AEM353 Speed Queen Dryer - Instructions

Being my lousy Maytag washer died THE PREVIOUS DAY, spewing water, etc. and I had rushed out and bought a new washer, I was determined not to replace the dryer (though I now am a serious NON_FAN of Maytag).

I disassembled the whole dryer and finally got to the blower wheel which was broken lose from the molded nut. I supposed something like a dime or penny got in there to shred it.

PartSelect's website allowed me to find the part in 5 minutes. It was on my doorstep the next afternoon.

Installation was straightforward BECAUSE I stacked all the screws and and labeled them appropriately. It took about 30 minutes to reassemble and the toughest bit was getting the drum in with the belt positioned properly.

First unplug the dryer,then remove the front bottom panel. With your 5/16 nut driver reach to the rear of the vent tube under the dryer and remove the lone screw that holds the tube in place. Lean the dryer forward and remove the tube from the rear of the dryer,this will allow you to see and reach the idler wheel from the front. Release the belt,feel for the clip that holds the wheel in place on the opposite side of the front,with your thumb nail or something else if preferred pry out on one side of the clip until it pops off. Slide the wheel off being careful not to lose the washer,slide the new wheel on and replace the clip. Put the belt back on replace the tube,which is actually the toughest part because you have to find the hole for the lone screw as you can't see it,but with a little patience it is easily enough done. Put the vent hose back on replace the front panel and plug it in and go!!it took me 30 min. Alittle tough to feel for some of the parts,but really much easier than you would think.

I should have know it was the fuse from the beginning but I figured this out after replacing the the heating coil. (I didn't have the tools to test the wiring, and everyone kept telling me it was the heating coil.)

Anywho, I replaced the thermostat first then the fuse. They were located on the outside cabinet of the heating coil. I plugged it up and then there was heat. They did look a little different from the original ones but you could tell which was which. The fuse is at the top and the thermostat at the bottom. I didint have to use the new wiring to the fuse because they looked fine. I did however had to use the wiring that came with the kit for the thermostat because the old one was fried and a little different from the original.

Well that's my story. Sorry if there's any lackness in the details.

After watching the great install video, I followed his lead and within 20 min had my dryer door fixed. This dryer was bought in 1986 and I really thought I was looking at buying a new dryer. How wonderful that I could fix it for less than $11. Easy to find web site, easy to find part, great instructions and fast delivery!

remove front part of the dryer and rise up the top to remove drum to replace the belt. than remove two screws for the heating element piece of cake repair.

Went to YouTube and put in good.. did not fix the problem with the dryer but it has a new belt on it now!

The repair went very well. The parts were a perfect fit and arrived earlier than expected.It took a little longer than it should have to do the repair because of my recent surgery I had my 11 year old grandson operating the nut driver taking the dryer apart install the parts then reassemble under my watch full eye. You could say it went so easy a fifth grader could do it.

Removed lower front panel.

Removed door assembly* making note of the wire positions on the door switch
* When removing the door assembly DO NOT LET IT DROP DOWN! Doing so will destroy the door switch. Swing the door assembly upward from the bottom toward you as high as it will go then pull it free.

Removed the drum and belt assembly.

Removed the idler pulley and idler pully spring.

Vacuumed up the interior dryer floor and blew out the motor w/ comp air. Also cleaned the ribbed motor pulley with a nylon brush and brake cleaner sprayed on a shop towel.

Removed the drum tires and cleaned their shafts and internal bearing sleeves with brake cleaner sprayed on a shop towel.

Reinstalled the drum tires after lubricating their shafts with a very light coat of general purpose grease.

Replaced the idler pulley and idler pulley spring after cleaning and lubing shaft and pulley bearing as done on the drum tires.

Reinstalled the drum with the new belt (ribbed side down) roughly in place.

Reinstalled the front door assembly after reconnecting it's wiring making sure to insert it's top locking tabs with the bottom of the door held up high then swung down into place

Tensioned the belt by positioning the flat side of the belt that comes down the right side of the drum over the idler pulley flat side down and then the ribbed side of the belt over the motor shaft. You will have to move the idler pulley arm to apply full tension against the spring in order to have the slack to get it around the motor shaft.

Reinstalled the lower front panel.

Checked dryer operation OK.

This repair was rated a bit difficult because I didn't know the trick for removing/installing the door assembly and destroyed the switch. Furthermore, putting the belt back on is a somewhat difficult challenge because you have to do it mostly by feel

I followed the online video on PartSelect website. No other instruction necessary.

I totally disassembled the Dryer, and replaced the Guide Rollers, Blower Wheel, Idler Pulley Shaft, Idler Pulley, and Belt.

I tested all the thermostats and fuses and the heating element with a VOM. I found that the thermal fuse was bad and replaced that and it heats fine. The hard part was reaching everything from the front of the dryer. Poor design for access. Also replaced the door switch while I had it apart.

Disconnected dryer from vent and power receptacle, placed dryer on its back and remove the front panel by removing screws along the bottom of the panel and pulling down on the panel. Below the drum the element mounting plate was visible so I removed the sensor and element wires, removed the element mounting screws and pulled the element down and out of its "duct". I installed the new element and replaced the wires and front panel. That's all folks!

Unplugged dryer removed the front, removed & marked the wires. Removed the drum & drive belt. Removed the snap ring on front of roller with a pgtai awl.Removed the wheel & worn washers, removed the nut on the back of the roller shaft. reppaced it all in reversed proceedure. Other than a few little scrapes on the knuckles it was Quite easy.

I took out the 2 screws on the bottom of the front cover, pulled out at the bottom, disconnected the 2 wires for the front door and removed 2 screws on the inside top of the front panel and removed. The top of the dryer then flips over. I then tool out 4 more screws and took out the drum. I totally cleaned out the inside of the dryer and then took the oring pliers and removed the oring that held the roller on the belt tension bar and replaced it with the new one that you sent me. I put the drum back in and put the belt back on the new roller, I put the dryer back together and now I have a good dryer that will last another 10 years.

I just followed the video instructions and really they were not as good as some of the customer descriptions which were far more detailed. It was like an experienced repairman telling another experienced repairman how he has been doing this repair for 20 years. The customers get into the kind of detail that is very helpful. More important parts select never tells you to read the blogs first before ordering your parts. $100 later I bought a new GE dryer which I would have done 10 days ago had I known Maytag has a repetitive problem with the high limit thermal fuse which no one has a cure for. So I did a whole bunch of repairs replacing parts on a dryer which needed to be replaced.