Appliance Repair Wisdom for the Ages

Monday, March 22, 2004

At some point during the life of your dryer, you're gonna need to open it up to do some surgery. Here are basic disassembly procedures for the most common dryer brands and models. And, Hoss, a genuine manufacturer's repair manual can be a valuable accomplice in your dryer repair odyssey. Come git you some.

• Admiral, Norge, some White Westinghouse, Montgomery Wards
  First, pop the hood on that sucker. Here's whatcha see on the inside looking in from the top and here's looking at the guts of the dryer with the drum removed.



• Amana-Speed Queen
  First, remove the two screws at the bottom of the front panel. After you've removed the front panel, you'll see four screws that hold on the front drum glide bulkhead. Remove the bulkhead and set it aside--be careful about the door switch wires. To remove the drum, first unstring the belt from the tensioner pulley.



• GE/Hotpoint
  
  • Old Style: First, remove the several screws holding the top down and then the bottom two screws Then remove the drum center bearing clip, unstring the belt, and remove the drum.
  • New Style: Remove the top panel retaining screws, pop the top, and then remove the inner front panel screws. Unstring the belt and remove the drum. Here's what it looks like with the drum removed. There are two variations on this dryer that affect how you restring the belt. Variation 1 has a rear access panel through which you can restring the belt. Variation 2, however, does not have this rear access panel. (Thank you, GE ) To restring the belt on this sorry excuse for a dryer, remove the phillips screw inside the rear exit opening of the blower duct and remove the duct. Then restring the belt from the front.



• Sears Kenmore, Whirlpool, Roper, Kitchen Aid, Estate
  
  • Lint Filter on Top: Remove the two screws at the lint filter and pop the top up. Here's what it looks like under the hood. Remove those two screws inside the top of the front panel. Now, go ahead and unstring the belt to remove the drum. With the drum removed, you can see the drum rollers. If you need to remove the motor, this'll hepya. If you remove the back panel, this is what you'll see. This shows how to remove the blower chute. Here's a closeup of the components around the blower and lint chute.
  • Lint Filter in the Door: Remove the front kick panel to reveal the bottom retaining screws for the door panel. Now remove the top panel to reveal the top retaining screws for the door panel. Disconnect the wiring harness for the door switch and remove the door panel. Now unstring the belt and remove the drum. Here's what the guts look like with the drum removed. Here's a closeup of the heating element and associated components.



• Maytag
  Disassembly is very similar to the Amana-Speed Queen dryer. Remove the two screws at the bottom of the front panel. Remove front panel, and then remove the drum support bulkhead. The front glide set for the drum is shown here. With the bulkhead out, you can access the blower housing. Remove the belt before pulling out the drum. Here's another shot of how the belt is routed. If you need detailed instructions on replacing the belt, this will help. With the drum removed, you can access the rear drum rollers.



• Frigidaire and White-Westinghouse
  Pop the top, remove the front panel screws, unstring the belt, and pull out the drum.

2 Comments:

Hi Samurai Repair Man

Love your website. Also, truly appreciate your help in tracking down the noise at start-up and shut-down with our Maytag dryer (due to a faulty blower fan). However, I am having difficulty opening the unit. I have a Maytag Performa gas dryer (model # PYG2000AWW) and cannot find the front panel screws. I have found 2 clasps on the bottom which allows me to open up the front panel part-way by lifting up from the bottom. But this doesn't seem to be correct as it bends at the top.
Thank you!
Best regards from a california dad

By  waveman, at February 26, 2005 6:40 PM  

I too have the same dryer - a Maytag Peforma PYG2000AWW - I opened the unit by popping the top - see Samurai's tip on opening Admiral, Norge, some White Westinghouse, Montgomery Wards.
-Mr.Ed

By  Anonymous, at March 13, 2005 1:11 AM  

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