Blower Wheel with Clip

Found out after changing idler pulley and drum rollers that the clip had come off the old blower wheel and the snap ring was missing. Found the clip after installing the new blower wheel. Noise gone and dryer runs like new. The parts blow up diagram shows a retaining ring on the inside and outside of the blower wheel. The inside retaining ring can not be used because when the blower wheel is installed, the outside retaining ring can not be installed in the shaft groove.

1. Disconnected dryer from power supply. Removed two front panel screws.
2. Lifted front panel to access the drum and blower.
3. Photographed the wiring and assembly from several angles for reference.
4. Removed four screws and removed the front plenum.
5. Removed the blower plenum and removed a large amount of lint from plenum.
6. Cut the two rivets holding each drum front glide using a Dremel tool.
7. Replaced both drum front glides and riveted them in place.
8. Removed blower cover. I could not use a nut driver on two screws and used a socket set with universal drive.
9. Used pliers to removed the clamp on the blower; used C-ring pliers to removed the front c-ring from the blower motor shaft.
10. Pulled squirrel-cage blower off motor and installed new blower with new clamp and old C-ring.
11. Cleaned all accessible areas of blower and cabinet with brushes and Shop Vac.
12. Replaced dryer bulb.
13. Removed tumbler and tumbler belt.
14. Installed tumbler and belt using the instructions supplied with the new belt.
15. Removed four screws and rear pulley access plate and threaded new belt on pulley and idler.
16. Installed blower cover, plenum and wiring.
17. Installed rear access cover.
18. Inspected and tightened power cord lugs.
19. Replaced dryer vent pipe.
20. Connect dryer to power supply.
21. Tested dryer.

Watched the video, removed the front panel, removed the 4 screws from the tumbler frame, and removed the blower cover. Snap ring off, old blower fan off, new one on, new compression ring, snap ring on, Put back together. Done.

Old belt and idler were OK. What surprized me was the amount of lint, fuzz, coins and dust in the blower housing. This was potentially a fire hazard and now its working perfectly and some peace of mind from a fire standpoint. The video really made it happen for me.

Took offf front of dryer. Took out screws holding housing to blower fan. Used spring plier to remove spring clamp. Do yourself a favor and buy a spring plier. Made it much easier. Took out old blower wheel & installed new one. Put spring clamp back on & screwed housing back together. Cleaned out dryer with vacuum while it was apart. Put fron back on. Not difficult at all with right tools.

Unplugged dryer. Removed top, face and drum. Using snap ring pliers, I removed the old drum supports and installed the new ones. Next I removed the cover to the blower wheel housing. Then using snap ring pliers and regular pliers I removed the worn blower wheel and installed the new one by reverse steps. Lastly the belt. I put the belt around the drum , placed the drum in the dryer and had my son hold it steady as I threaded the belt around the motor and idler pulley. All that's left is to put the face and cover back. The repair was simple and the dryer is running like a champ. I would suggest having some snap rings handy as I had to replace them as well.

I followed the directions given by another poster. Reprinted here with advice at the end.
Unplug the dryer!!!!
Remove two screws from lower front panel. Pull the bottom of the front panel forward. This allows the clips holding top of panel to release. Unclip the wires attached to the door switch on the front panel. Set the front panel to the side. The blower assembly is facing you at lower left.
Remove 4 screws(2 on left & 2 on right) from the drum retainer ring. Set the retainer ring to the side.
Remove the thin metal cover protecting the blower wires. The blower is located on the lower left below the lint screen. Remove the screws holding the blower cover in place.
Use snap ring pliers to remove the snap ring securing the old blower wheel. It is an external snap ring.
Squeeze the spring retainer surrounding the blower wheel shaft with regular pliers and wiggle the blower off.
Put the new blower on the shaft and replace everything in reverse order.
Replace the snap ring.
Replace the blower cover. Be sure the insulation around the blower wheel housing seats properly into the front panel. This keeps hot air flowing up past the lint trap.
Replace the thin metal wiring cover.
Replace the drum retainer ring.
Reconnect the door switch wiring.
Replace the front panel.
Done.
One last hint about a 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!!! It had slipped into the grove on me. Check this out before closing the dryer back up. Otherwise you might find yourself taking the thing apart again.

Also, the eyes on the snap ring had broken off so I had a difficult time figuring that part out. It's at the exact end of the exposed end of the shaft sticking out from the blower wheel. Regular pliers got it off. A lot of my repair time was spent going to the hardware store for a replacement.