MDE16PDAZW Maytag Dryer - Instructions

repairmen said to buy a new dryer! or replace the motor! DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!

It was the spring washer that was rubbing against the metal that was causing the very loud noise. The fiber washer that is used on the shaft on both sides of the roller had worn though and allowed the metal-metal contact. The fiber washer wore out! The fiber washers are very cheap!!!! in comparison to a motor or new dryer!


The drum rollers that support the rotating drum eventually wear out the fiber washer.
UNPLUG THE DRYER, DISCONNECT THE VENT
Remove the two screws on the lower front of the dryer panel, probably after you have tilted the unit backward. Remove the front panel by tilting out the bottom as there are two clips at the top. AFTER DOCUMENTING the CONNECTIONS - Disconnect the wires from the switch which is mounted on the front panel.
Carefully put the dryer on its back - be careful of the dryer vent to avoid damaging your floor or dryer vent!
Carefully pull the dryer drum up out of the dryer - as this is done the belt which moves the drum will fall away from the drum. I suggest before you remove the drum to eyeball the way the belt is tensioned and wrapped around the motor driveshaft, guard and tensioner. This will be the most difficult part of reassembling the machine. Some visual understand, maybe even pictures will help you later to get it installed correctly back into proper position... and it is NOT intuitive!
Once the drum is removed, the rollers are accessible. Rotate each and find the squeaker!
I recommend you replace the fiber washer on both, even though only one may be squeaking at this point (the other will be close to being worn out as well!).
I will not document the replacement of these parts as the assembly seems well documented elsewhere. I suggest you remain using the spring washer if there - as the after factory replacements do not seem to provide spring washers.
I would also suggest replacing the dryer drum belt, it is worn, after this many years, and putting in a new one will keep the dryer running for many more years. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER - USE IT

repair was pretty easy, actually took more time removing the door and the front housing that actually changing out the rollers

Received parts within two days of order. thank you

I re-assembled, checked felts, and wear blocks,(good condition). I cleaned lint, removed coins from baffles, corrected several dents(minor), double checked wire condition and routing (good), finished re-installation, checked balance . all was good, and ran two loads of laundry. very quiet! Thanks

I've had this dryer since it was new It's over 25 years old. and it started to make a high pitch squealing sound when in use. Decided it's time to repair it. a new one is very expensive. So I ordered the parts from this site. When the parts arrived they where Inspected for fit, function and finish. So I proceeded with doing the repair myself. Short Phillips screw driver to remove the two sheet metal screws at the bottom front panel. tilted the panel from the bottom outward and removed it from the main tumbler cabinet. labeled the door switch wires one was yellow & one white. so I would not reinstall them incorrectly upon assembly. removed the front panel. set it aside. then removed the bulkhead panel 5/16" screw in each corner. removed that and set it aside. and there she was, the tumbler. I pulled the tensioner up to loosen the belt, and removed it. then grabbed the tumbler from the inside top slightly picked it upward and slid it out of the cabinet exposing the two rollers and axles one on each side that it sits on. at that point I noticed the drive belt was frayed and slightly worn. came back in the house and got on line ordered a new one from Parts Select it showed up a day later and a perfect match. the rollers are held in place by snap rings at the end of the axles. squeeze them they come off real easy, and on the back side there's a 14mm hex head nut. box wrench works good here to loosen the nut and remove the axles. the original washers are metallic and worn badly, they where making the high pitched squealing sound when they rotated so they came off and where replaced by the ones in the new roller kit and lubed with graphite not oil or grease. Graphite is dry and does not collect all the dirt and debris. put the new washers, new rollers & snap rings back on the axles grooves on the end, hand spun them and they where ready to roll. took the new belt placed it around the tumbler over the exact witness marks that where there so it would line up and lifted the tumbler back into the cabinet aligned the new belt over the motor pulley and tensioner lining it up exactly on the witness marks left by the old belt. slowly slid the tumbler back on to the new rollers rotated the tumbler a couple rotations clockwise to set the belt put the bulkhead back on the front with 5/16" sheet metal screws. in 4 corners, reinstalled the from panel along with the door switch wires and it was done. now the moment of truth. plug the machine in and turn it on!. Bingo! it runs so well you don't know it's even running. after this repair the machine performs even better. it actually takes LESS time for clothes to dry! AJS

Replaced rear drum rollers and drum belt. Would have been impossible to do unless I had watched the video. [Re-watched video 4 times during repair to make sure of what I was doing.] dryer now works fine. Dryer did throw off a lot of lot dryer felt lint during first post repair use. Customers should let it run one empty cycle after repair.

As per video instructions we took off front and removed drum. We only changed one of the roller support wheel as I could not find any information as to how many I need for my type dryer and parts diagram was deceptive. Showed only one drum support roller.

Follow instructions on this website and be sure to pull the felt seal fairly tight as you work your way around or you'll be a little short at the end...

Our dryer started making noise and we ignored it until it became a grinding sound, that's when I knew I had to fix it.

The grinding was the front assembly being worn through by the fact that the glides were gone (worn away) and we continued to use the dryer. I, subsequently, had to replace the front assembly (after trying duct tape and metal epoxy, which didn't work). As there were no glides on the replacement front assembly I didn't know to replace them. They had worn away completely and I didn't realize I needed them.

Well, the grinding started again (right away, acually)and I tore it apart again and that's when I realized that I needed the glides (one on each bottom side) so I got those and put them on. They are called "bearing kits" actually.

They come as a cork piece that goes underneath the "vinyl" piece with the tabs going into the slots and the vinyl piece being riveted into the assembly from the underside of the assembly. I think that, so, that when the drum starts rubbing on something it will hit the rivets instead of the assembly and only damage the rivets. That way you know you need them when you hear a grinding sound and I theorize that will get your attention enough to make you want to replce them. The rivets being put in top down looks right though so "whatever" I suppose.

I also had to take them to work to ask an engineer if the cork gets glued to the vinyl as I saw on one post and he agreed as the cork is porous and would be capable of being greased and retaining the grease, He was wrong of course as so many engineers are today. I think that it is rather obvious that you just slip the tabs into the slots as you're common sense brain tells you to do.

The wife's happy and
I'm superman once again.

I had to remove the door, raise top and remove the front panel. After removing the drum and belt it was easy to replace the tension idler and put it all back together.

Replaced tensioner pulley along with felts, rollers, shafts, belt, and bearing pads. This dryer is 21 years old and has been serviced by myself at 15 years old. I replaced everything mentioned above except the tensioner pulley. This is a great running dryer but always remember to change the tensioner pulley when the unit is apart. Also have a third hand when mounting the belt and drum. Very easy other wise.

The easiest repair I've ever had to do. I checked U-tube and watched a video on how to take off the dryer door and top to get to the baffle, then switched out the old for the new. Put everything back together and it is working great! So easy my 12 year old can do this fix.

First, unplug the dryer.

Second, remove the front of the dryer by removing the two screws at near bottom on both the left and right. These look like security Torx with the post in the center but you can remove them with a small flat-blade screwdriver.

Third, remove the wires from heating element on the right. There are the two power connections (one each at about 2 and 7 oclock) and two for the sensor at 11 oclock. You probably want to user pliers to remove these just in case...

Fourth, remove the two 1/4" screws holding the heater element in place. One is in the front center, the other is at about 1 oclock at the rear.
Pull straight out and the element comes free.

Fifth, remove the circuit interrupter from the old unit and install it on the new unit. Be sure to move the jumper from the heating element power (about 5 oclock) and the interrupter.

Sixth, install the heating element. The element is a cylinder of metal. I found that I needed to bend in the seam at the back very slightly to get it to fix back in.

Seventh, alight the screw holes and replace the 1/4" screws.

Eighth, reattach the wires, being careful to replace each where it came from.

Ninth, replace the dryer front...and your done.

Just took it apart and put new one in.

I simply removed the retaining clip and old bearing and re-installed the new drum roller, washers and retaining clip. Fairly simple really.

placed it on post with a little glue. It is for decorative use but could not just leave it with no baffle.