Maytag Dryer DG312 Repair on 2008-05-11

Complaint Symptom

Cause of trouble

History

Kudos

The Repair

• 2 glide sets
• 2 rollers
• tub belt

• Adjustable 6 inch wrench (to undo gas connection)
• #2 Philips screw driver (to undo 2 front panel screws)
• Small hex socket drive
• Electric hand drill with 1/4 inch or larger bit (to remove the 4 old rivets)
• Pair of common pliers
• Rivet gun, $13 from most auto parts stores, to do 4 rivets
• Snap ring pliers, $10 from a hardware store, to remove and restore two snaps rings on the rollers
• Vacuum cleaner with a crevice tool

1. Disconnect the electric cord
2. Turn the gas off to the dryer
3. Disconnect the gas line from the dryer
4. Drag it into the open and tip the dryer backward and prop it up far enough so a screw driver can get at the two screws located at an angle at the bottom front
5. Start your collection of screws in a specific place and take those 2 out.
6. Remove the prop and lower the dryer back to vertical.
7. That allows you to pull the bottom of the front panel out and up until the two clips just under the top pop loose.
8. Disconnect the 2 wires at the switch near the inside top. They are easy to put back on correctly later. Move the frame well away so you don't knock it over
9. See the 1st picture where I circled in red the 4 hex head sheet metal screws. Undo those 4 (adding them to your collector), pull the toward you. The tub may move some but should stay put as you see. You can leave the wires attached. I can comfortably be stored to the left of the dryer. But first,
10. See picture 2. There are two glides. The lower one takes the brunt of the weight on the tub (and its wet clothes). You can see that the metal is bright. Its been rubbing against the tub. There was no glide left! The other glide on the right was still recognizable.
11. See those 4 hex screws at the corners of the lint trap? You have to remove them (and into the collector) so that lint tube will move out of the way to get at the rivets with a drill.
12. I used a 1/4 inch bit in my electric drill to remove the heads of the old rivets. Drill from the outside, then use a pair of common pliers to prise them out from the inside; bare down and wiggle them out.
13. Picture 3 shows what was left of the old glides after I got them out. The new glides each mount in identical fashion. The notch in the parts to toward the inside. The cork part goes on first. Some people put glue between the cork and the glide base, but it is a curved surface. I see no need for the glue. The cork edges are tabs which get coaxed through the slots. Then do the same with the blue Teflon. (I guess its Teflon.) It looks all bowed and unlikely.
14. Having chosen the proper nose for the rivet gun, push the nail into the nose. Easing the cork tab out of the way, force the blunt part of the rivet through the blue tab hole, so you can see it on the inside. Squeeze the gun (more than once, maybe) until the nail end snaps off.
15. Put the 4 screws back into lint corners.

1. The tub has to come out, but is held in by the belt encircling it and the effect of gravity pulling it down. Reach behind the tub and note where the belt rides on the tub. Got it? Now push the belt toward the back, off of the tub.
2. Then reach into the tub, push up, to take pressure off the various places where it is resting. The dryer opening has a widened area to allow the tub to come out.
3. Note that the tube is fore-aft symmetrical. You are advised to turn it around when you put it back in to even out the wear on the tub edge.
4. I suggest that you either take a photo or make a drawing of the way the belt intertwines the pulleys and tub for later.
5. Next do the most time consuming task. Clean the interior with a vacuum cleaner. I found the crevice tool to be the most effective. Suck up the metal dust that no doubt has settled in to the open core blower motor. Don't bang the tool into the windings, just suck up the powder. If you have access to something that will blow air strongly, use that after doing the vacuum job. Then repeat the vacuuming. (Don't bother with what got stuck in various grease spots, it will stay there quite nicely.)
6. Don't overlook vacuuming the blades of the blower fan.
7. Now, on to replacement of the rollers. Use a snap ring pliers to take off a roller and its two washers. If only one of the washers is metal, note whether it is on the front to back. Remove the other roller also. All of it is trash.
8. My replacement rollers each came with two fiber washers instead of one fiber, one metal. If you have a metal one, put it back on the way the old one came off.

1. Push the reversed tub back into the dryer. You will have to reach inside and push the pesky belt up out of the way as the tub settles into the felt at the back and rests on the newly replaced rollers.
2. I managed to reach around the left side and nudge the belt up onto the tub. Use your shoulder to support the tub at the dryer entrance while turning the blower fan to help get the belt going.
3. The deep groove in the tub is not the ultimate place the belt will ride. Just a little gentle pulling while you rotate the tube will get into the right place.
4. I found that a can of spray paint is just the right height to stick under the tube to hold the front side up while you work the front frame back on to the tub.
5. Put the 4 frame screws back in. I had to use a shoulder and a knee to get the frame to align up for the 4 frame screws.
6. Turn the tub via the turning the blower fan by hand. It should be smooth in its turning.
7. Reattach the two wires to the front door switch
8. Put the front panel back on by having it nearly 90 degrees and shoved against upper lip. Swing the bottom edge of the front panel down and the two springs should pop into place.
9. Tip the dryer backward. Replace the two Philips screws.
10. Reattach the gas connector.
11. Restore the gas to that line and use your favorite method to stop any gas from escaping.
12. Plug the AC back in.
13. Start off with the "Air Fluff" setting so the gas parts don't start up.
14. If no problems there, then try one of the drying settings
15. Still running smooth? Then put some weight into the tub and repeat.
16. Still no trouble? Then I'd say you are done.

Closing Comments

I found AppliancePartsPros.com via Google. The site has a wonderful forum. I went to see about buying the parts but they said that the manufacturer no longer made the glides.

On my way to work I dropped by "First Source Parts Center" and they had all the parts in stock! Cost was about $120 all right.

I went past an auto parts store, Auto Zone, and bought a rivet gun for $13. That evening I undid the dryer electric cord and the gas line and pulled out the dryer into the middle of the room.

Saturday I did the repair in about 2 hours, but clock time was longer due to lunch, and demanding animals, the phone, and the front door.

Though I read the forums carefully and didn't make any of the mistakes list there, I did make one of my own. I shot the first rivet from the inside out, instead of outside in, and had to drill out a total of *5* rivets!

I figure my time at $23/hour, so I fixed the thing for $120 + $13 + $23/4(to get the parts) + $46 labor = $185 or a savings of about $105... not counting my $23/hour rate to deal with the appliance repair guy/company.

Last modified: 2008-05-13 23:23