BDE7500 Maytag Dryer

I am writing this story in the hope it will save time and trouble for others. I have used PartSelect with great success after our washing maching burned through a belt last year, so after our old Maytag dryer stopped heating, I looked on your website. I found it was probably the heater element so I ordered it and also printed off the blu ... Read more eprints and repair steps of my dryer since I no longer had the book. When the part finally arrived (5 days on a 2 day shipping charge-- I wasn't happy with the 5 days), it had different instructions on the heater element package than the PartSelect website offered. This is where things got difficult; what should have been a 20 minute job took 2 hours because I followed the directions on the package and took the dryer apart from the back instead of from the front panel side. By the time I figured it out, I decided to keep going anyway and ended up taking virtually everything apart (body shell, top, motors, wiring harnesses- anything I could disassemble) cleaned everything, and put it back together. So I believe that it all worked out for the best anyway since I will get many more years out the dryer for doing that. If you don't want to take the whole machine apart (and I am sure most people do not), just take off the front panel. There are two screws located near the bottom of the front panel; take these out and lift the front panel up halfway by tilting, then pull out. The heater element is right there on the lower right side. Make sure to follow the directions on the PartsSelect website and you will be fine. The most important tool for me was a 1/4" socket. Make sure you have this before you start. Having one that attached to a straight driver (like a screw driver) instead of a ratchet worked best. The dryer works like new now.

First I unplugged the dryer! Then unscrewed the two screws at the bottom of the front door. To remove the front door, swing the bottom up about 30 degrees until the two triangular hooks at the top of the door release. Then release the two wires going to the door switch from their harness so as to gain more slack to move the door out of ... Read more the way. The switch was secured by 2 hex head sheet metal screws1/4inch in diameter. I used a small right angle socket wrench to get these loose. I only had to remove the front screw completely to be able to take the switch out for exchange purposes. Once this was done, reverse the process and plug it in! (BTW, the electrical schematic for this dryer is up under the top console)

Although I ordered the heating element and thermal fuse in anticipation I really needed the Terminal Insulator kit for the heating element. The screw that the heating element is attached to on one side and the power supply on the other snapped (the weld joint came apart). First removed the front panel by unscrewing the two screws that h ... Read more old it in place which are located about 4" from the floor. Next removed the front cover of the heater housing by undoing the two screws that hold it to the bottom plate and unscrewed the nuts that hold the heating element in place on the inside and the outside of the heater housing. Assembly was easy just follow the steps backwards.
! When the front is off it is a good time to use a vacuum cleaner to remove the lint that accumulates everywhere, especially in the air output !