Maytag DE406 questions

[moparman]

So I saved my first HOH dryer today, right off a scrapper's truck. He wasn't sure what was wrong with it, besides a missing power cord. I've disassembled the machine and thoroughly cleaned it. I'm going to have to replace both belts, both thermostats, heating element and felt seal on the front. My question is, what is the proper lubricant for the drum shaft and bushings?

 

[qsd-dan]

Zoom Spout turbine oil for the drum bearings, blower bearings, lower reduction pulley bearing, and motor bearings. Heavy grease on the<strong style="font-size: medium;"> sliding shaft of the idler pulley.</strong>

 

 

 

[moparman]

Thank you very much Dan, it's definitely appreciated. This dryer is almost like the one I grew up with. I'm kinda bummed out it doesn't have the light behind the lint filter

 

[qsd-dan]

Only the 806 and 906 dryers for the 1966-1975 06 series run had the drum light. It's nice but not really necessary with the smaller drum HOH models.

 

[moparman]

I was talking to mom, she remembers her 806 set, bought them from Uncle Sam's parents for $200 around 1990. It was just neat it had that light

 

[qsd-dan]

Here's a post from 2010 with scans for an 806 dryer. The running gear is the same as your 406 with the exception of the lighted console, timer, drum light, door switch, and electronic control components.

 

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?27304

 

[combo52]

Restoring a MT DE406 Dryer

Hi John, Congratulations on getting this fun dryer.

 

In restoring this dryer for use I would only replace the parts that are needed, heating elements in HOH dryers almost never fail unless something shorts them out for example, likewise with thermostats etc.

 

I would take it apart and see what it needs as you might be surprised, it might even have great belts and front felt seal. If you are just going to try replacing all parts that can fail you should replace the timer and motor as both of these items fail far more often on these dryers than thermostats.

 

It does look like from your pictures that the door switch is missing.

 

Keep us posted and let us know if you need parts we still have a lot of parts for these dryers that we seldom need any longer.

 

John L.

 

[moparman]

Thanks John, the front felt was laying in pieces in the bottom of the dryer with an inch of lint and crud. My 5 year old dug out 2 St Christopher medals from it lol. They were scrapping it because it didn't work, the guys weren't sure what exactly sure what was wrong with it. The main belt is toast, as seen in the pictures, the hi limit thermostat is bubbled and the end of the wire doesn't look good. Other than the element looking old, I'm not sure if it works, they removed the power cord. I've got a little body work to do, replacing a vent knock out and some paint work. But over all, it looks nice. I should've taken before pictures, but I dived right into it.

 

[moparman]

I almost forgot, I saved an A9200 washer too. They buggered the front panel, it was loaded for the scrap yard when I saw them. Otherwise, it just needs cleaned. She can't wait to try that HOH, and said save the washer for my mom. Mom has a Kitchaid washer.

 

[moparman]

Here's the drive belts. I'm guessing the number after the part number is the year the belt was made. One is 76, the other is 85. I think these are why they got scrapped.

 

[moparman]

So I've got some white acrylic enamel, I'm going to repaint the front panel. Does anybody know if the rivets are anything special or just a standard rivet? I don't want to risk nicking the data plate and I don't want to mask it or the latch plate. Besides a small nat or two in the paint, the door turned out great

 

[combo52]

I don't think the rivets are anything special and I agree that I would remove the model tag when repainting.

 

Sometimes when I have done this I have just glued the tag in place after painting.

 

On older WP appliances you can pop the rivets out and reuse them.

 

John 

 

[moparman]

Thanks combo52, I'll go through the rivet collection. Next question, and I know I'm a pain, what adhesive does everyone use for the felt? I saw Y055980, but I'm not sure how far a 2oz tube would go.

 

[combo52]

Glue For Dryer Seals Etc

We use High-Temperature glue from WP, FD etc, you can probably find something at the auto parts store or at an appliance parts place that will work well.

 

John 

 

[moparman]

So, I've got both belts replaced, new felt on the front of the drum and a new hi limit thermostat installed. I saw that you can test run the machine on 110v. How does that work and can anyone suggest advice on it. I've still got to repaint the cabinet, but too many irons in the fire

 

[lowefficiency]

There's some good info on the conversion in this thread:
https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?42684

You might be surprised how well it works. I ran my DE806 on 120V for a year and a half or so - I initially only wired it up like that so I could test it out in the garage, but it worked so well that I just kept it that way! We only ended up changing it back to 240V after we rewired our basement.

 

[moparman]

Thank you very much, LowEfficiency. I just want to test it, but I have played with the idea of having it 115v to mess with my electrician friend. I'm waiting for him to upgrade my service panel, getting the Square D QO panel for more 230v circuits. With the price of natural gas going up, we're considering going all electric appliances.

 

[combo52]

Gas Vs Electric Dryers

It will always be less expensive to run a dryer on natural gas compared to running a conventional dryer with electricity, usually 1/2 or more.

 

John L.

 

[moparman]

Very true combo, but with natural gas prices going up, I'd like to use electricity for a dryer. The added benefit is if something were to happen, you can still do laundry with a generator. I still have to oil the bushings and repaint the cabinet. I also need to procure the elbow that attaches to the blower assembly. Is it a standard elbow, or something special?