MEDC500VW1 Maytag Dryer - Instructions

Following the instructions that came with the parts, I removed the top off of the dryer, which was very easy, two more 5/16" screws and I had the drum out. I confess, this was my second time at this repair. 1st time I neglected to replace the rear drum seal which I strongly recommend you do while you have it open. I only replaced the 2 wheels last time and it failed very soon afterwards.
Lesson Learned: Always replace the rear drum seal when you replace the support wheels!!!

I took a ¼ inch nut driver and removed the rear cover from the unit, and then used a continuity tester to determine which safety device was open. According to the schematic there was one non-resettable safety device in the heating circuit, and that was open. The kit that I ordered came with thermal cutoff and a thermostat. I replaced both parts and the unit now operates normally. While I had the dryer open I thoroughly cleaned the dust and lint from the unit and also the 4 inch vent pipe. I ordered this part on Friday morning and received it early Saturday afternoon.

It was so easy, that my wife did it the day we got the part before I got home from work. She wedged it out with a flat head screw driver and then pushed the new door catch assembly in with her thumb. Pretty simple, thanks for having parts like this available to the public!

I removed the four screws holding the
heating element, then I pulled the element out
and then put the new element in and hucked
the wires from the old element after I disconnected
them to the new element..no problem......

I ordered up a new heating coil. It was plug and play, real easy to do. Make sure to turn on the dryer with the before you put it back together to make sure the heating coils heat up. Be careful though, it will get real hot, so run for a second or two. Also, you may see a little smoke as the coil burns in, that should be fine. Once it is tested and works, let it cool off, then reattach it, put on the backplate and you are done!

1. UNPLUG 2.Undo 8 screws @ back of dryer. Locate heating element midway down on right about 6"x10" has three thermostat wires connected to it undo the 2 screws & 3 wires either order. You will need to pry up GENTLY on the thermostat on the old element. Replace themostat to new element and make a test run to make sure its running and HOTand repeat steps in reverse order...

Took the back off with a cordless drill with an apex holder. I unplugged the old wires from the old heating element and plugged them into the new heating element. Put the back back on after testing it to make sure it worked and that was it. Since this element was in a housing it was really simple to reinstall the new one.

Local stores did not have any in supply. Went to Partselect and located lint screen, ordered, received in 3 days. replaced screen, Wife now happy again...

It was really quite esy remove the screws from the back and pop the top off . then remove 2 top inside screws from the front , lift the front off the sides , support the drum and lift out , you will then see the idler wheels, replace them with the new ones ,replce the tensioner , wrap the belt around the drum, need help putting the drum back in the case, have someone hold the drum in place while you lay on the ground and put the belt around the motor pulley and the tensioner on the bottom.you then put the front panel back into place and secure with the 2 inside screws, then put the rest back together in reverse oder. ... hope this helps someone

Follow the advice given in the partsselect website. However, while removing the blower, my hand slipped into the housing and cut my thumb. Connected the wires to the junction box on the motor but didn't realize that the contacts would hit the drum when reinstalled. The original junction box was at a 90 degree rotation relative to the new box. When trying to test the breaker tripped. Using the multitester I found out that I burned out the thermal fuse, and froze the door switch. I replace both those parts and started the dryer and could hear a grinding sound. Inspection revealed that the housing of the motor was rubbing against the drum. Removing the drum yet again, I rotated the housing and replaced the drum. The dryer was finally working well.

Wife said the drier was not heating. I looked on the internet and found Parts Select. Followed the instructions to test the heating element, thermal cut-offs, and thermostat. This is really easy, you just touch the terminals with the voltage meter to see which ones are not transmitting current (with the drier unplugged). One of the thermal cut-offs was not transmitting current so I ordered the part Sunday night and had it by Wednesday morning and put it on it about five minutes. Steps:

1. Unplug drier
2. Unscrew back of drier
3. Unplug wires from terminals of the parts shown in Parts Select instructions (one at a time)
4. Get a basic voltage meter (I bought a cheap one at the big box store)
5. Test terminals (touch the red terminal on the voltage meter to one side, black to the other)
6. If the needle moves to the other side, the part is OK, if not order the part and replace.

I replaced the thermal cut off kit, and the dryer now had heat. Three days later, no heat; the thermal fuse also did not have continuity. Read on-line that overheating was the most likely cause. So, I checked the exhaust duct for blockage, but it was clear. Then, I removed the exhaust canister at the back of dryer; the entire bottom was filled with lint the size of a softball. The lint was heating up, and when it got too hot, it blew the thermal cut off. Cleaned out the lint, replaced the thermal cut off, and now it's fine. Moral of the story: Remove the lint canister and clean it.

Took off the top and front panel. Found that the belt tensioner was worn out. Decided to pull drum out,and replace the belt and drum rollers also. Put it back together, and it works fine.

Followed your online video for disassembly and it was not only educational but actually quite simple. I would recommend that you start the video with," make sure the power cord is disconnected from the power source". I have worked on numerous pieces of large electrical equipment and would strongly suggest this be added. Some people think if it's, "off", it's safe. Your phone staff when ordering was great. We will do business again.

My wife reported that the dryer was not working. I checked it and it seemed to work fine. This went on for about a month or two. Every time I checked it, it started just fine.

Well, she threatened to go buy a new dryer, I took her more seriously. I thought perhaps a thermal protection was the cause. But when I dug into it, I learned that when those trip out, they are permanent (have to be replaced).

I finally noticed loud humming sound the motor made at start-up, when it failed to start turning on one occasion and eventually tripped out the motors thermal protection.

I ordered the new drive motor form PartSelect.com.

Replacing the motor was fairly easy if you like to take stuff apart. One thing that I had not anticipated was that the two foam gaskets on the exhaust duct were dry rotted. I went to my local part supplier to get them. They did not have them in stock. :( While I was there, I asked how much the motor was, they wanted $50 more than PartSelect.com :D

I put it back together without the new gaskets, and it runs like new. I ordered the gaskets from PartSelect and will add them when they arrive.

My wife is happy again, she can bust out the laundry in one day; it had been taking here all weekend.

I learned to take her at her word.