MAYTAG dryer question Help, what should I do?

[abcomatic]

HELP everyone, I bought a new Maytag electric dryer in 1980. I have never had a service call on this and it is my everyday driver. I used it yesterday and this awful sound came forth,sort of like a grinding, thumping sound? I have never heard this before. What do you think this is and what should I do? I don't want to get rid of the dryer. Thanks for you all of your help. Gary

 

[vintagekitchen]

Check the fan. I had one of the old clear plastic knob center dial maytags, given to me by a friend for that exact reason. The center of the squirrel cage type fan had become worn enough to let it wobble, and had then cracked due to the wobbling I suppose, the loose causing the thumping, and the shaft spinning against the plastic fan was causing the squealing. A new fan solved the problem. Could also be a bearing though I guess, But I would check the fan first, as it is easier to access.

 

[cfz2882]

possibly blower

the blower wheels on this era of maytag dryer are plastic and secured to the shaft
with a spring clip that slips over a thin plastic cylindrical part of the blower's
hub-this section is known to crack and let the blower wheel flop around...
My '77 DE306 had this problem-i didn't have a spare blower wheel handy,so i cut the
belt groove off a die cast pulley,cut the center of the blower out to match the
pulley hub and bolted the pulley hub and blower together making sure the parts
were concentric and turned true so it it wouldn't vibrate.

 

[abcomatic]

Repair

The repairmen is coming tomorrow to check out to see what is wrong with my dryer. Thanks for the 2 posts that I received back. Gary

 

[goatfarmer]

Grinding sounds like the support pads.

 

[abcomatic]

I have the dryer fixed

HI eveyone, I appreciate the 3 comments that I received about my dryer! Bingo, it was the the fan/blower. He replaced it with a new one and while I was at it, I had him replace the awful plastic vent tubing with new solid, galvenized pipe. Wow, what a difference all of this has made in drying time. I washed 5 loads in my Maytag Commander from 1954,rinsed them and in the dryer they went. I was finished with the laundry in a flash.
My message here is: Don't throw out your quality washers and dryers for new, just because the harvest gold is dated or you want a new one. Quality came from Newton, Iowa, made in the USA! Gary

 

[whirlcool]

You were sooo lucky that when the guy saw your dryer he didn't just tell you to go out and buy a new one.

You are correct in saying hold on to what you have. There is nothing on the market that is built as good as what you already have. Dryers are usually very cheap to fix too. I've seen people send dryers to the dump just because a belt broke!

 

[abcomatic]

whirlcool

HI there, I have known the dealer for years and when I called I said."I am not going to buy a new dryer so you will have to fix this one." He knows that I collect old appliances so no problem. He really liked my 1934 Detroit Jewel gas stove and liked the Easy spindrier too.