MDG26PCABW Maytag Dryer - Instructions

Replaced all the parts per the very good video provided on the website.
I recommend watching the video very closely several times. BE SURE THE BELT IS NOT IN THE DRUM'S GROOVE. The video mentions this very very briefly; I caught it on my third viewing. If your belt is not the correct location, it may still turn the drum for you - and eat the belt up in about an hour.

No manual on this so had to remove about 12 screws to figger out disassembly,after locating the right ones[front]the job was easy.Remove front plate,remove drum bearing,remove blower front cover,remove snap ring,remove broken fan,clean fan shaft,slide new fan onto shaft[there is a flat in the bore of new fan]instal fan retainer on stub of fan,reinstal snap ring,reinstal the rest of the parts,test drive system[all sat]The part was exactly as ordered,thanks,Jim Thompson

Tilted dryer back to access the two screws on the front panel, remove front panel, by raising it up 90° and pull the wires off for the door switch, first I remove the one 5/16 self tapping screw That holds the burner assembly onto the bracket, removed the hot surface igniter screw from old burner assembly, attached to new burner assembly, reinstalled burner assembly and also cleaned orifice from gas valve, also while the front cover was off I remove the fan housing cover and vacuumed out all The lint attached to the fan assembly, unit works great again.

I followed the videos on your website, but had to clean 30 years of dust and lint out in the process. Cleaning took the longest time.

Same as others.
1. Unplug dryer from power source
2. Use nut driver to remove two front screws at bottom of dryer
3. Disconnect cable connected to Secondary Coil (this is the coil towards the rear of the dryer)
4. Use angled phillips screw driver to loosen screws holding cap on top of the two coils. (Angled tool not required but seemed easiest to me)
5. Slide top cap back towards lock screw to allow coil to be lifted out
6. Remove and replace secondary coil
7. Replace cap, tighten screws to lock in place, reconnect cable to coil
8. Restore power to dryer, test and confirm gas flame stays lit
9. Replace lower front panel on unit

PartsSelect a great resource to use for home repairs like these. My first time using site and doing this type of work, now PartsSelect my first source to go to on such items.

Inserted new lint filter...one second! No tools needed. Price excellent!

I opened the back acess panel and started the dryer. Looking at the motor and idler pulleys it was obvious by the frequency of the squealing noise that it was coming from the idler pulley.
I pulled the retainer clip and tension spring from the idler pulley and removed it. I applied some grease to the shaft and reinstalled the idler pulley.
The squeal was gone confirming that the pulley bushing was dry. I ordered the new idler pulley and when it arrived the next day I cleaned the grease off of the shaft and installed the new idler pulley. Problem solved.

1. Removed two screws from front panel.
2. Removed panel.
3. Removed four bolts off tumbler face.
4. Removed face.
5. Removed drum and belt.
6. Vacuumed.
7. Replaced idler spring assembly.
8. Replaced drum.
9. Replaced belt.
10. Rotated drum to make sure belt was properly seated.
11. Replaced tumbler face.
12. Replaced front panel.

After reading the many different common stories,I replaced both coils (m series).Very simply lifted up the top of driver,held by 2 snap springs and 2 lint vent screws.Removed front cover,2 screws and 2 bottom snaps,coils down on bottom left.r/r both coils,reinstalled covers and let there be heat!This website is a blessing!!

Replaced coils on gas valve.

I removed the Drier Door and removed the Front Drier Panel exposing the Gas Valve & associated parts. I removed two (2) screws holding the Gas Valve Coils in place & replaced the 2 terminal coil, then replaced the screws, Front Cover & Drier Door. I liked the results so much, I ordered the other Gas Valve Coil and will replace it also when it arrives.

Good trouble shooting information.

This should have been a simple repair, but turned out to be time consuming and moderately difficult. I hope these instructions will help anyone who encounters the problems described here.

After a period of the dryer not being used, the idler pulley wheel froze on the shaft of the idler pulley arm, so I needed to replace both parts. After mounting the new wheel and two washers on the new arm and securing with a retaining ring, I went to install this assembly by going in through the small access panel at the rear of the dryer. I slid the belt off the old idler pulley wheel and unhooked the spring from the idler pulley arm; the arm was mounted on a sleeve fastened to the motor bracket by one screw. All that should have been necessary was to back out that screw and replace the old idler pulley assembly with the new one.

That is where the trouble started. Backing out the screw with a socket driver, I found it would go a few turns, then start to bind. I tried turning it in and out to get the threads to engage, but it kept binding. Eventually I gave the screw a hard turn, and then it would turn freely but not move in or out.

Looking on the internet for advice, I found a video that asserts for another model Maytag dryer using the same type of mounting for the idler arm, that there is a design flaw. You can find the video by searching for “Maytag dryer idler pulley defect”. According to the video, the sheet metal screw used to mount the idler pulley arm can gradually loosen due to the pressure and vibration, and begins to “waggle” which eventually damages the threads. I believe this is what happened to my dryer. The video suggests replacing the sheet metal screw with a machine screw and nut for a more durable union.

So now I understood how the screw could be stripped just sitting in the dryer, but that didn’t help me get the screw out. Working through the rear access panel, I tried pulling on the screw head with several types of pliers, pushing the point from behind with a piece of wood while turning the head with a socket driver; eventually I was able to use a pry bar under the screw head and sleeve to apply pressure while turning the head, and with that method the screw backed out. With the screw removed, it could be seen that the threads in the middle part of the thread length were almost completely worn away.

The screw sleeve got somewhat deformed in this process so I ordered a new one, along with an exact replacement sheet metal screw, hoping the threads in the hole were still intact. With the old idler pulley arm now removed, I could transfer the old idler bracket spacer to the new idler pulley arm. When the ordered parts arrived and I tried to mount the idler pulley arm, the new screw would go in only a couple of turns before binding. Rather than risk winding up in the same situation by forcing the screw, I decided to use a machine screw and nut instead.

The original sheet metal screw was a #10. A machine screw the same size would not fit through the hole, and I could not fit my drill into the dryer cabinet in a position to enlarge the hole, so I used a #8 machine screw with a nut and lock washer. First I put some grease on the contact areas of the screw sleeve and idler bracket spacer, then inserted the machine screw through the hole and put the lock washer and nut on the other side of the mounting. The space around the nut is very limited, and most of my tools were too large to hold the nut while the screw was tightened. It was too small for a socket or adjustable wrench, and the clearance from the exhaust duct was too small for the handles of most tools. Eventually, I found a needle nose pliers with short handles that did the job. A thin open end wrench might also work. Then I reconnected the spring and belt to the idler pulley assembly, and closed the access panel. So far the dryer works, but if the #8 screw turns out to be not strong enough, I could get an extension for my drill and enlarge the hole to fit a #10 machine screw and nut.

Looking back on the job, the most difficult part of this repair was removing the damaged screw. This and several other steps might have been a lot easier if I had removed the motor bracket (where the idler pulley arm is mounted) from the dryer and worked outside the cabinet. Part Select has an excellent video “Replacing the Drive Motor” that shows how to do this. It would be a lot of disassembly work, but for someone with good assembly skills could be easier in the long run.

Hopefully most folks out there who replace the idler pulley arm on a dryer will find an easier situation than I did. But for any who have to deal with a stripped mounting screw, I hope this summary will help you resolve it.

This website is awesome. After imputing my dryer model I was able to select from the list if symptoms my issue...Dryer will not start. From there was percentage of issues that would cause my issue. After determining it was the motor (after 25 years who would have thought that!!!). In this process I discovered other non related issues that i should attend to. So I basically rebuilt the dryer and it worked right away. I am retired military and in the tax preparation/representation business now, so a lot of this was new to me. The detailed instruction and especially the videos provided foolproof methods to complete each of the repairs. It was a little time consuming but very easy to complete. I did gain some new tools and diagnostic equipment that will come in handy in the future. Now I am going to tackle my daughters dishwasher. Thank you Parts Select and Steve (on the videos). John Beazle

This should have been a simple repair, but turned out to be time consuming and moderately difficult. I hope these instructions will help anyone who encounters the problems described here.

After a period of the dryer not being used, the idler pulley wheel froze on the shaft of the idler pulley arm, so I needed to replace both parts. After mounting the new wheel and two washers on the new arm and securing with a retaining ring, I went to install this assembly by going in through the small access panel at the rear of the dryer. I slid the belt off the old idler pulley wheel and unhooked the spring from the idler pulley arm; the arm was mounted on a sleeve fastened to the motor bracket by one screw. All that should have been necessary was to back out that screw and replace the old idler pulley assembly with the new one.

That is where the trouble started. Backing out the screw with a socket driver, I found it would go a few turns, then start to bind. I tried turning it in and out to get the threads to engage, but it kept binding. Eventually I gave the screw a hard turn, and then it would turn freely but not move in or out.

Looking on the internet for advice, I found a video that asserts for another model Maytag dryer using the same type of mounting for the idler arm, that there is a design flaw. You can find the video by searching for “Maytag dryer idler pulley defect”. According to the video, the sheet metal screw used to mount the idler pulley arm can gradually loosen due to the pressure and vibration, and begins to “waggle” which eventually damages the threads. I believe this is what happened to my dryer. The video suggests replacing the sheet metal screw with a machine screw and nut for a more durable union.

So now I understood how the screw could be stripped just sitting in the dryer, but that didn’t help me get the screw out. Working through the rear access panel, I tried pulling on the screw head with several types of pliers, pushing the point from behind with a piece of wood while turning the head with a socket driver; eventually I was able to use a pry bar under the screw head and sleeve to apply pressure while turning the head, and with that method the screw backed out. With the screw removed, it could be seen that the threads in the middle part of the thread length were almost completely worn away.

The screw sleeve got somewhat deformed in this process so I ordered a new one, along with an exact replacement sheet metal screw, hoping the threads in the hole were still intact. With the old idler pulley arm now removed, I could transfer the old idler bracket spacer to the new idler pulley arm. When the ordered parts arrived and I tried to mount the idler pulley arm, the new screw would go in only a couple of turns before binding. Rather than risk winding up in the same situation by forcing the screw, I decided to use a machine screw and nut instead.

The original sheet metal screw was a #10. A machine screw the same size would not fit through the hole, and I could not fit my drill into the dryer cabinet in a position to enlarge the hole, so I used a #8 machine screw with a nut and lock washer. First I put some grease on the contact areas of the screw sleeve and idler bracket spacer, then inserted the machine screw through the hole and put the lock washer and nut on the other side of the mounting. The space around the nut is very limited, and most of my tools were too large to hold the nut while the screw was tightened. It was too small for a socket or adjustable wrench, and the clearance from the exhaust duct was too small for the handles of most tools. Eventually, I found a needle nose pliers with short handles that did the job. A thin open end wrench might also work. Then I reconnected the spring and belt to the idler pulley assembly, and closed the access panel. So far the dryer works, but if the #8 screw turns out to be not strong enough, I could get an extension for my drill and enlarge the hole to fit a #10 machine screw and nut.

Looking back on the job, the most difficult part of this repair was removing the damaged screw. This and several other steps might have been a lot easier if I had removed the motor bracket (where the idler pulley arm is mounted) from the dryer and worked outside the cabinet. Part Select has an excellent video “Replacing the Drive Motor” that shows how to do this. It would be a lot of disassembly work, but for someone with good assembly skills could be easier in the long run.

Hopefully most folks out there who replace the idler pulley arm on a dryer will find an easier situation than I did. But for any who have to deal with a stripped mounting screw, I hope this summary will help you resolve it.

Disassembled per instructions. Additional time used to clean inside unit.. Its much easier to install belt on motor pulley and tension pulley ( Roller) from rear access panel. Also ensures proper belt alignment on all items.