Maytag dryer is moaning?

[cgallery]

My 15-YO Maytag dryer (electric) is moaning like a five dollar hooker.

Any tips for diagnosing the moaning?

I found (via Google) one note from a guy that said he replaced the drum belt and it didn't help his noise.

Is there a way I can open this thing and operate it w/ the top off or something?

[bigstick509]

About a month ago our 11 year old Maytag Neptune electric was buzzing when being started, after a short period of time it stopped working. After a little research and a parts list and cost of the possible causes, it ended up to be more cost effective to call in a professional. I've only had one occasion over the years with dryers that was a DIY, a belt replacement was dead on simply but still a PITA.

[herb fellows]

I've usually found giving her another $5 helps.

Considering the age, and if you can afford a new one, I'd take it apart and give it a go. I'm pretty sure paying to get it fixed wouldn't be cost effective on a 15 year old machine. At that age, no harm no foul if you can't figure it out. It's kinda like keeping a terminal patient on life support.

Considering the cost of a new one, and that this is 15 yrs old (that's about 125 in 'dryer years'), I think your choices are limited to learn to live with the noise or spring for a new one.

[cgallery]

I've usually found giving her another $5 helps.

LOL. Awesome!

[Pappy]

Possibly either the bearing at the back of the drum is bad or the bracket holding thedrum/bracket has loosened over time. In either case,the drum will sag and rub on the frnt around the door or against the rear of the cabinet. If one of these is the problem you should get significant movement when you lift the inside front of the drum.

The only other thing that comes to mind is a bad motor.

If you decide to go in for repair, replace the belt while you are inside.

[Kristofor]

I would agree with Pappy on where to start looking.

The parts kit with the bearing plate, bracket, liner, lube, idler pully, and belt for my dryer was <$25 when it started doing the shrieking thing. The effort involved was less than an hour the first time, and if I needed to do it again I could probably be done in under 15 minutes. Effort rating was maybe a 2 on a 10 point scale and all of that was in figuring out where the case latches were on the dryer.

In the picture below you can see the bearing plate. The knob at the end was originally spherical, and at the neck the red lines indicate the original size of the shaft and the size it was down to when i replaced it. The worn out bracket/liner is sitting on the sheet of paper on the BT next to the pile of metal dust that dumpped out of it. This was after listening to progressively louder noise over the course of 2-3 months.

[Mr__Bill]

You are in a real city, find an old time appliance parts store and ask them for the part to stop the moaning. I expect that they will know exactly what is happening and how to fix it.

And as others have said, if you can afford a new one or one off of Craig's List or Freecycle then take it apart and have some fun exploring. If nothing else you will wind up with a completely useless motor on the shelf of the garage from the thing.



Bill
frugal is a positive spin on cheep.

[tseavoy]

Call Ol Lonely

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._repairman.jpg


Tom

Cat (n) -- a soft furry animal meant to be kicked when things go bad on the domestic front

[Daryl]

When mine got noisy I opened it up and found part of a cardboard detergent carton had slipped by the filter and the fan was hitting it. Just a possible cure for yours.
No, nobody ever fessed up on how the carton part got there.

[frumper64]

Look on the floor underneath and see if there is any whitish "dust" there. Maytag had a really bad design for the snubber which caused it to wear in very short time. I don't think it is TOO hard to replace, but when ours went (after a lot of previous problems with the dryer) we gave up and went back to Whirlpool.

[cgallery]

Well I found some online pics of how to open the unit, and the roller and idler pulley. I think I'm going to crack it open this weekend.

[Ed62]

I had a problem with my washer. Repairclinic.com was a great help to me. It showed exactly how to remove parts to get to the part I needed to replace. It's been a while since I was on the site, but they used to have a place where you could diagnose your problem. As far as I know, they still do. Make sure you have your model number handy if you try the site. I found their parts to be priced competitively, and shipping was quick.

Ed