Tumbler and Motor Belt

My first attemp was to replace the drum roller and idler roller, drive belt, and the felt seal for the back, since I had experience replacing these on an older machine many years ago. The dryer was very easy to work on....After installing the new parts, I reassembled and discovered it still made the same loud noise. I then, disassembled for the second time to discover the blower wheel was worn out; so i ordered another blower wheel and a drum support roller (i only ordered one the first time.). After reassembling it made an annoying high pitch sound. I attributed that to the new parts...probably the new belt and new felt seal. Gave it some time to run-in and it seems to have quieted down. Overall, i found the dryer very easy to work on. I actually found the felt seal the most onerous to install....needed to have about three hands to get the drum back in place! I just wish that the stamped metal dryer housing didn't have such sharp edges. I had to be very careful to avoid sharp burrs but still got nicked a couple of times.

There are some really good blow-by-blow descriptions on how to go about the repair already listed here. The main thing is to go slowly and take your time. It was really quite logical for a weekend handy man. The best advise was to use a digital camera to record every step of the way as you disassemble the dryer. I referenced the pictures more than once when I was putting all of the wires and pieces back together. Also, I didn't have a pair of snap ring pliers. My neighbor told me how to use two ice picks to poke in the tiny holes and spread the rings...just be careful! Keep a vacuum handy, there will be lots of lint to clean up. The new motor, belt and pulley work great and I pleased with how well the repair went.

Removed the front of the dryer and the vent assembly that held the drum in place. Removed the drum and cleaned the interior of the dryer with vaccum cleaner. I then oile the drum rollers which were starting to get dry and squeeky. Slipped new belt over drum and re-installed the drum vent assembly and then the fron of the dryer. Opened the rear access of the dryer and completed the installation oc the belt over the motor drive pully and idler wheel. Returned dryer to working location and tested - all was well. Note - the installation instruction that came with the belt are not clear on having to open the rear access panel. The directions made it sound like you can actually do everything from the front side - not likely unless you have 4 foot arms the size of broom sticks! Once I open the rear and could actually see the motor and idler pulley it was easy to finish.

Previous entries about how to change the belt were very helpful. It's true; the instructions included with the replacement belt are very helpful and accurate. I decided to pull the tumbler out in order to be able to see the motor and pulley. I then read the directions a number of times so that I was sure I understood how to loop the belt around the motor, pulley and tumbler; knowing that I would need to put the tumbler back in and then "work blind" by feeling the loop of the belt and work it around the motor and pulley. To prepare for this, I taught myself how to loop the belt first by looking at the motor/pulley and referring to the instructions. Then, I tried it a number of times with my eyes closed, in anticipation of not being able to see what I was doing once the tumbler was back in place. When I was sure I could loop the belt with my eyes closed, I replaced the tumbler, slid the belt over the tumbler as instructed and reached back under the lower-left portion of the dryer to loop the belt around the motor and/pulley. I had it within a couple of tries. Note, it was imperative to pull up on the pulley to its maximum with my right hand in order to be able to complete the loop around the pulley with my left hand. Once I was sure I had the belt in place, I reassembled the front of the dryer and then took off the back access panel to spot-check the placement of the belt around the motor and pulley. I'd done it correctly. Additional note: while I had the tumbler out, I sprayed wd40 on the rotors since they have been sounding kind of "grindy". I wiped excess from the rubber surface of the rollers and surrounding areas. It worked like a charm and now the dryer is quieter than it has been since I inherited with the house I bought -4 years ago.

We had to take the tumbler out because we needed to see where the pulleys were. The directions for threadiing the belt around the idler pulley and motor pulley weren't clear. It took us quite a while to figure out that the belt had to be threaded back into the left side of the motor pulley after it was guided around the idler pulley. Once we figured that out, the directions made sense.

There were two screws to remove the front of the dryer. Then 4 screws to remove the front drum support. Remove the drum. Then one nut each on changing the back drum support rollers. Assemble the drum and front support in reverse, and door front, don't forget to put the new drive belt ovre the drum. Then from the rear panel opening, one screw to change the idler assembly. Easy

Removed the screws that hold the front panel, removed the two screws tha hold the top lid. Then removed the four front screws that hold the tub in place. Placed the belt around the tub 1.5 inches from the back screws on the tub where dark tracks from the old belt was showing. After that I secured the tub in place by mounting the front panel that holds the tub in place with the four screws. Then opened a small rear panel that has four screws and placed the belt around the motor as shown on the diagram where the belt came in. It was easier doing it from the rear where I could see the motor.

I happened to come across a repair story posted by Wayne From Minneapolis MN about how he reinstalled the tumbler, plugged the dryer in, and started it up but forgot the belt and realized that it was the blower wheel that was loose on the shaft. As soon as I read that, I said, "Yes! that's it!" So I ordered the blower wheel and a belt. I decided to replace the belt since I saw it was slightly frayed. After all, the dryer is almost 20 years old!

First, switched off the power to the dryer or disconnect it from the outlet. Took the front panel off by removing the two screws near the bottom of the dryer. Pulled the bottom of the panel out and the two clips on the top just disengaged easily. Be careful, there are two wires connected to this panel. Just rotated it to the left and let it rest vertically. If need be, the two wires can be removed easily.

Next, I removed the four screws to take out the front tumbler and the tumbler. Set them aside. Then I removed the belt. You might want to pay attention as to how the belt goes around the motor pulley and the idler pulley before removing the belt.

After nearly 20 years, I'm surprised that it wasn't full of lint and dust. Gave it a good vacuuming and clean up.

Next, I removed the blower cover, the retaining ring, the hub clip, and the blower wheel. Installed the new blower wheel, hub clip, and here's the challenging task without the proper tool - putting the retaining ring back on the shaft! It took me about 5 minutes to put it back on the shaft with a small flat-head screw driver and an awl. Reinstalled the blower cover.

Next, I put the new belt over the pulleys and loosely hung the belt on the back tumbler to hold it up. Then I put the tumbler back in and worked the belt over the tumbler. I let the belt sat in the groove of the tumbler first and then when the tumbler was in position, I worked the belt over the two pulleys in to the proper position. Then I moved the belt to strap over the top of the tumbler. At this point, I just rolled the tumbler with my hand when part of the belt was out of the groove and on top of the tumbler. The motion took care of getting the rest of the belt out of the groove and on top of the tumbler as it should be located. Reinstalled the front tumbler and then the front panel.

Powered it back up and started the dryer and viola! the rumbling noise was not to be heard. Just like it used to sound - a low humming noise. Thanks Partselect.com for the helpful repair stories and the speed in getting the parts to me.

Remove the two screws that hold the front cover. Remove front cover and disconneted wiring to door switch.Remove the cover ( lower right hand corner )back of the dryer to gain access to belt idler pulley/tensioner. Remove old belt and slide new belt on the tumbler.

Undid two screws in lower front of dryer and popped off front. Removed screws holding lint screen duct and brackets supporting tumbler and removed duct and tumbler quite easily. Pulled, cleaned and oiled rear rollers, replaced front glides, and thoroughly cleaned exhaust duct of lint. Put new belt into position on the roller before sliding tumbler back in, then pulled belt over tumbler as it went in. Be careful to follow belt path directions correctly.
Key to this repair was obtaining the parts so easily from Parts Select.com. Ordered at 2pm and had them 2pm the following day. Unbelievable! These machines are relatively simple to keep running when the parts are available so easily. Thanks for great service.

Removed the front two bottom screws of the front panel and rotated the panel upwards to remove; removed the top (not really necessary but much easier to access and clean) and leaned the top over on a table (keeping the wiring in place). Took off the front piece that holds the dryer tub, removed the dryer tub and cleaned all inside (it was filthy after 27 years).

To reinstall, put the belt on the dryer tub, placed the tub in position, put the belt on using the access panel in the back, and then installed the front part that holds the tub in place (4 screws, two on each side). Put the top back on (2 bolts) and then replaced the front panel.

The dryer still has a slight squeak so may be back for more parts. Should I have replaced the 2 rollers that hold the back of the dryer tub? They seemed okay, but we'll see.

Replacing any part will be easier the second time!

Basically, your website helped us to make the repair. When I selected the belt, the tips from other customers made it very easy both to take the machine apart and put back together. Putting the belt on was much easier than either my wife or I thought it would be. I have told all my friends about your website. I think it is great.

Thank you.

I followed the instructions on the site from another customer for my model...they were perfect and easy to follow. I was surprised at how easy it was to disassemble the dryer and replace the blower wheel. Like other customers, I took the time to completely clean out the dryer lint, oil all moving parts and replaced the tumbler belt just because I knew it had never been replaced. The dryer purrs like a kitten now and I'm so thankful for the great information provided on your website ref the disassembly and easy to follow instructions on the belt packaging.

The part arrived within 5 days, no hassle, no delay. I will definitely use your company for my next appliance repair.

Thanks

My 10 plus year old Maytag gas dryer was making a lot noise. I ordered a new exhaust fan and also ordered a new belt and two new rollers figuring once I got the thing opened up I should replace a few parts.

First unplugged the dryer (very important!).

Took the front panel off by removing the two screws at the bottom. Disconnected the two connectors for the door switch. Used socket wrench to remove the four hex screws that hold the front of the dryer drum in place. Put my arms inside the dryer to the back of the drum and slide the old belt off the drum. Pulled the drum out and put aside. Used socket wrench to remove several hex screws which hold the fan cover in place. Used needlenose plyers to remove one clip and a pair of circlip pliers to remove the second clip (had to buy these pliers at HD for $20). Took old fan off, put new on one, put clips back on. Replaced fan cover with hex screws. Then onto the rollers. These are held in place by similar clips as the fan and need to be removed with circlip pliers (really tough to do otherwise with trashing the clips). Took the old rollers off (they were actually in decent shape by I replaced them anyhow). Oil the shaft the spin on. Put new rollers on. Put clips back on. Now new fan and rollers. Vacuumed all the lint out from around the inside. Took old belt off (noting that ridged side goes along inside of motor pulley). Put new belt around the motor and tensioner pulley and rested the rest of the belt against the inside of the dryer. Put the barrel back into the dryer against the back. Put my arms inside the dryer and managed to get the belt around the drum in the proper position (take note of proper position when you take the old belt off). Put front drum holder back in place with 4 hex screws (make sure felt "glides" are not folded in and are positioned properly). Put front panel back on (2 screws on bottom). Don't forget to reconnect the door switch. Plug into power. Test. Quite as a mouse.

took the drum out and installed the roller.