LE8457W2-PLE8457W2 Whirlpool Dryer - Instructions

Took dryer apart, and found that the idler arm pulley was in pieces. Ordered the replacement from Partselect.com. Received part very promptly. Decided to also order a new belt, and that arrived in a very timely manner also. Put the parts in, and assembled the dryer. This was for my 90 year old grandmother, and she is ever so pleased that it is up and running again. Completed the repairs for about $50, and saved big money by doing it myself versus a service call, that would have boiled down to replacing the unit for the price it would have cost to fix. Will use partselect in the future for all my appliance repairs, as they offer a great selection of parts for all different appliances. Very pleased with satisfied with quality, and service from Partselect.com

I watched the repair video and followed the instruction given to replace the belt. The instructions were easy to follow and to the point. The one thing that was not covered was to vacuum the interior prior to closing the dryer up.

All you need for a Maytag is a snub nose Philips screw driver. The screws on the front panel are at the bottom angled down, so a regular length Phillip's won't work. Just unscrew the 2 screws, then lift the panel up and out. Careful not to pull out too far, there are 2 wires attached to the switch. The replacement switch is NOT an exact copy of the old one. My Maytag is over 30 years old and it only had 2 prongs on the switch. The new one has 3. Don't let that throw you. It is the same size. Just attach, 1 wire to the bronze connector & the other to the silver. Push the switch into the door opening, re-attach the door. Total time 20 minutes. Saved well over $100 in a service call. Anyone with an IQ above freezing can do it.

watched video for Each Part

Door switch was very easy to replace as it simply snaps in for the outside and you just clip on the two control wires that already have clips on them.

Removed the screws from the back of the control panel and slid out of lower brackets.
Removed old timer and installed new one and then changed the wires over to the new timer.
Put back together and re installed fasteners

Per instructions I printed off online: took off door, then the front panel. Pulled out the old switch/button, connected the new switch/button, made sure the new button was working; put the panel back on then the door and DONE!

Propped the machine up in the front, removed the front panel, the door assembly, and the front drum support. Use a Sharpie to mark wire positions. This will help during re-assembly. To get the drum out, you first have to remove the belt from the motor pulley. Drum slides right out. You will need snap-ring pliers to remove the pulley from the idler arm. I also replaced the drive belt because it was cheap, and always a good idea to replace it when you are this far into the machine if it is a few years old. Re-assemble in the reverse order of disassembly. An easy fix for the average do-it-yourself person.

Terminal Block was cracked and dryer was not receiving enough voltage, causing the heating element not to heat. Here were the steps I took to fix the problem:
1. Turn off breaker to dryer from 240v outlet
2. Unplug dryer from 240v wall outlet.
3. On outside, rear of dryer, remove cover plate and the clamp that the power cord goes through with nut driver or phillips screwdriver and take picture or write down how the power cord wires go to the terminal block.
4. Use nut driver or phillips screwdriver to remove the power cord wires from terminal block and ground wire from dryer body.
5. On top front of dryer, use large slotted screwdriver or some other tool to push in on the two clips in order to lift the cover up on dryer.
6. Take picture or write down how wires are attached to terminal block.
7. Remove wires from terminal block with nut driver or phillips screwdriver.
8. Use nut driver to remove terminal block from washer and install the new terminal block.
9. Reinstall wires to new terminal block.
10. Close dryer cover.
11. Reinstall clamp onto power cord wires and reinstall wires to new terminal block and ground wire to washer body then put cover plate back on.
12. Plug in dryer then turn on breaker.
13. Start dryer to see if it heats now.

Unlike the other stories I read (and the video posted on the site), my unit had a lower maintenance panel on the front face which required quite a different disassembly. Once I took off the lower panel, there were screws at the bottom of the top panel. Once removed, the top front panel came out and exposed the necessary interior components. In order to get the drum out, I took out the screws holding the front of the top on and wiggled the drum out. From there I removed the belt and offending idler lever, put in the new ones and hooked the spring back up. Reverse procedure to assemble and the problem is completely gone. I even found and removed an unexpected hair band from the front skid plate. Pretty doable if you're willing to spend the time.

First I was told by the maytag repair man that the motor was shot and it would be 467 dollars to repair. Since I didn't have that kind of money I decided to take it apart to see if I could replace the motor myself. Once I had it apart I saw the part that held the motor in place was broken off and the motor was out of place causing it too shut itself off. Once I figured it all out it took about 2 minutes to replace the less than 6 dollar part! Thanks partSelect!!!

Unable to find a repair manual or accurate diagram, I forged ahead and removed the top and front panels of the dryer. It took two tries to figure out how to thread the belt (nine of my ten thumbs kept getting in the way!), but after a coffee break, the job came together, and I've taken the clothesline down!

Dryer stopped tumbling, so bad belt was my first thought. Dryer is in vacation home so did not have immediate access to it to diagnose. Ordered belt and discovered that the poorly designed motor pulley had broken and the belt jumped onto the motor shaft and burned through the original belt. Week 2 after ordering pulley, installation went per YouTube video. Glad I also replaced the belt because it was brittle and cracked. Suspect it had been slipping because sheets would ball up into a log, possibly because the drum wasn't spinning fast enough. Anyhoo, after repair all seems OK.

I had already taken the dryer apart prior to changing the felt seal. Had oiled the rollers, greased the bearings & vacuumed the whole inside of the dryer out. Had used a high temp lubricant on the seal & had stopped squeaking for about a month. I ordered 2 seals & when they arrived, I popped the top of the dryer off using the putty knife to pry the spring latches. I opened the top up & leaned it against a wall. I disconnected the wiring to the light & the switch in the door, making note of the wiring order. Then used a nut driver to take the 2 screws from the inside out, that holds the front cover in place. Then the same for the 4 screws holding the front bulkhead in place. Then lifted up & out from the unit. Then used the putty knife to scrap the adhesive & old seal off the bulkhead. Cleaned as much of the adhesive off, then applied some high temp silicone adhesive to the bulkhead, placed the new seal on, using some clamps to hold it in place. After making sure it had adhered to the seal & bulkhead. Did the reversal of the above mentioned steps. Moved the unit to laundry room, plugged it in then started it & voila no more squeaking dryer.

Disconnect power and pulled the lower front panel off unit (2 screws).
I used a ohm meter and found heater coil open. Ordered correct part online (easy to find it on the web site).
Three days later, new part in hand I unplugged the failed unit's wiring and removed the heating unit (2 screws). Installed the new part, connected wires and reinstalled the four screws.
Engaged power and turned the dryer on. Vent pie had heat, so placed wet clothes in unit and ran a dryer cycle. Works like new. Cost was about $65.00 versus the $500.00 for a new dryer.