Hi:

I have an 1985 Maytag gas dryer, MDG482, that I’m trying to baby through the last moments of its life (from a home recently purchased by my wife and I)

Up until approx six months ago, it worked fine. And it still does work fine, as far as drying clothes, but it produces an annoying squeak that doesn’t seem to have a solution.

It initially started out as a very infrequent squeak which was annoying enough that I spoke with a person at a parts company and she suggested I replace the blower wheel assembly. I replaced that but the squeak persisted. It then became more frequent so I recorded the sound and played it for the parts person to diagnose. She said it was definitely the tumbler bearings (the cork strips riveted in the front), so I purchased a tumbler bearing kit. I didn’t replace them for approx three months, as the sound became more frequent and louder (so loud in fact that you could hear it in the garage which is attached to the house but separated by a block fire wall). I replaced the bearings two weeks ago and, although the sound did dissipate slightly, it’s still there.
One thing to note; it typically doesn’t start out squeaking or it squeaks very little. It needs to get warmed up before it happens on a consistent basis.

Is there another part I can replace (rear bearings? The sound may be coming from that area but it's hard to tell) or did I damage something by not replacing the bearings sooner?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Joe

Joe,

Your problem is in the rear roller bearing(s) and or in the idler pulley bearing(and probably has been all along).

The idler pulley usually makes a high speed or constant high pitched noise,where as the rollers make a lower,duller noise, and a medium speed noise.

With the age of your machine and depending on how long it takes to make the noise, you may also have a motor bearing on the way out.

Once you've removed the tumbler and belt, check for metal dust or shavings at the rollers and bearing wheels, indicating excessive wear.

You may want to remve the rollers and pulley and check for damage to the the shafts, little or no damage you can clean the shaft(s) and bearing and lube with high speed machine oil(3 in 1 oil).That may be the hole problem.

If you have little or no damage to the pulley or rollers and noise persists, suspect that the motor shaft bearings have dried out and you will need to replace the motor.

Thanks Joe! I'll start with your suggestions (they're less expensive) and work my way to the motor!