MDE4000AYW Maytag Dryer - Instructions

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 removed the two screws from the dryer front cover (located just under door)I Then swung font cover up and off it's latches. Exposing drum asy and heating element. Using a nut driver to remove two hold down screws and disconnect electrical wires from heating element. Really simple! took me approxmatly 20 minutes and this included vacuuming inside motor area with a shop vac.

Note: You may want to consider replacing the 2 Drum Support rollers at this time (while your in there)

1. UNPLUG YOUR DRYER FIRST.

2. Using a phillips head screw driver - Remove 2 screws that secure the dryer door hinges to the frame, Lift door very slightly to unhook hinges and pull out door with hinges attached as straight as possible, set aside. Remove the 2 plastic tabs from the opposing side of the door hinge also secured by screws.

3. Remove the front panel (panel is shaped like a football goal post) by tilting out the top ends of the front panel toward you, then lift up to remove panel from the bottom metal retaining tabs.

4. Remove the 2 hexhead screws from the 2 retaining clips (security hooks) that secure the top
of the dryer closed.

5. Systematically remove the hexhead screws from the rest of the front of "shroud" (it holds (suspends) the drum in place between the front and back of the dryer).

*** I didn't disconnect any wires, I carefully swung out each piece that had wires attached, propped up those parts vertically ensuring no strain on the attached wires. Others may want to disconnect wires to avoid breaking or damaging them.

6. Vacuum out any dust/lint that may be present.

7. Draw a quick diagram of how the underside of the belt is threaded on the idler pulley and motor pully first. Release the tension of the belt from the underside of the drum. The easiest way is to push the idler pulley arm away from the belt and slide off the belt from the idler pulley and motor pulley. Slide the drum out.

8. Remove the hexhead screw from the bottom of the idler arm. Disconnect from retaining spring.

9. You may only need to replace just the Idler Pulley Wheel. I recommend replacing as a "unit" the Idler Pulley Wheel, Idler Arm, Ring-E and Idler Shaft Washer(s) - then you can just swap out the old one for the new one.

10. Reassemble

(When reassembling the belt - place around drum first and slide drum in place. Now from the underside-place (drape) belt around the motor pulley (it will be very loose) Now push the idler pulley arm toward the motor pulley, engage the left side of the belt around the idler pulley and slowly allow idler pulley to increase its tension on the belt) You can test manually by rotating the drum by hand to ensure proper movement.)

Turned off gas and unplugged dryer
1) Removed bottom front panel
2) lifted top panel up like a car hood
3) Removed door springs
4) disconnected electrial connections to door unit, removed door unit
5) removed drum, scraped old felt from drum
6) glued new felt with a very strong glue (nanoglue or gorilla glue, same thing), let it dry overnight
7) secured back inside panel, replaced drum and put dryer back together.

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.

We tried replacing the door switch first, still didn't start. Next we tried the thermal fuse and it turned on and has worked ever since.

After changing all the rollers in the dryer (which didn't fix the problem) I decided to take apart the blower. Sure enough, that was the problem. As the dryer heated up, the damaged wheel would swell and start rubbing the housing. I replaced both and fixed the problem. The repair was pretty easy, since I had taken the dryer apart several times replacing the rollers.

popped out old female clasp on dryer itself with screwdriver, undid 2 screws on dryer door and door handle with phillips screwdriver, popped in new male clasp part, put door knob back on and put the two screws back in door and it was all set to go. Less than 15 minutes to do. Better than new and wife is happy. No more duct tape holding door closed now.

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

Researched for the part numbers and found the parts needed. In this case the timer knob is made up of 3 separate pieces that easily snap together.

Well, I had to find out just how the dryer came apart. Most of the time, the back comes off but with this particular Maytag, it is the front that has to be removed. Once the four screws from either side are removed, the front pops off and the canister that holds the heating element is right there on the bottom. Cleaning away years of lint was fun but the heating canister was removed quickly using two screws and removing four wires that attached to the unit. Once the screws were removed (top back and bottom front) and the wires removed, the replacement unit slid right in without any problems. The regulator on the old unit had to be transferred to the new unit before installation. I closed up the front, put the four screws back in and snapped the front closed and the dryer worked perfectly.

pulled the motor and replaced it and not having any issues since.

Before I started, I pulled the dryer away from wall, unplugged it and removed the vent piping for good access to the back of the dryer. Then, I took out the screws holding the back plate of the control panel to the base. This revealed the inside of the control panel, and also allowed the panel to come loose--roll forward--for access. Then at the front of the control panel, I took the top center disk of the dryer dial out, and pulled off the dial itself. This revealed the timer post and the 2 hex-head screws holding the timer part in place. I removed the screws, the timer came loose. With the timer free and the replacement part in hand, I carefully pulled the wires from the old part and put them on the new one. Once completed, I loosely reinstalled the timer on the panel, set the panel in place, and plugged in the dryer to test the part before I completely buttoned up the control panel. It was at this point that I discovered the dial was loose on the new part. I looked at the old part and found a sleeve fitting on the post the dial slides onto. I removed it from the old, put it on the new, and now the dial fits snugly as it always had. Spun the dial, pushed the button, and the dryer works again! After cleaning dust collected over the years, I'm ready to finished tightening up the timer, and reinstalled the back plate. With the dryer ready for service, I took the extra step of cleaning the vent outlet on the bottom back of the dryer and installing new vent piping. Years of use can cause a build-up of lint, what better opportunity to clean this up? Finally done, I pushed the dryer back into place.

Pull the electric plug. With a nut driver and phillips screw driver remove two bolts and three screws on the rear access plate. Gently pull the knob from the front pannel and with the nut driver remove the two bolts under the knob. The timer is now loose from the drver. Match the wire plug codes on the old and new timers. Remove one wire at a time from the old timer with pliers and plug it onto the new timer on the same coded pin. Slide the timer back into the pannel and replace the two bolts that hold it. Replace the knob. Replace the three screws and two bolts holding the back pannel. Plug the electric cord back into the wall socket.

My 11 year old grandson and I did the repair together. He had a blast and I did too. First we removed a bunch of screws that got us no closer to getting the machine apart than when we started. Then I remembered from the last time I had the machine apart that there are two screws just below the door, angled as not to be visable unless you know where to look. Once we removed those the from came off. We removed the wires for the door light and heat sensor, remembering the order of the wires for later reinstallation. Then we undid the bolts holding down the top. Once the top was removed we took off the belt and removed the drum. We used the retainer pliers to remove the retainer ring from the first roller. We removed the roller and also the shaft as this roller was the noise maker and the shaft was not in reusable condition. We installed a new shaft, roller washer, roller, another roller washer and then the retainer ring. We repeated the same process on the other roller, although we did not replace the shaft as it was in good condition. It turned out I did not need to order the shaft washers as the rollers came with washers. Oh well, its not a good job unless you have parts left over when you are done. Once we replaced the rollers we commenced reinstallation. But first we had to google for diagram of the proper belt installation, which we found and that got the drum and belt installed properly. Thankd god for the internet. Once we had the drum installed we put the machine back together in the opposite order we took it apart. An operational test showed we did the job right, no more squeaking. The only injury was my grandson cut his thumb right after I gave him the speech about watching where your hand is going to end up when that bolt breaks free. It broke loose and into the metal bracket went his thumb. Oh well it was a good lesson and it was not a bad cut. All in all a good repair.