the drum a few times by hand to make sure everything was in position. replace front. check it is lined up well before forceing clips in. check felt material is properly in place, as you rotate it into position. push down top . good to go. I ran it for awhile watching everything work before placing it back in service. you may want to clean it out some while it is apart I used an air compressor and shop vac simultaniously as that seemed to work best. Wanted my son to do it as I think he had it over loaded as to why it broke? It maybe the bearings are going but it felt solid ?? I should find out in a month or so shich was which! I did not see any easy way to get to grease it. The belt was easy though pretty sure my son could have handled it!

The hardest part was getting to the part and removing it and putting it back on. The schematics that you had on your website helped us locate where it needed to go and, hopefully, that will solve our problem.

I unplugged the dryer. Undid the top by taking out 2 screws and mounts on each side of the back. There were two screws in the front panel that had to be removed. One on each side. Then I took the two wires off the killer switch on the door. Marking which was top and which was bottom. Then I removed the front panel. Then I undid the drum which had 3 screws in. I took out the drum to find the problem. I replaced the drum putting the belt on. Then I took off the back panel at the bottom of the dryer to get at the idler arm. Took off the spring and unhooked the arm. I put the new arm on and replaced the spring. I then put the belt on to the pulley and closed up the back panel. I put back the front panel. I put the top back on. I plugged it back in and turned it on and it worked!

I've replaced the rear plastic bearing on this dryer twice, so I am familiar with taking the unit apart. After replacing the bearing in December, the machine still made noise (which had been masked by how loud the bearing was). The belt didn't look so great and it's 13 years old, so I ordered one and a new idler pulley assembly.

First, I disconnected the power and pulled it out for access. Using a large blade screwdriver, popped the cover open from the two clips in front. Be sure to support the top cover when you open it on the tabs or they will bend - I propped it against the wall. I disconnected the two wires that go to the door switch, and then removed the two screws that hold the front panel and door in place and lifted/opened that and removed the front panel and set it aside.

Next, I removed the back access grill (2 screws) and popped the belt off the idler by relieving the tension on the belt. Using a 10mm socket, I removed the idler pivot bolt and idler arm assembly. I installed the new idler arm assembly in its place and reattached the spring.

Moving to the front of the dryer, I lifted the drum off the blower housing on which it was resting and took off the belt through the front of the dryer. I then replaced the belt in reverse. Back through the access panel on the rear, I put the new belt on the motor and idler.

Be sure to check that there are no flips in the belt. I rotate the drum by hand a couple of revolutions to be certain.

I then reinstalled the front cover and door, reconnected the door switch, replaced the access panel and put the cover back down, popping the clips into place.

Put the dryer back in place, reconnected the exhaust and plugged it in. Voila - quiet dryer.

As an aside, I also took the time to clean the lint out of the blower and exhaust with a vacuum cleaner hose.

Removed rear inspection plate, removed pulley spring and one hex bolt, replaced in reverse order. Very simple removal and install for this. Glad to see that Part Select still had parts for this 22 year old drier.

1. After checking the Parts Select website for some useful information I unplugged the dryer.
2. I popped the two clips holding the top down and lifted the top up and out of the way.
3. I used the 8mm socket and screwdiver combo to remove the two screws holding the front of the dryer on. These screws are so close to the sides of the dryer that you need something very thin to seat the socket, it is so thin a small rachet would not fit.
4. Once the to screws are free to forget to unhook the two wires that lead to the automatic cutoff switch on the right. Label them and move them out of the way.
5. The front of the dryer should pivot forward and come right off. Don't forget about the two clips at the bottom, they are not really attached to anything and can be easy to lose.
6. Get your screwdriver and dive into the drum, on the back should be three screws, take those out.
7. Spin the dryer around and take off the vent cover in the lower left corner of the back of the dryer, watch out the socket is a smaller size.
8. Once inside there is an idler pulley like on the back of a ten speed bike, pull the tension out of it and take the drive belt off the pulleys.
9. The drum should be able to be pulled out the front of the dryer, set aside with the door. The screws on my dryer were so tight I had to use a hammer drill to remove them.
10. This is were I got stuck, no one mentioned how to get the bearing plate off, as if everyone would just know. You must lift up on the bearing plate and once it moves up then you can pull it out.
11. Use the 8mm socket to unscrew the old plastic bearing guide. The small metal clip on the back of the dryer will fall off with the grounding ball bearing.
12. With brum bearing kit in hand start off by putting as much high temp lubricant as you can into the bottom of the new bearing guide. I also use a little lubricant like glue to hold the new grounding ball bearing in the little hole on the back of the bearing guide.
13. Here is the tricky part you have to screw the bearing guide into the the dryer while simulaneously holding the little metal clip in place on the back of the dryer. I used duct tape to hold the metal clip and once the screws got started I just took the tape off.
14. Now you have to do the impossible, the bearing must be screwed to the drum. So unless you have 7 foot long arms you can't hold the bearing and drive the screws. Another problem is the bearing itself, the holes are not the same size as the original and they are not threaded. I stripped every screw that came with the kit trying to get them through the metal of the bearing.
15. With an unwilling victim holding the bearing steady I finally got a replacement screw to seat through the bearing. Once you get one the rest are easier.
16. You are ready to reassemble, after vacuuming everything ou, pick up the drum making sure the belt is around the drum about where it was when you took it off. Push the drum through the front of the dryer all the way to the back, aim a little high so the bearing can move down and seat in the bearing guide.
17. Tuck the clips on the front panel of the dryer into the bottom front edge of the dryer and the whole front should pivot up, when you get it almost closed you will have to lift the drum and set it on the front bearing in the door.
18. While holding the front of the dryer on you have to reach inside and get the 8mm screw started on the left or right, if you let go the front of the dryer will pop off and you have to start over with the pivot. Now is a good time to have a magnet on a stick so when you drop the screw or screw driver you don't have to take the front off to retrieve your tools.
19. Once the front is on reconnect the two wires to the switch in the front of the dryer. Remember the ones you were supposed to have labeled earlier.
20. Close the top of the dryer and spin the dryer around so you can reach inside the vent door and pull the tension pulley over and reseat the drive belt. Rem

Removed top cover.
Lowered control assembly.
Removed front door assembly.
Removed drum.
Removed heater assembly.
Removed support bearing and bracket using existing bonding ball.
Re-assembled in reverse order.

Don’t do like I did and undo the drummer from the back of that thing pulled off the bearing

With the excellent replacement parts sold by this site, it went like silk. The dryer is not only working great, but actually quieter.

UNPLUG DRYER (this is key) Removed the top of dryer. used screwdriver and pliers to remove two screws and electrical connections then reinstalled new part stick the magnet behind the part to the back of the dryer to help control the small screws.

I used the percentage scale on this website to try and determine the likely cause. After reading several sites, I couldn't make sense of the timer not working on just one type cycle. When I got the dryer drum off, I could plainly see that one of the heater coils was broken. They get heat stressed and break down over time and a hard shake probably finished this off. This unit is 5 plus years old. It was Saturday and I had no heater, so I actually found it at a local parts supplier. Also replaced the drum bearing and the bearing cup in the rear along with the heater. BTW, a new heater comes with a HIGH thermal switch attached to it so don't buy it extra. The bearing cone also comes with a new bushing in the pack. I DID use the Thermal Limiter that I order from the site because I was already in there. Everything works great now. I may have gotten most off my parts elsewhere but this site was the biggest help of them all. I will definitely be back here again.

Replaced rear drum bearing, drum support bearing & drum belt. Still very noisy. Will order new motor & see if that does the trick.

Remove 2 screws from back of unit, remove top by lifting and pulling up, set aside. Using pliers,needle-nose, remove the 2 wires from switch, then using a magitized philips screw driver, remove 2 screws holding switch to back of unit, replace switch, reassemble everything. 20 minutes, boom, ur done, dry some clothes now

Followed the excellent instructions for the heater coil. There weren’t any for the TL switch as to which of the two TL terminals gets power. Took a guess, reassembled the dryer (many hours) and it worked. I was either lucky, or it didn’t matter. Wish it had come with specific installation instructions.

After unplugging the dryer, disconnecting it from the vent, and moving into an open work area, I popped the top open with the blade of a screwdriver, disconnected the two wires that connect to the door switch, then lifted the front panel (with the door) up and away from the drum. Next, I lifted the drum out of the worn rear bearing assembly and lowered it into the dryer in order to release tension on the belt. I then removed the entire drum by carrying it forward and out of the way. I then removed the old bearing assembly, which was loose and covered with metal dust. After cleaning the area with a dry cloth to remove the old grease and metal dust, and vacuuming all the lint off *everything*, I installed the new bearing assembly with a 5/16" nut driver, being careful to position the provided ball-bearing between the plastic bearing assembly and the outer clip. The little ball-bearing is very important, as it is the drum's only path to ground, and prevents the build up of static electricity as the drums spins. I then filled the new bearing assembly with the provided grease. Everything is easy up to this point, but the difficult part for me was removing the old hub from the drum and re-attaching the new one. It is held on by three screws and they become seated very tightly. After loosening them and removing the old hub from the drum, attaching the new one prvoed difficult as well, as the screw-holes in the new hub are not threaded to fit the screws. The screws muct be forced to cut a thread as you install them, which requires a great deal of force. After installing the new hub and putting the new belt (pruchased separately) around the drum, the next step is to reinstall the drum by lifting it in through the front of the dryer and positioning the new hub over the new bearing assembly and pressing it down into place. It will gently "snap" into place as it seats. Then, on the back side of the dryer, I removed the vent panel by removing the two screws that hold it in place and positioned the new drive belt (loosely dangling around the drum) over the motor's drive wheel and behind the sring-tensioned idle arm. Then it is a simply matter to reinstall the front panel by genly lifting the drum and sliding the door opening inside it, then reseating all the little clips that hold the front panel in place. I then pressed the top back into place, reconnected the vent hose, plugged it back in and checked for operation. My fifteen year-old dryer now works like new!