DG8600 Maytag Dryer - Instructions

popped out old female clasp on dryer itself with screwdriver, undid 2 screws on dryer door and door handle with phillips screwdriver, popped in new male clasp part, put door knob back on and put the two screws back in door and it was all set to go. Less than 15 minutes to do. Better than new and wife is happy. No more duct tape holding door closed now.

Opened front panel .Tested both coils on gas valve.
Found no continuity on one of the coils. Replaced coil,
dryer works like new.

Took off face of dryer (two lower screws below door in front) and then removed the drum which gave me access to the idler arm and idler pully. Vaccumed the interior to remove dust and lint. Replaced idler arm and idler pulley assembly. Replace old belt as drum was reinstalled. Opened rear access panel to complete final routing of the new belt over idler pulley and drive motor. Turned the machine on to check repairs and function. Closed rear access door. Pushed dryer back into place and re-leveled machine.

Sans manual, I turned to the web to find out how to open up the dryer. Maytag uses two Phillips screws on the bottom front panel. Once removed, the front pulls out at the bottom and slides free from the top. Caution, wires on the left side of the front panel prevent total detachment from the dryer. A 1/4 hex screwdriver was used to remove the cover to the blower housing. Once the cover is unbolted attached wires prevent its complete removal and can be set clear of the blower housing. Pliers were used to remove a pinch clamp from the squirrel cage fan (blower assembly) and snap ring pliers were needed to remove the retaining snap ring. The fan was easily removed from the motor's rotor. The loose fan caused damage to the blower housing which I believe was the source of the original rattle. Once the fan had been removed, the housing was removed by using a 5/16 socket on the end of an extension. The replace parts were installed in reverse order and fit perfectly. Other work included the replacement of the drive belt for the drum. PartSelect was chosen because it had the parts in stock and could be shipped overnight.

Switch can be removed from outside of dryer and your video described the repair as having to work from inside dryer. But since wires were still attached to old switch, it could be popped out and wires switched. Since there were three wires on new switch to allow it to turn on and off a circuit, it was useful to check the resistance of the switch compressed or released to be certain I was attaching the two wires to the right two poles of the new switch. But that all required only a couple of minutes. Thank you.

Researched for part on PartSelect, ordered part, arrived next day, cut open delivery package and plastic bag containing lint filter and placed new filter in dryer filter channel. Quick & super easy - my kind of DIY!

Removed the Front panel (two philips screws) and then removed the front support bracket (4 hex nuts - two per side). New support bracket required the install of two front glide bushings which are comprised of a teflon like tab and a similar but smaller cork tab (no instructions or indications as to the order of placement) however most logical placement had the cork covered by the teflon tab). The teflon tab was riveted to the support assembly on each side with the supplied pop rivets. A plastic filter/air discharge chute was removed from the old support, cleaned to remove residual lint and years of collected garbage and then secured to the new support. The tumble drumb was easily aligned and matched to the front support as the support has alignment tabs which match the frame. While disassembled the entire unit was cleaned to remove copious amounts of lint and dust. On note - make sure the drive belt has not relocated in the tumbler groove located at the back of the tumbler - insufficient tension results and no tumbler action. Proper alignment will save you the re-removal of the front plate to access the belt. As this is a gas unit all fittings were re-attached and checked with soapy H2O to prevent an early forced remodel of the laundry room!

It was very easy to access the parts that needed to be replaced (blower wheel, belt, and glides).
1. Unplug the dryer power cord.
2. Removed the two screws at the bottom of the front dryer panel. Pull the bottom of the panel forward, which frees the retaining clips at the top of the panel.
3. Disconnect the two wires from the back of the panel, and remove the panel. The drum will be resting on the motor/blower hosuing.
4. Slide the belt off of the back of the tumbler, and remove the tumbler (have to angle it a bit, to clear the frame) and the belt.
5. Remove the thermostat cover (piece of angled sheet metal, in front of the blower unit).
6. Remove the screws from the blower housing, and lay it forward, to expose the blower wheel.
7. Remove the snap ring, and then the retaining ring from the blower wheel. Remove the old wheel.
8. Install the new wheel, then the retaining ring, and then the snap ring. Reattach the cover to the blower assembly.
9. Reattach the thermostat cover.
10. On the tumbler, drill out the rivets for each of the glides, and remove all glide parts. Install new glides.

This is a good time to complete any general cleaning inside the dryer cabinet, especially in the area of the motor. Since there is limited access to the motor itself, might help to use the blower function of a shopvac to blow out that dust.
Vacuum out all lint from around the felt drum seals.

11. Loop the new belt over the tumbler, and install the tumbler (the glides go towards the front of the dryer). Note: to keep the belt from falling off, I taped it to the drum with two pieces of painters tape..the blue tape that comes back off easily.
12. On the back of the dryer, remove the access panel, and complete installation of the belt to the idler pulley.
13. If you taped the belt to the drum....don't forget to remove the tape now. Reinstall front panel to dryer.

This was my first experience working with snap ring retaining rings. Even with snap ring pliers, they are difficult to remove without stretching them out. Be sure to order a new one with your blower wheel.

Also my first experience using a pop rivet gun ( to install the new glides). Found a rivet gun at Lowes for $9.99. Worked okay, and all rivets set properly. Good thing, because you don't get any extras with the glide kits.

After replacing the parts, and starting up the dryer, all of the clunking/squelling/rumbling noises were gone. There was a noticable smell while the new glides got broken in...smelled a bit like melting rubber. However, after a couple of drying cyles, the odor was gone.

Took out two front Panel screws and removed the panel. Removed Gas solenoid coil holding bracket by removing two phillips head screws. Disconnected the coil leads. and removed the coils. Connected the new coils to the leads and set in place. Replaced the holding bracket and the two screws. Replaced the front cover and the two front cover screws. Piece of Cake!

Before anything, I unplugged the dryer and tipped it over on its front. Then I removed the lower access panel and saw that the belt was broken. I removed the belt. I replaced the panel and put the dryer upright. When I ordered the belt off this site, I used one of the repair stories. With a phillips-head screwdriver, I removed the two screws below the door on the front panel. The panel is held in place by two clips at the top. Gently pull the cover off, since there are also two door-open sensor wires connected to the front panel. I removed the hex nuts holding the tumbler in place. When I started to put the belt on, and was having a bit of trouble, my neice pointed out the diagram on the bag the belt was in. From then on it was a piece of cake. I got the belt in place, replaced the tumbler and front panel, and plugged it in. Good as new!

My 11 year old grandson and I did the repair together. He had a blast and I did too. First we removed a bunch of screws that got us no closer to getting the machine apart than when we started. Then I remembered from the last time I had the machine apart that there are two screws just below the door, angled as not to be visable unless you know where to look. Once we removed those the from came off. We removed the wires for the door light and heat sensor, remembering the order of the wires for later reinstallation. Then we undid the bolts holding down the top. Once the top was removed we took off the belt and removed the drum. We used the retainer pliers to remove the retainer ring from the first roller. We removed the roller and also the shaft as this roller was the noise maker and the shaft was not in reusable condition. We installed a new shaft, roller washer, roller, another roller washer and then the retainer ring. We repeated the same process on the other roller, although we did not replace the shaft as it was in good condition. It turned out I did not need to order the shaft washers as the rollers came with washers. Oh well, its not a good job unless you have parts left over when you are done. Once we replaced the rollers we commenced reinstallation. But first we had to google for diagram of the proper belt installation, which we found and that got the drum and belt installed properly. Thankd god for the internet. Once we had the drum installed we put the machine back together in the opposite order we took it apart. An operational test showed we did the job right, no more squeaking. The only injury was my grandson cut his thumb right after I gave him the speech about watching where your hand is going to end up when that bolt breaks free. It broke loose and into the metal bracket went his thumb. Oh well it was a good lesson and it was not a bad cut. All in all a good repair.

Unscrewed 4 screws,pulled off front of machine.Unscrewed 2 screws holding coils on,unplugged coils,installed new coils,plugged in coils,reinstalled 2 screws for hold down brace.Reinstalled front cover,plugged dryer into outlet(remember to unplugged dryer before working on it).started up,instant heat,works great.thanks Partselect for helping me out!!!

I removed the two screws holding the access panel, and removed the access panel. Then removed the lower air duct. I then checked the burner, The solenoid was not opeing the valve for the gas. I order the coils, in two day I had the coils and installed them. The dryer is working great.

After replaceing several parts including the thermostats the last part I replaced the coils were the defective part. I originally metered out the themostats and they appeared to be okay but since this was my first time I thought I might have been mistaken. It turns out the last part I thought it could be was the part that was defective. I will say that it is very simple to replace any of the parts involved. The hardest part was trying to open the dryer itself. But after having to do it 3 times, I'm now a pro. I also replaced the drum belt and since I had it open I also replaced the belf idler with a newer modified idler rolller.

Putting the belt back on is easy, but it helps to view the video or a picture to understand how the belt goes around it.

We used previous installation instructions, which were quite good – we embellished the directions where we ran into some things that weren’t mentioned.

1. Remove the back access plate to release the belt from the pulley.
2. 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.
3. Remove the 4 nuts holding the drum support frame and pull straight out.
4. Putting one hand inside the drum and supporting it, gently pull the drum toward you until it clears the rollers. Reach in along both sides of the outside top of the drum and slide the belt off the back of the drum. With a hand inside supporting the weight of the drum tip the drum slightly forward and out the front. Set it out of the way.
5. Remove the two bolts holding the thermostat cover (silver odd shaped metal plate at the front of the dryer).
6. Remove the dryer blower cover plate by removing the 6 bolts holding it to the blower housing with a short ¼” nut driver. Remember to remove the bolt holding the plate to the bottom of the dryer.
7. 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.
8. Remove the blower wheel by removing the snap-ring at the front of the shaft and then removing the collar- compression clip.
9. Pull out the blower wheel (this was a bear as it was very tight on the shaft – the shaft-collar of the blower wheel has grooves in it. We used very small screw drivers to carefully pry the segment of the collar between the grooves away from the shaft and used a penetrating oil and with a very slight rocking force muscled the blower wheel off then removed the rear snap-ring from the motor shaft.
10. Release the 5 wires attached to the motor.
11. Remove the ground wire on the back of the motor by backing the screw out.
12. Release the front and back motor clips (Use a large straight-blade screw-driver to press down and out on the end of the clips.
13. Lift out the motor.
14. Remove the rear pulley from the motor using an Allen wrench and transfer it to the new motor (We used heavy duty thread locked on the Allen set screw. – When we removed the pulley it was necessary to heat the Allen set-screw area with a propane torch to soften the thread-locker cement. IF YOU NEED TO DO THIS MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE PLENTY OF TIME FOR THE PULLEY TO COOL BEFORE YOU HANDLE IT!
15. 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 installation much easier).
16. Hook up the wires, following the color coding on the motor controller you are attaching to.
17. Hook up the ground wire on the back of the motor.
18. Reinstall the rear snap-ring, blower wheel (went on a lot easier than it came off), front snap-ring, collar-compression clip, blower housing front cover (Including the bolt to the dryer bottom) ,
19. Re-route the door switch wire up the left side and secure with clips.
20. Reinstall the thermostat cover,
21. Reinstall the drum and belt (use scotch tape to temporarily secure belt) , the drum front support frame (ensure the felt seals for the drum and the blower cover are properly aligned and seated correctly),
22. Reinstall the belt through the back access panel over the pulley and idler wheel (make sure the belt smooth side is against the drum, the grooved side against the pulley and the belt is inside the belt guide on the idler wheel and remove the scotch tape from the belt). Make sure no tools are in the dryer cabinet.
23. Rotate the drum clockwise a few revolutions to align the belt and reinstall the rear panel.
24. Hook up the door status wire before you set the front cover and install the 2 screws,

We previously replaced the front drum felt seal and the tumbler glides, the belt and both drum rollers.