LDE26CD Maytag Dryer - Instructions

Pried off old pads - used hammer to tap on new pads.

Locating replacement parts was the problem until I found partselect.com

Turn off circuit breaker or unplug. Remove two screws 4 inches from bottom front panel of cabinet with stubby phillips head. Pull panel towards you about 30 degrees; then wiggle it down, to free two steel spring clips holding it to cabinet. Pull off red and yellow wire from door switch. Now set front panel aside. Blower assembly is facing you at lower left. Open the housing by removing six small screws from cover and one attached to dryer base. Remove spring clip from end of shaft. (A circlip pliers helps to prevent it from springing off somewhere.). Squeeze spring retainer surrounding blower wheel shaft with regular pliers, and wiggle the blower off. Replace in reverse order. Be sure insulation around blower wheel housing seats properly into front panel. This keeps the hot air flowing up past the lint trap.
Easy job, about half hour. Mine took longer, because I had removed the belt and drum, thinking the noise came from bad drum support rollers. It was just the plastic blower wheel shaft seat, which had worn itself round. Cost $20 (including shipping) and my 29-year old Maytag is as good as new--at least for now.

Removed back panel of machine which exposed badly worn idler pulley. Have had problem before on another dryer so I was sure what problem was before I started. Removed snap washer and cloth washer and then bad pulley.(It was very worn and wobbly).Cleaned shaft with small piece of emery paper and put two drops of oil on shaft and replaced old pulley with new one.Put back washer and snap washer.Drive belt had slipped away from its proper position so I had to remove the front panel of the dryer to place the belt back and realign it on the drum and around the new pulley and the motor drive shaft. Not really that difficult.....Machine now runs like it's brand new.....

The numbers on the metal plates were the JC Penney numbers - that no one recognizes. I eventually found the model number inside the timer case on a printed schematic. I started by disassembling whatever metal covers were removable by finding sheet metal screws and unscrewing them. If you pull on the sheet metal covers, you can find where they are connected to the frame. Eventually, I found that both the heating element was broken and the thermostat was fried. It took a while looking at various websites to find the proper parts. It's all OK now.

I followed the videos provided, the only think I would added is cleaning the riding surface of the drum. In my case the drum had gunk on it from the old pads, witch got on the new pads causing it to continued to make noise.

It would be wise to also get the felt and belt, to replace them all the first time.

Overall, the repair was pretty easy. I'm a 52 year old woman who has never done drier repair. I replaced both front glides, both drum support roller wheels, the idler pulley wheel and the tumbler and motor belt. Including vacuuming out the inside of dryer and washing down the inside and outside of dryer with cleaning wipes, the whole project took me 2 hours. (if done individually, time would have been 20-30 minutes). You must have correct tools, so I did have to purchase two tools that I didn't have. My only suggestion in replacing the idler pulley wheel and the tumbler/motor belt would be to take the small access panel off the back of the dryer for easier access to the parts.

First, it is IMPERATIVE that the dryer is unplugged from the wall or the appropriate breaker is turned off to prevent electrocution!!! The front of the dryer is removed by removing the two screws at the bottom of the front with a Phillips head screwdriver. Next, remove the door wiring from the wiring clamp and set front / door of dryer to the side. Next, remove the bulk head by removing four nuts from the sides with the appropriate nutdriver. The drum belt will have to be disconnected from the motor pulley by lifting the spring of the pulley to release belt tension. This can be done from the front or back access panel of the dryer. The back access panel gives you a better view of the motor pulley and attached belt. After removal of the belt from the motor pulley, the drum of the dryer can be removed. Next, remove the heat shield at the front of the dryer. It is held on with two nuts and can be removed using the appropriate nut driver. Next, remove the blower wheel housing cover using the appropriate nut driver. The blower wheel will be next. It can be removed by using a pair of pliers to remove the circular clamp. A pair of snap-ring pliers will also be need to remove the snap-ring also holding the wheel in place on the motor axle. After the blower wheel is removed from its housing, the housing will need to be removed. The housing is again held in place by several nuts and the appropriate nut driver will be needed to remove them. Next, take all wiring loose from the motor. It would be a good idea to photograph or note how and what wires were attached in specific locations on the wiring harness. The new motor may be different when it comes to wiring and will be accompanied by a wiring diagram and the needed connection ends for the wiring. If it is a different wiring layout, as was my motor that I ordered from this site, a set of wiring strippers / pliers will be needed to cut, strip, and crimp the new connectors. After wiring has been removed from the motor, remove the motor by removing two nuts with the appropriate nut driver from the bottom of the motor mount. The motor, mount, and pulley will then all come out as one piece. The motor will then need to be removed from the mount. This can be accomplished by using a flat head screwdriver and a hammer. Place the flat end of the screwdriver into the raised edge of the motor mount clamp and pull away from the locking bracket. If needed, use a hammer to give that extra tap to the end of the screwdriver to remove the clamps. After the motor is removed from the mount, an Allen wrench will need to be utilized to take the belt glide / seat off of the motor axle. You will also need the snap-ring pliers again to remove a snap ring from this axle as well. Clean the motor mount and dry thoroughly. Grease the pulley housing where it contacts the motor mount for smooth gliding against the mount. It is important that you use a NON-FLAMMABLE grease. This is the end of the "tear-down" phase. Now is a good time to vaccum and clean the inside of the dryer cabinet. This will help insure that excess lint and fuzz is removed to prevent an accidental dyer fire. Next, place the new motor back into the motor mount in reverse order. Make sure the belt glide / seat from the motor axle aligns with the belt marks on the pulley. Reassemble the dryer in reverse order, making sure to follow the wiring diagram provided with your new motor. Also you need to insure that the motor is turned at a 45 degree angle to allow the dryer drum to pass the motor without striking it. After reassembly, plug in the dryer and attempt to start. If your dryer does not start, troubleshoot the wiring first. Wiring was the most difficult part of this repair and working in the tight space provided was a trick. Also look up a video of the repair! This helped me tremendously. Videos can be found on this site or at YouTube.com.

There were two screws to remove the front of the dryer. Then 4 screws to remove the front drum support. Remove the drum. Then one nut each on changing the back drum support rollers. Assemble the drum and front support in reverse, and door front, don't forget to put the new drive belt ovre the drum. Then from the rear panel opening, one screw to change the idler assembly. Easy

Unplug the dryer and pull it away from the wall so front and back can be accessed. Remove front panel. Remove front drum support. Remove rear access panel. Disengage drive belt from idler wheel. Make careful note of course of belt and which side is "outward". Remove drum through front. Remove Rollers using circlip pliers. Remove nuts behind shafts. Remove shafts. Clean-up area and parts before re-install.

Install new Shafts and nuts. Grease shafts. Install new Rollers, washers and clips. Drape drive belt over drum while reinstalling from front. Remount drive belt over drive and idler pullies from the rear access. During this step it helps to have a helper to position the belt around the drum in correct fore/aft position, lying flat and without twists, smooth side against drum. Install front drom support. Rotate drum to seat belt before closing up. Install rear panel cover. Install Front panel. Plug it in and turn it on for a test.

It took me a lot longer to plan the repair and decide to do it than to do the actual work, knowing what I know now, and having the parts, it would take less than half an hour. As there are no repair manuals available, it took one of these reports to give me the confidence I needed to proceed.
I first found out how to open the front (only two screews on the underneath part of the front cover) and opened it to hear the noise, (just put the cover to one side while still connected to the door switch),,,,, sprayed some WD40 all over the place and the noise went away temporarily (DO NOT DO THIS as the oil will burn off on top of heater unit and smell and smoke). I replaced the roller that the drum sits on (above the heating unit) to the right of the drum and the belt. You need a special tool that fits into the little holes in the ring retainer, I got it at Lowe's ($20 +/-). It is a Channellock plier that opens when you squeeze, you have to change the points (comes with it).
So, here is the squence: remove the front panel, disconnect the swhitch (it took some pulling), set aside; remove front drum assembly (only four screws looking at you) and it comes right out; the Drum is light and comes right out as well, it just sits in a dry channel. The belt will fall off.... take the retainer ring off the roller with the special tool... remove roller and replace with new washers (one on either side) replace the ring retainer (recommend getting new one) with same tool. If you remove the small panel in the back of the washer it is very eassy to replace the belt.... I did replace it although the old one looked almost new .. instructions and a diagram come with the parts you buy here by the way... which they should say... place belt on drum per instructions (solid side down), put belt inside the chanell on drum (it will climb to the correct position by itself) put on drum front cover to hold drum in place, and then sting belt on pulley from the back of the dryer. (diagram comes with belt otherwise look at it before taking off the drum) Replace front panel (after reconnecting switch) and you are off (if you want to test without the front panel you have to touch the switch wires to each other (use tape) and do not do plugged in...
After much anxiety but not that much work the dryer runs great and is as quiet as new.... I took the parts off before ordering by the way.... the order came within three days... I am happy to have PartSelect.com .. Maytag had not clue this model even existed.... Thanks

I took the access panel off the back, realized that belt was in very bad shape. Ordered a belt when I got that changed I put it back together and it still had a clunking noise. Found out that the blower wheel was rounded off where it goes over the shaft. So to change that I took the two front screws off, then the four hex screws off of the tumbler guide. There were eight or so screws over the blower wheel, took those out and the clamp on the blower wheel then used the snap ring pliers for the snap ring, then changed the wheel. Problem solved. This website is very helpful I would not have attempted to fix my dryer without this website.

actually used the videos available on your website and it made the job really simple other than the fact that I live in Florida and it was 96 degrees and my dryer is in my non-air conditioned garage.

The video was excellent and made for an easy repair. Would highly recommend.

I happened to come across a repair story posted by Wayne From Minneapolis MN about how he reinstalled the tumbler, plugged the dryer in, and started it up but forgot the belt and realized that it was the blower wheel that was loose on the shaft. As soon as I read that, I said, "Yes! that's it!" So I ordered the blower wheel and a belt. I decided to replace the belt since I saw it was slightly frayed. After all, the dryer is almost 20 years old!

First, switched off the power to the dryer or disconnect it from the outlet. Took the front panel off by removing the two screws near the bottom of the dryer. Pulled the bottom of the panel out and the two clips on the top just disengaged easily. Be careful, there are two wires connected to this panel. Just rotated it to the left and let it rest vertically. If need be, the two wires can be removed easily.

Next, I removed the four screws to take out the front tumbler and the tumbler. Set them aside. Then I removed the belt. You might want to pay attention as to how the belt goes around the motor pulley and the idler pulley before removing the belt.

After nearly 20 years, I'm surprised that it wasn't full of lint and dust. Gave it a good vacuuming and clean up.

Next, I removed the blower cover, the retaining ring, the hub clip, and the blower wheel. Installed the new blower wheel, hub clip, and here's the challenging task without the proper tool - putting the retaining ring back on the shaft! It took me about 5 minutes to put it back on the shaft with a small flat-head screw driver and an awl. Reinstalled the blower cover.

Next, I put the new belt over the pulleys and loosely hung the belt on the back tumbler to hold it up. Then I put the tumbler back in and worked the belt over the tumbler. I let the belt sat in the groove of the tumbler first and then when the tumbler was in position, I worked the belt over the two pulleys in to the proper position. Then I moved the belt to strap over the top of the tumbler. At this point, I just rolled the tumbler with my hand when part of the belt was out of the groove and on top of the tumbler. The motion took care of getting the rest of the belt out of the groove and on top of the tumbler as it should be located. Reinstalled the front tumbler and then the front panel.

Powered it back up and started the dryer and viola! the rumbling noise was not to be heard. Just like it used to sound - a low humming noise. Thanks Partselect.com for the helpful repair stories and the speed in getting the parts to me.

Unplug dryer
Remove front (2 screws at bottom)
From bottom lift out and up to release top bracket
Move front panel gently to the left not disturbing wires
Remove blower cover with nut driver
Remove expansion clip on shaft with expansion clip pliers
Remove blower clamp with pliers
Slide blower wheel off
Replace blower wheel an reassemble