The screws holding my tumbler on my dryer have broken. Can this be repaired?

To replace this "paddle" (It's callde a baffle), you'll need to access the outside of the tumbler (drum), by lifting the top.

Begin by removing the door. Remove the two hinge screws. You will then be able to rock the door and hinge out of the slot in the front panel. Next, remove the cover plates just opposite the hinges.

Now you can pull the front panel off the retaining clips and rock it downward, away from the rest of the cabinet. Once it clears the top, you can lift it off the bottom hooks. Just set it aside.

You will now see two screws (hex-head, 5/16 inch), just under the corners of the dryer top. Remove them and rotate the brackets that hook into the top. Removing the brackets will allow you to now swing the top upwards to expose the tumbler.

Just turn the tumbler until you can see the screw holes for the babble holding screws. You may get lucky and find the three baffle screws in the bottom of the cabinet. Re-install, check the others, and re-assemble the dryer in reverse order, and you're done!

Unplug your dryer from the electrical outlet. Remove the lint trap by lifting its cover and sliding it out. Use a screwdriver to unscrew the two screws that hold in the housing of the lint trap.Lift up the top panel of the dryer and take off the holder for the door switch wire. Look for the screws that hold in the front panel of the dryer, located on top of the front panel, and unscrew them. Take the panel off the dryer by lifting it off.Look inside the dryer, find the broken dryer belt, and before taking it off, note the way it is routed around the pulleys, then take it off. Install a new Whirlpool dryer belt by slipping it around the tumbler with the grooves facing the surface of the tumbler. Ask an assistant to hold up the tumbler while you move the belt into the proper place, aligned with the black line around the width of the tumbler.Wrap the new dryer belt around the pulleys as noted in Step 3. If you don't remember how, or the old belt was snapped and not aligned properly, look at the dryer belt diagram in your user's manual.Align the front panel of the dryer with the tumbler. Put back in the two screws that hold the panel in place. Open the door of your dryer and with your hand, turn the spinner one time counterclockwise. Reconnect the holder for the door switch wire, being careful that it doesn't touch any moving parts.Use the screwdriver to carefully position the rubber seal along the back of the tumbler. Make sure the seal is on the outside of the tumbler and that none of it sticks to the inside of the tumbler.Slide the lint filter and housing back into place, and screw in the two screws that hold it in. Plug the cord of the dryer back into the electrical outlet and check that it spins properly.

Disconnect power to the dryer then open the door and remove the center screw of each hinge secured to the inner flange of the front panel in the door opening. Grasp the door with both hands and lift the door in the hinge area then draw the door assembly away from the dryer to disengage the hinges from the slots in the front shroud.


Remove the four screws located vertically along the inside lip of the door opening. These screws hold the front panel to the front shroud assembly.


Once the four screws are removed, grasp and press in on the upper edges of the front panel posts then twist it inward to release the clips holding it to the cabinet. Tilt the top of the front panel and move it away from the dryer.


The top cover is held on each side of the cabinet by two hold down brackets. Locate and remove the 5/16" hex-head screws holding each bracket then swing the bracket to the outside and unhook it from the slot in the top cover lip.



Disconnect the wires from the door switch, sensor bar, and the lamp holder then unsnap the lamp holder wire harness from the front shroud wire retaining clip.

Remove the four perimeter screws holding the shroud and tumbler front assembly to the cabinet. Remove the lowest outside screw at each corner then the top screw on each side.


Pull the shroud and tumbler front assembly out and away from the tumbler while slightly lifting the top cover.

Kneel near the front of the dryer and reach your left hand inside the dryer at 8 o'clock position and your right hand under the tumbler as close as possible to the blower then grasp the idler puller with your left hand and pull the idler upward and to the left.


Slip the belt off the motor pulley and the back of the tumbler then pull the tumbler out of the cabinet while lifting the top cover.

Place the belt onto the outside of the tumbler and position it 1 1/2 inches in front of the rear baffle mounting screws with the ribbed side facing the tumbler.


Position the tumbler into the rear felt seal and resting it onto the rear rollers then lower the front of the tumbler onto the blower housing.

Kneel near the front of the dryer and reach your left hand inside the dryer at 8 o'clock position and your right hand under the tumbler as close as possible to the blower then locate the belt and create a small loop with your right hand, ensuring the belt is free of twist.

Position the open end of the loop onto the motor pulley with your right hand. Grasp the idler pulley with your left hand then pull the idler upward and to the left to clear the drive belt.

Relax your left hand and allow the idler pulley to rest down onto the belt. Grasp the baffles with both hands and rotate the tumbler clockwise for the belt to align itself.

Reinstall the shroud and tumbler front assembly in reverse of the removal steps. Lift the front inner edge of the tumbler to allow the front of the tumbler to rest on the teflon bearings on the shroud and tumbler front assembly. Check the felt seal to ensure that it is outside the lip of the tumbler.

Secure the top cover with the hold down brackets then push the front panel posts against the clips in the cabinet until it engage.

Insert the door hinge tabs into the slots in the front shroud and secure the hinges with the screws removed previously to complete the procedure.

gotta open it. usually screws are inside dryer. 3 screw hold it. make sure u unplug unit b4 putting hand inside

Pull the dryer away from the wall, there is no bottom on the dryer, so the screws should be on the floor.
You can then pop the lid up from the front and fold it back. When you do, you will see the drum. Roll the drum around until you see the holes and reattach the tumblers.
You can also access the drum from below. Tip the dryer on its back and you can see the drum from the bottom.
Good luck.
Regards,

most maytag dryers have push type clips that hold the top to the front. look between the top and front with a light and find them about 3-4 inches from the outer edges. once you get the top up then there will be screws that hold the drum baffles to the drum. just put a new screw in them and all will be ok. no need to replace them, just use new screws.

Hello, This is somewhat involved and time consuming, but if you are handy, it can be done. First unplug the dryer then start with the two screws in the hinges of the door and then the door lifts out. Two screws on the opposite side holding plastic spacers. Once these four screws are out the front panel tilts right out. The front panel will come off then 4 more holding on the front tumbler support and air duct. Removed wires from light and dryness sensor and clips holding wires to panels. Pull out the tumbler and removed belt. If your dryer gets a lot of use, then you might want to keep going and replace some more wear items while you have it apart. Remove the two drum support rollers and shafts by removing a nut on the back side of each shaft. Remove snap ring off each old shaft, install new rollers and fiber washers onto new shafts, reinstall snap ring and replaced on brackets with the old nut. Remove tension spring off idler pulley bracket and one screw holding on the bracket. Install new pulley and fiber washers on new bracket and reinstall bracket and spring. Placed new belt on tumbler and reinstalled tumbler. Used drill and bit to drill out pop rivits holding on the two front glides that are attached on the front tumbler support and installed new glides and pop riveted in. Reinstall front support and air duct checking that felt tumbler seal front and rear are in place. Placed new belt on motor pulley and idler pulley. Reinstall front panel.

While I don't know about your specific dryer, most dryers are set up the same. I just replaced the belt on my Maytag LDE8404ACE. It was easy. The hard part was cleaning out 14 years worth of lint and fuzz that coated everything inside. Here's the instructions:

1. Unplug the dryer or disconnect power.
2. Remove the front panel. There are two screws, each is about 4 inches up from the bottom of the front panel. Unscrew them. Then hold the front panel along the bottom edge and pull it away from the dryer. Once it's away enough, the clamps along the top will pop and disengage from the dryer. Be sure to note the wires connected to the door switch are connected to the dryer. Disconnect them if you need to move the panel away from the dryer.
3. With the front panel off, you should be able to reach inside the dryer to remove the old, broken belt.
4. Remove the tumbler from the dryer. It's held in place by the tumbler front which is secured by 4 screws, 2 on each side. That piece will pull straight out toward you. With the tumbler front out of the way, the tumbler itself will come straight out as well. I recommend taking it out and cleaning the inside of your dryer while it's open. A vacuum hose works great. Also, check the pulley and the back two wheels that the tumbler rests on to make sure they turn easily. If not, you may want to grease them. Also, it's normal for the idler pulley to appear to be loose and wiggle in place. Once a new belt is installed, it's under tension from the spring so any play that exists shouldn't be a problem.
5. put the new belt around the tumbler with the smooth side of the belt against the tumbler. Use the old belt marks on the tumbler to align the new belt. It's easier to hook the belt to the idler pulley and motor pulley from the back. So we'll get to that part in a minute. Just let the belt hang loose for now.
6. Reinstall the tumbler front and secure with the 4 screws you removed earlier.
7. Reconnect the wires to the door switch, if you removed them earlier.
8. Reinstall the front panel, reversing the steps you took to remove it in #2 above.
9. Go to the back of the dryer and remove the access panel along the bottom right hand side.
10. From there, reach in pull the dryer belt around the idler pulley. Then take the belt on the left side of the pulley and move both the belt and the idler pulley to the right, until you can get the grooved side of the belt onto the motor pulley. I've attached a diagram with instructions.
11. Once connected, manually turn the tumbler so that the belt will align and make sure the tumbler turns as easily as it did when you first removed it.
12. If the belt looks good and you've manually turned the tumbler at least one full revolution (to ensure the belt didn't get twisted), then plug the dryer in and turn it on to make sure it works correctly. If so, then re-attach the access panel on the back of the dryer. You're done!

While I don't know about your specific dryer, most dryers are set up the same. I just replaced the belt on my Maytag LDE8404ACE. It was easy. The hard part was cleaning out 14 years worth of lint and fuzz that coated everything inside. Here's the instructions:

1. Unplug the dryer or disconnect power.
2. Remove the front panel. There are two screws, each is about 4 inches up from the bottom of the front panel. Unscrew them. Then hold the front panel along the bottom edge and pull it away from the dryer. Once it's away enough, the clamps along the top will pop and disengage from the dryer. Be sure to note the wires connected to the door switch are connected to the dryer. Disconnect them if you need to move the panel away from the dryer.
3. With the front panel off, you should be able to reach inside the dryer to remove the old, broken belt.
4. Remove the tumbler from the dryer. It's held in place by the tumbler front which is secured by 4 screws, 2 on each side. That piece will pull straight out toward you. With the tumbler front out of the way, the tumbler itself will come straight out as well. I recommend taking it out and cleaning the inside of your dryer while it's open. A vacuum hose works great. Also, check the pulley and the back two wheels that the tumbler rests on to make sure they turn easily. If not, you may want to grease them. Also, it's normal for the idler pulley to appear to be loose and wiggle in place. Once a new belt is installed, it's under tension from the spring so any play that exists shouldn't be a problem.
5. put the new belt around the tumbler with the smooth side of the belt against the tumbler. Use the old belt marks on the tumbler to align the new belt. It's easier to hook the belt to the idler pulley and motor pulley from the back. So we'll get to that part in a minute. Just let the belt hang loose for now.
6. Reinstall the tumbler front and secure with the 4 screws you removed earlier.
7. Reconnect the wires to the door switch, if you removed them earlier.
8. Reinstall the front panel, reversing the steps you took to remove it in #2 above.
9. Go to the back of the dryer and remove the access panel along the bottom right hand side.
10. From there, reach in pull the dryer belt around the idler pulley. Then take the belt on the left side of the pulley and move both the belt and the idler pulley to the right, until you can get the grooved side of the belt onto the motor pulley. I've attached a diagram with instructions.
11. Once connected, manually turn the tumbler so that the belt will align and make sure the tumbler turns as easily as it did when you first removed it.
12. If the belt looks good and you've manually turned the tumbler at least one full revolution (to ensure the belt didn't get twisted), then plug the dryer in and turn it on to make sure it works correctly. If so, then re-attach the access panel on the back of the dryer. You're done!

Slide a putty knife or other thin object between the top and front panels a couple inches in from either side. Press in and release the two spring clips holding the top panel and at the same time lift it up and lean it back. Remove the screws inside the front corners holding the front panel on. Place the new belt around the drum in about the same position as the old one was. Remove the lower rear panel to access pulleys. place belt around the motor pulley. Stretch the idler arm over and place belt around pulley. Reassemble.