DBB3300GA1AA Whirlpool Dryer - Instructions

unscrewed the back plate off of the dryer. Disconnected the the wires off of the switch. Remember to to unplug your dryer from the wall first!!!. Reconnect the wires to the new switch and twist back into place. Be careful not to bend the metal tabs. Put the back plate back on and plug in. Put on new knob and the wife was smiling. Took about 8 minutes to repair.

Getting to any of the parts in the Maytag dryer is easy. Tip the dryer back and slide a 4 x 4 block under the front edge. You remove the whole front panel after you remove two screws at the bottom corners of the front panel. You need to tip the dryer back to get a screwdriver on the screws. Swing the front panel up to release the top of the door panel from the top. Watch the short wires to the door switch. Unhook the door switch wires and move the front panel out of the way. The timer on the top is accessed by re-moving two screws along the top edge. There are four screws. Remove them all and tip the top of the front panel forward. You then see that two screws hold the panel and the other two screws just hold the trim.

The dryer started normal. The drum motor run when the start button was operated. The fluff cycle operated normal to indicate the timer motor was OK. On the dry cycles, the igniter heated up. The gas came on. The dryer run for some period of time and then the flame went off. The thought was that the low temp cycle thermostat sensed the dryer was hot and thus switched over to time the cycle to its end. However, the low temp cycle thermostat tested good with a meter when the sensor was removed from the dryer and heated with a light bulb. Burnt contacts in the sensor were a possible problem. I also though the radiant sensor may be bad and not recycling after it got hot. After time, the igniter would cycle on but the gas flame would not come on. I thought the radiant heater might not be tripping the secondary coil on the gas valve. The gas valve coils tested good. I was checking them cold after the dryer had cooled down. I ordered a number of parts.

I got lucky and did a test on the coils while the dryer was still hot. One of the coils in the dual booster holding coil was going open when hot. When cold it had enough continuity to let the gas valve cycle on once. After the coil got warm it went open and shut the gas valve off. When the coil did cool off, it again had continuity. I was about ready to trash the dryer when I finely found the problem. I am happy I persisted and worked the problem through to a solution. I purchased several extra sensors but saved money in the long-run. I rate this problem at the high end of complexity for the do-it your self home owner to solve. The problem was an easy fix once the real problem was found. Only 4 screws and 3 push on wire connectors (two were on the front panel for the door switch).

Install would have been easier if part was
an exact
fit. Had to make do with part not fitting exact. Let's just say the dryer works but light won't line up.

Checked four thermocouples all showed continuity with my multimeter so they were all good. I'd read that the coils commonly went out and that these were the symptoms. Hey, it's very simple in there. Not much else could be wrong. I had a Maytag repairman come out. At first he said the problem was a blocked vent. I knew he was wrong. Then he said one of the thermocouples went out. It was $80 for him to come out. It turned out that his second diagnosis was wrong too. To repair the dryer by Maytag would have cost me $240. I gave him $80 and bought the coils for $37. They are EXTREMELY easy to replace: two screws held a bracket that held two coils. With the bracket off, I took off the old coils and slid on the new ones.

Took off the front panel. Followed the repair videos provided. Everything went well. Dryer dries better and is very quiet.

Advice from others with same problem on your web site was very helpful. I removed one of the three torx screws holding the deflecter, Used 2.5 star-drive screw diver bit and cordless drill/driver. Replaced 2 of three torx screws holding the deflecter with the headless brass screws, Using vice grip to tighten. Removed third torx screw and removed old deflector. Used shop vac to clean behind it. Installed new deflector, sliding it over the 2 headless screws, then installing one of the torx screws, then replacing the brass screws with original torx screws, one at a time.

a. researched internet to find how to access rotary starter switch
b. isolated all electrical input at breaker box
c. removed 4 torx screws on top of dryer head
d. lowered dryer head (swivels toward front)
e. pulled electrical connections from back of switch
f. turned and pulled thus releasing rotary switch
g. reversed procedure above
h. reconnected electrical
i. started dryer - it worked first time
j. watched football until wife came home
k. told wife dryer was fixed and what a bear it was to get it done :o)
l. that night accepted my reward for working so hard at fixing the dryer and saving us a bundle. :o)
m. now we are both smiling

Open the dryer door and remove the two screws in the top of the door opening that hold the top of the dryer on, and then remove the dryer top. On the inside of the dryer, there are two screws that hold the front of the dryer on. Remove one screw from each side of the dryer near the top, and the front of the dryer will fall away. The drum slides are visible when you lean the front panel of the dryer out away from the drum. You can replace the drum slides without even removing the front of the dryer completely. Pull out the old drum slides and insert the new slides. Lift the drum slighly from the inside through the dryer door as you tilt the front back into place. Reinsert the screws holding the front of the dryer on and tighten. BE CAREFUL not to drop the screws or you may have to disassemble the dryer to get at the dropped screws. Reinstall the top of the dryer. It is a difficult fit which requres inserting into 3 tabs and sliding the top into place. Check that the top is flush before inserting and tightening the screws in the top of the door opening.

I removed the top of the dryer by removing two screws located under the front lip of the dryer over the dryer door. Then I removed the dryer door by removing the screws holding the hinges. I then removed the front panel of the dryer by removing the two screws at the top inside two corners. I the removed the old Dryer Drum Slide. The Drum Bearings were almost completley worn off. I installed the (4) new Drum Bearings (2 Clear or White and 2 brown) the same way they were installed on the old Dryer Drum Slide on the new Dryer Drum Slide. I then installed the Dryer Drum Slide the way I removed the old one. Then I pulled the old Lower Front Drum Seal-Felt and replaced with the new one. Works like new!

snapped in new latch

I have read other postings which describe most of the procedure very well, so I'm just going to add things that should be considered, which I have not read about here.
Removing the drum proved difficult due to the lack of room on the two sides.The vent blower motor bracket is at the front bottom of the dryer, and when the two screws on either the left or right side are removed, the dryer sides spread more easily and allow the drum to be removed or re-installed more easily.
Next, the rear drum bearing I bought has a rubber o-ring which holds it in place. There is a good chance this o-ring will be hard and brittle after years of service, and will crumble when removed, in order to replace the bearing. I had to run to the local hardware store to get a new o-ring, and could only find one that did was not rated for high heat usage. I presumed once the drum is re-installed that the bearing can't dislodge even with a missing o-ring. I think it just holds the bearing in place while removing and re-installing the drum, but I cannot be certain about this.So if you plan to replace the rear drum bearing, make sure to also order the o-ring that holds it in place. It is doubtful you can re-use the old one depending on the age of your dryer.
Replacing the old white belt tensioning pulley requires the removal and re-installation of a "nut" that has no threads. It is forced on and off and not simple to re-install. The removal was easy simply by using a wrench to "unscrew" it counterclockwise. But re-installing it is another matter. It requires force to get it back onto the shaft. I saw a tip to use a 7/16" socket placed over the nut and hit with a hammer while bracing the bracket from the other side. I did this by used a smaller tool, linesman's pliers, which provided the force needed. Install it about 1/4" past the end of the bracket shaft. Careful, that nut has sharp edges and I ended up bleeding from that process. Three hands would help: one to brace the bracket, one to hold the nut and socket in place, and one to hammer. So good luck with that. Probably there is a smarter way to do this.
If you replace the old white plastic belt tensioning pulley with a new yellow one, it is not simple to understand how to re-install the belt properly. The videos do not do the trick adequately. I did find one on youtube where they removed the dryer side in order to show the belt installation and I had an "aha moment". Since you cannot see the belt, the pulleys, the motor, or anything else during installation, it is not a simple thing to do. Here are my tips: Before re-installing the drum, move the belt tensioning pulley bracket to the right (when facing the dryer front) and you will see a little spot where the bracket will stay to the right when engaged in this spot. Engage the bracket and then proceed to re-install the drum. That way, when you reach under the drum to set the belt properly on the pulleys, you won't have to engage the tensioning bracket without being able to see. Once the belt is in place, carefully remove the bracket from the right holding spot and allow it to move back to the left operating position. I used two hands and don't think I could have done it with one. When the belts are new, they can be naturally twisted and you have to be careful to install the belt with no twist. I had to do it twice to get it right. If someone can take up the top belt slack for you, it's easy to feel the belt underneath the drum and get any twists out.
Next, i had a hard time inserting the drum back into the dryer and finding the hole where the bearing inserts. The problem is, if you are not careful, it's easy to move, bend, or break the heater wires which surround the hole you need to locate blindly and slip the drum bearing into. I did bend those wires, but luckily not break them. In hindsight, applying some masking tape to the rear inside panel of the dryer right at the top, left and right of the drum BEFORE removing the drum would have made it much easier estimating the proper drum height while maneuvering the bearing into the rear hole. Then remove the masking tape when done.
I ordered a new top plastic front bearing that supports the drum in the front. Good thing I did because mine was split about 5" where one set of the green and white sliders install. I had one white "plastic" insert visible. The other one plus the two green bearings were totally missing. No wonder it was squealing.
Finally, the hardest part for me was re-installing the top of the dryer! Take a good look before removing it so you can see exactly how the top fits to the dryer and how the parts need to be lined up first.
Thanks to PartSelect.com! Every part was correct and the installation videos gave me so much help. Also, parts arrived in two days, which surprised me. I will be ordering all parts here.

Tried to replace with home-store bought 6w light. Looked the same, fit into socket, but didn't work. Actually exploded when I turned it on! Be sure to use OEM part like this one. Worked perfectly!

A quick look inside verified that the drum slides were worn through but I also found that the plastic drum bearing that holds the slides was cracked in a couple different places. Ordered a new drum bearing, new slides, and decided to replace the felt seal as well since it looked pretty ratty. Parts arrived quickly after ordering and installation literally took 15-20 minutes. Purrs like a baby now. Steps: Unplug dryer. remove two screws which hold top of dryer to front. Remove two screws which hold front (door) to rest of unit. No need to disconnect wiring to front door, just make sure not to pull the wires out! Install new parts. Put it back together in reverse order.

Remove front by removing two screws at top of door opening. Remove front of dryer carefully becsuse of electrical connections for door switch. Drum sliders simply silde in slots at top. (4 are required for total replacement) Door seal simply fits in the groove and locks over end tab. NOTE Do not run dryer any more than absolutelty nessary without lower seal in place.

It was super easy, done in 5 less than 5 min. Thanks Parts Select. Parts Select made it easy to find the replacement part by posting pictures. Thanks