GDG8500 Dryer - Instructions

I unplugged the dryer,removed the two small screws on the front of the dryer and pulled the bottom forward. The two wires connected to the door do not have to be removed. With an electrical tester using the Ohm setting I tested the Radiant sensor and the Gas Valve coils. The two terminal coil was DOA. The dryer can be operated with the front open as long as the door wires are connected. Symptons: The igniter would heat up and not release gas. My repair was successfull due to this awesome website and the super fast shipping service. AAAA++++

Everything is cleaned as it is removed.

Remove the two screws holding the top down.
Disconnect two wires from door switch.
Remove the two hex screws holding the front on.
Remove the 4 screws holding the access panel on the back and disengage idler pulley to loosen the belt.
Remove the drum.
Label the wires then remove the heating element.
Check orientation of ground strap before disassembling rear bearing.
Remove four screws holding rear bearing to back of heating element.
Install rear bearing and ground strap on to heating element.
Reinstall heating element.
Reconnect wires.

Most Important : Get help putting parts back on drum! I didn't and that's why it took over 2 hours.
I will describe how I did it.

Unscrew bearing from inside of drum.
Wrap screwdriver with tape to a little larger than the screw hole.
Use small screwdriver to line up the drum, shim and deflector.
Don't forget the brass shim. It wasn't on the parts diagram.
Start two screws don't tighten them yet.
Remove Screwdriver and start third screw. Tighten all three down.
Put belt on drum.
Install drum and belt.
Reverse disassembly.
When putting the front on make sure drum rests in the felt.

I rated this a bit difficult because I did it myself. With help this is a fairly easy repair.

Remove top two front cover screws. Disconnect wiring. Set aside front cover - door assembly.

Remove two screws at top of the vertical riser cover to expose entire dryer interior. Remove filter. Remove screws to blower cover plate. Remove 4 screws that fasten front drum guide assembly. Remove drum. remove and replace 2 drum support rollers . Replace one rusted drum roller shaft. Replace both drum rollers and non-metalic washers.

Drill out 4 rivets holding two front drum glides. Replace and rerivet new drum glides.

Pry back slighty the many retention points around the front drum assembly which hold the front drum felt seal. Refit the new front drum felt, pressing the retaining clips back in place with a screwdriver.

Replace tumbler motor belt.

Install Drum. Install front drum retention assembly. Install new blower seal with reassembly of blower cover.

Total time - about 1 hour

Let me give a little background first for those trying to diagnose their dryer issue. My dryer was turning on and running but the clothes were not drying. From everything i read I thought it was going to just be the IGNITER (part# 304970 [Partselect# PS373025]), but when I opened the dryer and watched it worked I saw that the igniter was working fine and the gas was coming on. This made me think that it is was the HIGH LIMIT THERMOSTAT (# 3033950 [Partselect# PS2029366]). I replaced this and got no real change other than the gas would stay on a bit longer at the start. So I replaced the other TEMPERATURE CONTROL THERMISTOR (# 3072080 [Partselect# PS2030068]) but this had no effect. I then went back to my original thought of the igniter and replaced it with no improvement. My dryer was still running and only occasionally lighting the gas to heat up the drum, the clothes would eventually dry after a much longer than normal time. After reading some other stories I decided to try the GAS VALVE WITH COILS. I ordered the part and was surprised when it arrived at my house the next day. I took out the four screws in the front panel which are accessed by opening the door to the dryer. I shut off the gas and removed the igniter to avoid any accidents with it. Unscrew the gas line from the old valve, remove two screws in bottom of unit to remove it from the dryer. Turn it over and remove two small screws to remove old valve from housing. Now take your new valve and do the opposite. Set in the housing, screw in the two small screws, place in dryer and replace two screws to hold in place. Screw gas line onto new valve and replace igniter. Turn on the gas and give it a test run. My dryer fired right and for the first time in a long time the whole dryer actually got warm.

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.

I inherited a dryer with a weekend lake house purchased 4 years ago. The previous owners had a nice washer/dryer set that was old but worked well. However the dryer looked quite sad because the handle had broken and they had duct- taped the handle back onto the dryer door. What a designer look that was! With so many other things that needed attention around the place, I ignored the dryer handle because the washer and dryer were tucked away in a small closet and only visible when in use. When we decided to do a small remodel last month, the washer and dryer were given a new space that was part of a backdoor entry way. Now the dryer handle was an eyesore that greeted us every time we entered the house. That's when I decided to see if it was possible to replace a part on such an old appliance. That turned out to be a breeze with PartSelect! I went on their web site, entered the model number of the dryer and bingo! A dryer handle was in stock, I ordered it, and it was on my doorstep within 3 days! I pulled off the old dryer handle, used some goop to remove the sticky residue from the duct tape and snapped the new handle in place. Instantly the dryer went from sadsack to smiley face! Thank you, PartSelect!

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...

I opened the panel, undid the plugs, detached the radiant sensor by undoing one screw and removed and replaced the part. Fairly simply.

The dryer was not getting hot the clothes we're damp and had to put on hangers to finish drying. I pulled the cover plate saw the element was glowing the gas cable would kick on had a flame for about a four to six second count. I did some checking on the web. I read about others who were having same type of problem. Order the limit part and now.the flame stays on for about twenty second or less the dryer gets hot and it drys fast. Thanks for the web site. It took about thirty minutes . Now it works great.

Opened door, removed screw holding down metal plate that presses against interlock switch when door is closed. Removed plastic cover thingy that is over interlock switches. Removed the interlock switch by pressing the plastic lock thingy away from switch. Pulled the wires off each end of the interlock switch. Removed new interlock switch from plastic bag and reversed above procedure. Done, shut door and the dishwasher works.

I followed the directions that came with the conversion kit; which I ordered from PartSelect. Your website was the only place that could help me. Our new dryer is actually a Samsung. The people at Best Buy were no help. I called the Samsung headquarters and a "real" person there told me I could order from them or use a Whirlpool kit because they are the same. You guys were faster in getting me one, so I went with you. My wife was happy. I would recommend you to others.

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.

Pulled the big front panel by removing two screws near bottom of front and pulling out at bottom until the top pops loose. Vacuumed out all of the dust and checked for loose connections. Ran dryer - igniter would light, but no gas. Checked the two solenoids with a VOM. the one with the two leads would intermittently read Infinity (open). Super simple repair. Remove two screws on solenoid bracket on top of the gas valve, Replace solenoid and plug it back in with the easy push-on connector. NO PROBLEM - all fixed.

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!

Unplug the dryer and remove the front panel (two screws at bottom of the panel), being careful of the door switch wires attached to the front panel. Using an ohm meter, I checked the ignitor for continuity and found it was open (should be 50-100 ohms). Make sure to check the solenoids on the gas valve. When the igniter goes bad, it will usually burn out the valve 1 solenoid boost coil (the one with 3 terminals), which was the case with my dryer. The solenoid coils are held in by a bracket with two screws (series 01 dryer) and are easy to remove and replace. Be careful replacing the igniter as the heating element is VERY fragile. Take the time to vacuum out all of the accumulated lint and dust inside the dryer while the front panel is removed, including the lint trap and duct. New igniter and boost/hold solenoid fixed the problem.