Do-It-Yourself Story

Buy only an EOM Whirlpool belt (also fits this Maytag model) At your electrical service panel, move your dryer’s breaker(s) to their off position(s). Unplug the dryer. This project was quite easy once I figured out the best way to install the new belt. Two phillips head screws at the bottom of the front panel are all that need to be removed to remove the front panel and door. Lift from the bottom out about 45 degrees and the front will come off. Unplug the one wire that will be hindering you from moving the door. Then, move the door over to the left side of the machine. You might need to reposition some wires slightly that run along the left side of the machine, but this is easy. Loop the belt (with the smooth side against the drum) over the rear of the drum (about 1 inch from the edge). DO NOT try to secure the belt to the motor pulley when the drum is sitting on the rear rollers. Now, you can thread the belt around the motor pulley and idler pulley. The inside of the belt (black rubber side with ribs) must seat in the motor pulley, the outside of the belt (non-ribbed fabric side) must touch the surface of the idler pulley as well as the surface of the dryer drum itself. With your arms extended through the drum, pull the nylon idler pulley spring far over to the left with your left hand while looping the belt around the idler pulley with your right, then loop the belt around the motor pulley. Remember, the smooth side of the belt must be against the surface of the idler pulley. (The belt extends from the left side of the idler pulley up through the metal slot piece and then up all the way to the left side of the drum.) Once the belt is looped around the bottom of the idler pulley and extended through the metal slot piece, you must push the idler pulley far enough over to the left to be able to create a loop above the idler pulley that will loop around the motor pulley. Once the belt is looped around the pulleys correctly, very carefully move the drum back toward and onto the two rollers. When doing this, gradually move the belt on the top of the drum toward you so that it is eventually positioned where it should be during dryer operation. You know where it should be because of the black belt mark the old belt made on the drum. Once the drum is positioned correctly, turn the drum slowly clockwise to make sure the belt is still on and is turning the motor pulley. Also, be careful to make sure the felt strips the drum seats against do not become crimped or pushed out of position during this process. The same goes for when you put the shroud on up against the front of the drum. Reattach the front shroud with the 5/16 head machine screws. Reattach the electrical wire you had disconnected previously. Install the front panel. Plug in the dryer, reset the breakers and test the machine. The machine runs perfectly now. This project was more difficult than I thought it would be because I had preconceived ideas about how to thread the belt (which were wrong). It took me about an hour and a half, but I could change the belt now in less than 30 minutes. There are some photos on the internet that helped me understand how the belt must be routed. Everything about AppliancePartsPros was great. I will definitely order from this company again.