SDE5401AZW Maytag Dryer - Instructions

Dryer stopped tumbling, so bad belt was my first thought. Dryer is in vacation home so did not have immediate access to it to diagnose. Ordered belt and discovered that the poorly designed motor pulley had broken and the belt jumped onto the motor shaft and burned through the original belt. Week 2 after ordering pulley, installation went per YouTube video. Glad I also replaced the belt because it was brittle and cracked. Suspect it had been slipping because sheets would ball up into a log, possibly because the drum wasn't spinning fast enough. Anyhoo, after repair all seems OK.

I removed the dryer front and replaced the door switch.
Next I replaced the drum glide reassembled the dryer.

I had already taken the dryer apart prior to changing the felt seal. Had oiled the rollers, greased the bearings & vacuumed the whole inside of the dryer out. Had used a high temp lubricant on the seal & had stopped squeaking for about a month. I ordered 2 seals & when they arrived, I popped the top of the dryer off using the putty knife to pry the spring latches. I opened the top up & leaned it against a wall. I disconnected the wiring to the light & the switch in the door, making note of the wiring order. Then used a nut driver to take the 2 screws from the inside out, that holds the front cover in place. Then the same for the 4 screws holding the front bulkhead in place. Then lifted up & out from the unit. Then used the putty knife to scrap the adhesive & old seal off the bulkhead. Cleaned as much of the adhesive off, then applied some high temp silicone adhesive to the bulkhead, placed the new seal on, using some clamps to hold it in place. After making sure it had adhered to the seal & bulkhead. Did the reversal of the above mentioned steps. Moved the unit to laundry room, plugged it in then started it & voila no more squeaking dryer.

Removed lower panel, door assembly, belt and drum.
Removed blower wheel cover.
Used dremmel tool to cut plastic from metal that attaches the blower to the motor shaft.
Used adjustable wrench to keep motor shaft from turning.
Used vise grip to clamp on metal and turned to loosen blower wheel.
Attached new blower and re-assembled.

unplug appliance.removed 2 screws @ the rear of dryer top to tip lid back. unplugged the door switch wires.took out 3 philip screws that hold lint screen to inside of drum.removed 2 screws @ dryer front top. lifted dryer front panel off. the drum was now loose. slipped off old belt - replaced with new. set drum back into place. made sure new belt was on motor pulley & behind tensioner pulley arm. replace & reconnect items in reverse order. plug back in & test. after seeing the wear on the plastic tensioner pulley i regret not ordering that part for replacement also.

remove bottom two screws on lower front panel, remove panel. remove two screws on lower portion of door panel, pull bottom panel towards yourself to release pins at the top. Disconnect wiring for light and door switch (make sure to note what wires go where. Complete removal of front door panel. Remove 4 screws holding cylinder frame in place, lift to remove. remove remnants of old felt seal, use rotary tool to remove excess glue, etc. apply glue (used rubberized gorilla super glue), apply felt seal - allow glue to set up. reinstall in reverse direction from removal. Be sure to use glue as there are no clips or other retaining pieces for the new felt and it will not hold in place. overall pretty easy.

1) Unplug dryer.
2) Remove the 3 screws to remove control panel from the main unit.
3) Remove the metal back to the control panel by removing 3 more screws.
4) Remove the knob from the temperature selector switch.
5) Pull the switch out, leaving the wires connected.
6) Unplug each of the 4 wires, one at a time. I plugged them directly into the new switch before going to the next wire, to ensure I didn't mix anything up.
7) Put everything back together in the opposite order.

The part was a perfect match and it is working great.

First unplug the dryer,then remove the front bottom panel. With your 5/16 nut driver reach to the rear of the vent tube under the dryer and remove the lone screw that holds the tube in place. Lean the dryer forward and remove the tube from the rear of the dryer,this will allow you to see and reach the idler wheel from the front. Release the belt,feel for the clip that holds the wheel in place on the opposite side of the front,with your thumb nail or something else if preferred pry out on one side of the clip until it pops off. Slide the wheel off being careful not to lose the washer,slide the new wheel on and replace the clip. Put the belt back on replace the tube,which is actually the toughest part because you have to find the hole for the lone screw as you can't see it,but with a little patience it is easily enough done. Put the vent hose back on replace the front panel and plug it in and go!!it took me 30 min. Alittle tough to feel for some of the parts,but really much easier than you would think.

After watching the great install video, I followed his lead and within 20 min had my dryer door fixed. This dryer was bought in 1986 and I really thought I was looking at buying a new dryer. How wonderful that I could fix it for less than $11. Easy to find web site, easy to find part, great instructions and fast delivery!

Very simple repair. Remove front panel, door, drum etc. Try to keep everything seperated, screws etc. I put lockjaws on the back to get the nut off the front. Make sure to check the housing for "melted on" blower wheel residue. Easy enough to remove. I checked with my local parts dealer he wanted twice the price and needed to order it (at least a days wait). PartSelect sent the exact same part in a day and a half. Put everything back the same way I removed. Hardest part is the drum and belt. While you have everything apart don't forget to clean the thermastats etc. PartsSelect was quicker and cheaper.

Unplug Dryer. Remove 2 5/16in hex screws fm lower panel,3 51/6in hex screws to vent duct. Remove 2 1/4in hex screws to thermostat. Remove 7 1/4in hex screws to blower cover and 2 5/16in hex screws holding base footings.Use adj. wrench to hold rear nut on motor shaft, use7/8in socket to remove fan frm motor shaft. Remove 3 5/16in hex screws holding fan housing to motor mount. Lift-up on spring tensioned belt pulley to remove belt. Pull motor & mount out [wires are layed toward front allowing removal]. Use 6in flat tip screwdriver to unsnap both front/rear motor clamps.Pinch plastic end clamps and remove motor electrical connector.Motor installation is reverse. For belt removal,remove 2 5/16in hex screws to door panel [unhook 2 wires to upper RT rear to door switch].Remove 4 5/16in hex screws to front bulkhead panel.Allow drum to sag IN PLACE [removal not required to replace belt],note belt location and slide old belt off and new one on
Replace Bulheald and door panel [re-attach door switch wires].Complete install by lifting belt pulley and feeding new belt into place. Hand rotate drum to ensure proper belt allignment and tracking. Replace lower panel. Vacuum interior as necessary. Parts delivered in 3days and fit perfectly.

did basic diagnostics to narrow down the problem to be likely one of the three parts include w/ the kit. removed front panel and confirmed that part looked like the one on the web page. part arrived 3 business days after ordering.
used nutdriver to remove two screws holding old part in place. pulled old part out still attached to wiring harness and assembled new part and attached wires the same way as the old part. installed new part, plugged in dryer and confirmed that it was heating. replaced front pannel and dryer is now working as well as ever. hardest part was reaching to the back of the dryer from the front while lying on the floor. total cost was cheaper than a service call, let alone paying for parts and labor from a service tech.

This is a real easy fix to do by yourself. First, I removed three screws on the inside of the dryer. These hold the air duct assembly in place. Second, remove two bolts on the front-bottom part of the bottom panel. Third after panel is removed loosen the two other bolts and remove air duct assembly. Simple as that.

My son will discribe how he did the repair.
First I opened the top, then I removed the front with a 1/4 inch ratchet and socket. I took the cover off the blower housing with a nut driver. Used the appropriate socket and a 1/2 inch ratchet, and an adjustable wrench to hold the motor shaft and removed the Blower wheel. I replaced the broken Blower Wheel and put all it back together.
Our dryer is now working great and there are no unwanted sounds emanating from within. We are very happy with PartSelects promptness and that we recieved the correct part as ordered. PartSelect website was easy to navigate. We plan if the need arises to do so again in the future.
Thankyou Frank and Rodney

My son n law took the fron off the dryer, whilw I looked on the inertnet to locate whatever part we would find to be in need of. He pulled the front panel off and the drum out to dicover it was the bracket and glide. They were easily replaced by popping the bracket out and snapping th new one in then placing the guide on it proper spot.