MDE5500AYQ Maytag Dryer - Instructions

I looked up my problem online and everything I saw said to change the roller wheels that hold the barrel of the dryer. After doing that (twice, once on each side) I was still having a horrible squeaking sound so bad that we were waiting to do laundry until we were leaving for a while. Finally I determined that the problem was actually the idler wheel. All I had to do was remove the bolt holding the idler arm on (it's the arm that has a spring connected to it that moves to allow the belt on or off) and put the new arm with the new wheel on. The dryer is now whisper quiet and works perfectly.

Replaced both rollers,shafts, bearings and snap rings.

To replace the light bulb, I removed the screw and the cover, unscrewed the old bulb, replaced with the new bulb and replaced the cover, securing it with the small screw. It worked appropriately with normal use for a few days and then I noticed the light was not coming on when I opened the door.

I removed the cover and pulled out the bulb to find that the filaments inside are dangling and burned through. I need them replaced, please.

Inspect controller board and found discoloration around four resistors. Remove controller housing to access controller board. Removed four mtg. screws and wire harnesses. intalled new controller board and retest. Cycles with heat.

Took off front. Removed door. Removed drum support. Removed drum and belt. Made sure motor was correct size and fit. Removed blower wheel. Disconnected wire plug from motor and slid motor out of blower wheel. Replaced everything in reverse order. Figuring out belt tensioning position was a trip, but finally got it. Vacuumed out all the lint. Amazingly it worked!

I was able to quickly make this repair with the help of some instructions that I found on this site on how to remove the front panel of my dryer. 4 screws on the front around the door (and removal of the door) and then it was simply a matter of rolling the top portion out to pop it out of some clips and then the front panel opened toward me and I was able to lift it off of the metal fingers that secure it on the bottom. Removing the old baffle was a matter of removing two screws with a nutdriver and installation of the new baffle was a breeze. All in all I was done start to finish in under 10 minutes.

Piece of cake. Use the available manual to ascertain dismantling procedure. Only thing that might be tough for average DIY'er is the internal snap rings. Snap ring pliers are mandatory for quick easy repair.
Total time was probably about 15 minutes and this was the first time I had taken it apart. Quiet as a mouse now!
Very helpful site.

Just took the old one out and put the new one in! Fit perfectly! Very happy with your service and part came super quick!

The dryer started making a screeching/squealing noise…when it became unbearable, I decided to research the problem and found this website - it was tremendously helpful.

Based on what I found, I decided to order two drum rollers and two shafts – hoping that would solve the problem. My husband and I disassembled the dryer and replaced those parts. We also vacuumed the unit and wiped down the 10 years of gunk. Honestly I am surprised we have not had a fire given the amount of dust/lint inside the unit. I also took the opportunity to give the vent a good cleaning as well.

We put the unit back together, turned it on and listened to the quiet hum of our renewed dryer. Until about 15 minutes later and then the screeching/squealing started again. Kicking myself for not ordering the idler arm and shaft as well as the idler pulley wheel and bearing the first time – I went online and placed another order.

We took the unit apart a second time. We did inspect the pulley the previous time, but it appeared in good working order. Not seized like some of the other posts mentioned. Upon further inspection, it did seem to make a squealing noise when we wiggled it – duh!

The unit was put back together, quietly doing it’s job and we feel confident that we will get a few more years out of it. The videos were extremely helpful as were the posts from other do-it-yourselfers. We saved a lot of money with this fix.

Good luck!

BTW - The Lint Filter was not a problem - I just thought after 10 years, we could use a new one. I laughed when I saw the repair video on it!

I looked on line and found a scematic from your web site to determine how to dismantel the dryer. Once I was inside I was able to determine that the drum roller was making the noise. I decided to replace the other moving part while I was inside just in case. . . Pretty easy job

Unplugged dryer and removed screws that hold door in place. removed screws that hold front panel. removed front panel. took drum belt off idler pulley. pulled drum out of dryer cabinet. unhooked wiring harness and removed motor. replaced motor and reversed steps to put back together. Thanks to partselect for getting me the parts so quickly. I ordered the motor on line on Friday and it was at my house on Saturday.

By watching a video I disassembled the front and took the dryer tub out and replace the two rollers and it took about 60 minute.

Removed front panel and tumbler, replaced roller axle,
wheel, and front glides. Anybody can do this.

Removed four screws from the door hinges and front panel. Removed the front panel by pulling forward from the top and found two screws. The part does not come with screws which are #10 x 1 and 1/4" long hex head sheet metal screws. I believe that the screw size is critical as the part may break loose again if the screws width is too large or small for the predrilled holes in the baffle. One set of holes in the drum had slotted screw holes which would allow for installing the baffle with the screws partially installed in the baffle. I would recommend washers for that installation. Check all three baffles to ensure that all screws are tight.

Unplugged dryer. Removed dryer door with philips screwdriver. Removed front dryer panel aftr loosening philips screws on each side of door. Then at top right corners I used a nutdriver to remove clips/hooks that hold down top of dryer. I then lifted top of dryer up- it is hinged at back. I could then manually turn drum to access screws that hold baffles. I held each baffle in place with left hand and turned in screws with right hand until tight, using nut driver. I vacuumed out inside of dryer. Reassembled top, front panels and door. plugged in and tested. All good.