MDE16CSAZQ Maytag Dryer - Instructions

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!

I had replaced belt, but the noise continued. Ordered new rollers and washer. Removed the front panel by tipping the dryer back against the wall and removing two screws at the bottom of the panel. Tipping the dryer makes it easy to remove the front panel. Removed the front drum support by removing four (4) screws. I was then able to just move the drum enough to have access to the rollers. Didn't even have to remove the belt. Replaced the rollers. Needed special pliers to remove and replace the retaining rings. Put the drum back into position and mounted the front drum support. Tightened four screws and then put the front panel back on. Plugged it in and tested it. Problem solved. Took about 35 minutes. Thanks

i removed the 2 screws holding the door hindges on. then i removed the 2 adjasent screws to remove the front door panel. i rotated the drum to aceses the screws holding the baffle and installed the baffle .

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!

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!

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.

The YouTube video on how to replace the baffels was excellent. After watching the video, it was a piece of cake.

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!

take screws out of front of dryer, pull front off to expose drum and replace baffle

Removed door, then brackets holding top panel to side exposed after removing door. Lifted top panel to expose dryer chamber. Rotated chamber to access outside screws holding broken baffle. Removed and replaced baffle. Closed top lid, reattached to side. Replaced door. When reattaching top lid, do not tighten H/W just yet. You'll have to maneuver the hooks into place for the door to reattach. Then tighten when in place.

I removed the front of the dryer and the drum support plate. I drilled out the old rivets and installed the Glides with the enclose rivets. The Glides came loose in a few days! The holes in the glides are larger than in the old Glides. I disassembled the dryer again and reassembled with my rivets. This time I held the rivet gun inside the perimeter of the dryer so that the head of the rivet is opposite the initial installation. So far, so good, except the dryer still squeaks. The idler pulley is now the culprit. White grease burned up. I reassembled with high temperature grease. If that does not work, I will need another idler pulley. The journal looks very worn. the dryer is 30+ years old.

Replaced the motor with a new one from partselect per the YouTube video. Had a problem with delivery of the motor. I paid for next day delivery. FedEx picked it up and it made it to the first stop, Indianapolis ok and then stopped. After a week went by I ordered a second one. That one came as promised + 1 day so I’m satisfied. The telephone people were very well spoken and attentive to my discomfort and again I’m satisfied. The motor was at least 25% cheaper than if I bought it from Maytag so the savings is significant, about $50.

There are several parts that will cause the dryer to squeak, drum roller, idler pully and the drum slides. To start, remove the door and the two opposite screws. Pull the front cover down and remove, no screws to remove, this is a snaped on piece. Next, remove the two screws holding the dryer top bracket and lift the top. Take drum support by removing the screws and then remove the belt from the motor and remove the drum. The hardest part was removing the C clips from the roller axle even with the snap ring pliers. Replace the drum rollers and reverse the process to re-assemble. Of course, the rollers weren't the problem even though they were worn out from 20 years of service. I ended up replacing the idler pully and and the idler pully support arm. If I had all of the parts prior to starting, the total time would have been about an hour. I did watch several YouTube videos before attempting the repair. That helped me understand the "how" and made it easy once I started the repair.

This should have been a simple repair, but turned out to be time consuming and moderately difficult. I hope these instructions will help anyone who encounters the problems described here.

After a period of the dryer not being used, the idler pulley wheel froze on the shaft of the idler pulley arm, so I needed to replace both parts. After mounting the new wheel and two washers on the new arm and securing with a retaining ring, I went to install this assembly by going in through the small access panel at the rear of the dryer. I slid the belt off the old idler pulley wheel and unhooked the spring from the idler pulley arm; the arm was mounted on a sleeve fastened to the motor bracket by one screw. All that should have been necessary was to back out that screw and replace the old idler pulley assembly with the new one.

That is where the trouble started. Backing out the screw with a socket driver, I found it would go a few turns, then start to bind. I tried turning it in and out to get the threads to engage, but it kept binding. Eventually I gave the screw a hard turn, and then it would turn freely but not move in or out.

Looking on the internet for advice, I found a video that asserts for another model Maytag dryer using the same type of mounting for the idler arm, that there is a design flaw. You can find the video by searching for “Maytag dryer idler pulley defect”. According to the video, the sheet metal screw used to mount the idler pulley arm can gradually loosen due to the pressure and vibration, and begins to “waggle” which eventually damages the threads. I believe this is what happened to my dryer. The video suggests replacing the sheet metal screw with a machine screw and nut for a more durable union.

So now I understood how the screw could be stripped just sitting in the dryer, but that didn’t help me get the screw out. Working through the rear access panel, I tried pulling on the screw head with several types of pliers, pushing the point from behind with a piece of wood while turning the head with a socket driver; eventually I was able to use a pry bar under the screw head and sleeve to apply pressure while turning the head, and with that method the screw backed out. With the screw removed, it could be seen that the threads in the middle part of the thread length were almost completely worn away.

The screw sleeve got somewhat deformed in this process so I ordered a new one, along with an exact replacement sheet metal screw, hoping the threads in the hole were still intact. With the old idler pulley arm now removed, I could transfer the old idler bracket spacer to the new idler pulley arm. When the ordered parts arrived and I tried to mount the idler pulley arm, the new screw would go in only a couple of turns before binding. Rather than risk winding up in the same situation by forcing the screw, I decided to use a machine screw and nut instead.

The original sheet metal screw was a #10. A machine screw the same size would not fit through the hole, and I could not fit my drill into the dryer cabinet in a position to enlarge the hole, so I used a #8 machine screw with a nut and lock washer. First I put some grease on the contact areas of the screw sleeve and idler bracket spacer, then inserted the machine screw through the hole and put the lock washer and nut on the other side of the mounting. The space around the nut is very limited, and most of my tools were too large to hold the nut while the screw was tightened. It was too small for a socket or adjustable wrench, and the clearance from the exhaust duct was too small for the handles of most tools. Eventually, I found a needle nose pliers with short handles that did the job. A thin open end wrench might also work. Then I reconnected the spring and belt to the idler pulley assembly, and closed the access panel. So far the dryer works, but if the #8 screw turns out to be not strong enough, I could get an extension for my drill and enlarge the hole to fit a #10 machine screw and nut.

Looking back on the job, the most difficult part of this repair was removing the damaged screw. This and several other steps might have been a lot easier if I had removed the motor bracket (where the idler pulley arm is mounted) from the dryer and worked outside the cabinet. Part Select has an excellent video “Replacing the Drive Motor” that shows how to do this. It would be a lot of disassembly work, but for someone with good assembly skills could be easier in the long run.

Hopefully most folks out there who replace the idler pulley arm on a dryer will find an easier situation than I did. But for any who have to deal with a stripped mounting screw, I hope this summary will help you resolve it.