Do-It-Yourself Story

The belt on our 20 plus year old Maytag Dependablr Care electric dryer finally gave up the ghost. Disassembly was fairly straight forward, Phillips screw driver and some nut drivers. Upon inspection, the drum support rollers and their axles had seen better days and no longer spun very freely. You will need snap ring pliers to get them off. The drum roller axles have a 9/16 hex nut behind them. Unless you have a very low profile ratchet, use an open/box wrench. Space is tight so break the nut and then spin the axle out by hand. Look for areas of discoloration on the axle, a not so obvious sign of wear. Replace the roller and the axle as the metal on the roller itself has a wear pattern, as does the axle. Use the access panel on the back of the dryer to route the belt on the tensioner and motor pulley. Google search for an image. Once it's on, spin the drum by hand and work the belt from the installation groove in the drum onto the belt wear mark. Only after you do that will the belt look right when you look at the tensioner and motor pulley.