I have a 10 year old Maytag dryer. It has been very reliable so far. A
month ago, it started making a bad noise when running. I took it apart
completely, vacuumed it completely removing all dust and found that the
plastic impeller had broken at the motor shaft. I replaced it.

Shortly after that, the dryer would run for one cycle, but refused to
restart. Leaving it for 30 minutes or so would 'fix' it. When you
pushed the start button, you heard a buzzer, like the 'end of cycle
buzzer on a washer. (or dryer?)

When cool, the drum turned easily, although when hot it was a bit stiff
(too stiff?).

I took it apart again. I disconnected the belt from the motor and ran
the machine. Everything would start/stop as many times as I wanted. It
ran very cool. When the motor starts, there is a short (1/2 second)
buzzer noise, perhaps the bearings are starting to go? When running it
is very smooth. After running, the motor shaft is cool so I don't think
there is too much friction/heat being produced.

The belt is not in good shape, but functional. The pully turns freely,
and the idler arm moves. I cleaned the nylon bearing on the idler arm
where it slides on the motor mount.

What happens is that when the dryer starts, (cold/first time) the idler
is all the way left (spring with no tension). After running a few
seconds, the idler moves slowly to the right (clockwise) as belt tension
increases.

When the dryer stops, the idler does NOT retract to the lefthand
position. The motor will 'honk' when you press the button to start it.
If you hold the button for a second, then sometimes it will start.
Note that the drum is stiff at this point, but not seized. Overall, the
belt seems too tight. Should I invest in a new one? Everything else
seems ok, (motor, bearings). The drum is slightly loose even when cold,
just a bit sloppy but then it is just supported by 2 rollers and some
felt.

So what do you think? Is it the bearing surface of the drum that is
causing the tightness when hot, or the belt, or the idler?

Some questions:
Is the drum symetrical, or is there a front and back? Mine looked
symetrical.

Does the belt ride in a groove on the drum? I tried that, but it ran
for a second then climbed up onto the drum.

One side of the belt is toothed. Does that side go next to the drum, or
away from the drum, or does it matter?

Does the belt go on the outside of the idler when returning to the drum
on the right hand side, or on the inside bottom of the U? I've tried
both. There were some URLs with pictures posted about 6 years ago, but
they are gone. Anyone have a pic of the idler/belt arrangement?

All help appreciated!

Rob

PS please hurry, my 16 year old son just came down in a panic because he
has no underwear for school tomorrow, and that's my fault of course.
He REALLY needs to do laundry.

Rob Mitchell wrote:
I have a 10 year old Maytag dryer. It has been very reliable so far. A
month ago, it started making a bad noise when running. I took it apart
completely, vacuumed it completely removing all dust and found that the
plastic impeller had broken at the motor shaft. I replaced it.

Shortly after that, the dryer would run for one cycle, but refused to
restart. Leaving it for 30 minutes or so would 'fix' it. When you
pushed the start button, you heard a buzzer, like the 'end of cycle
buzzer on a washer. (or dryer?)

When cool, the drum turned easily, although when hot it was a bit stiff
(too stiff?).

I took it apart again. I disconnected the belt from the motor and ran
the machine. Everything would start/stop as many times as I wanted. It
ran very cool. When the motor starts, there is a short (1/2 second)
buzzer noise, perhaps the bearings are starting to go? When running it
is very smooth. After running, the motor shaft is cool so I don't think
there is too much friction/heat being produced.

The belt is not in good shape, but functional. The pully turns freely,
and the idler arm moves. I cleaned the nylon bearing on the idler arm
where it slides on the motor mount.

What happens is that when the dryer starts, (cold/first time) the idler
is all the way left (spring with no tension). After running a few
seconds, the idler moves slowly to the right (clockwise) as belt tension
increases.

When the dryer stops, the idler does NOT retract to the lefthand
position. The motor will 'honk' when you press the button to start it.
If you hold the button for a second, then sometimes it will start.
Note that the drum is stiff at this point, but not seized. Overall, the
belt seems too tight. Should I invest in a new one? Everything else
seems ok, (motor, bearings). The drum is slightly loose even when cold,
just a bit sloppy but then it is just supported by 2 rollers and some
felt.

So what do you think? Is it the bearing surface of the drum that is
causing the tightness when hot, or the belt, or the idler?

Some questions:
Is the drum symetrical, or is there a front and back? Mine looked
symetrical.

Does the belt ride in a groove on the drum? I tried that, but it ran
for a second then climbed up onto the drum.

One side of the belt is toothed. Does that side go next to the drum, or
away from the drum, or does it matter?

Does the belt go on the outside of the idler when returning to the drum
on the right hand side, or on the inside bottom of the U? I've tried
both. There were some URLs with pictures posted about 6 years ago, but
they are gone. Anyone have a pic of the idler/belt arrangement?

All help appreciated!

Rob

PS please hurry, my 16 year old son just came down in a panic because he
has no underwear for school tomorrow, and that's my fault of course.
He REALLY needs to do laundry.

Hi,

Sounds like ( no pun intended ) the motor is going sour.....
http://www.applianceaid.com/may_motor_dryer.html
http://www.applianceaid.com/drymotor_bad.html

Does the belt ride in a groove on the drum?

Nope.

One side of the belt is toothed. Does that side go next to the drum, or
away from the drum, or does it matter?

Model# not posted, but most 10 year old Maytag dryers will have the
flat side of the belt towards the drum.

Anyone have a pic of the idler/belt arrangement?

http://www.applianceaid.com/images/maymsbeltchange.JPG
http://www.applianceaid.com/images/ldrm-belt-idler.jpg

jeff.
Appliance Repair Aid
http://www.applianceaid.com/

Appliance Repair Aid wrote:


Hi,

Sounds like ( no pun intended ) the motor is going sour.....
http://www.applianceaid.com/may_motor_dryer.html
http://www.applianceaid.com/drymotor_bad.html


Maybe you are right. The dryer runs if I manually spin the drum.
However, it really seems like there is just too much friction when it is
hot because of the behaviour of the idler. As I said, when the dryer is
cool, or I uninstall/install the belt, the dryer starts with no problem
(ok, a very minor squawk).