Clothes Dryer Repair - Help!

[DouroBob]

I have a 20 year old Speed Queen clothes dryer and the motor has seized. Blower and drum seem OK but while I am having the motor looked at to see if it can be rebuilt or needs to be replaced I thought I might as well replace the old belts -they look cracked and worn.
My challenge is how to remove the old drum belt without cutting it - so I can put on a new one in reverse order. I have the front, top and sides off the dryer. The drum is contained in a frame. I can get the belt to the front of the drum but can't get it past the two lower rollers.
Is there some trick here or do I really have to take the whole drum assembly apart to get the belt on (or off)?

Any help appreciated

Bob

[hazmat]

Bob,

wow 20 years, it doesn't owe you anything!

When we 4 kids (two sets of twins [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] ) were living at home, my mom went thru washers and dryers like they were going out of style. The repairman once told her that she was doing too much laundry!

[TimSullivan]

I have not replaced one in a while but you should be able to lift the drum off the rollers just enough to slide the belt free. If not some units need to have the bearing housing in the rear freed then the belt just slides off the back of the drum.

I had an old drier for over twenty years too and had it in pieces many times.

[RichZ]

Bob, our dryer died a few months ago, and we found that dryers have come down so much in price, it wasn't even worth attempting to fix it. We just bought a real basic model, we don't have a need for more than that. At 20 years old, anything could fail. The heating element could be next.

[beenthere]

Hmmm? We are on our second dryer (Maytag) and bought the first one in 1964. Recently had our first repair on the second one (replaced the fan ($39) as it came loose from the 'axle' I believe). I agree with you that they are hard to figure out. I tried some but then turned it over to the lonesome Maytag man.

We put 4 kids through the first dryer (with no problems other than one door seal) and when they left home, upgraded to a new one (had to match the new style of the new washer). So the first one lasted 22 years, and now someone probably will be thinking of upgrading to a new one again (except it runs fine and it won't be me thinking about it first).

[Chuck52]

Bob,

Try

thisoldappliance.com

Chuck

[Carl]

Maytag too in our house - replaced the belt 2X since 85 so about 17yrs old and still going.. I remove the face / front plate then the drum pulls out. The proper way is to take off the back of the dryer and replace the belt as it's a bear to get the belt on the pulleys right from the front side.

Most dryers this is the case - remove the back side.

On a related note, on our Maytag washer same vintage, we lost a belt, so I went to the local auto parts store and got the right size installed it - didn't work. Motor overload kept tripping. Well, finally called the applicance store and they sell specific belts for washers and Maytags - they slip on purpose at startup to prevent the motor from overloading. Lesson learned!! Use OEM parts on Maytags

[DouroBob]

Thanks for the valuable comments. I found out the motor is epoxied together and considered a throw away item [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] - replacement cost is around $150 Cdn. While I have it apart I am thinking about the "might as well" stuff like belts and rollers - another $60 to $80 Cdn. Then there is the "what might go wrong next on a 20 year old appliance" and the options range from (A) nothing [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] for a few years to (B) everything else [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] . My wife operates a B&B at our farm - only two luxury suites but lots of laundry. I think she wants to check out the prices for new units just for the dependability factor.

Bob

[wiltat2]

Save the drum for a fire barrel.
A friend has one and it works great to stand around shooting the breeze on a chilly evening. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] Add some feet to get it off the ground and you can take it most any where to use.