I've had my Maytag MDG9206AWW gas dryer for 20 years, and with a family of 7 it has seen PLENTY of use.

Rebuilt in 2020 with new igniter, new felt, gas control, and did the rollers, belt, idler pulley, etc. and has been running great.

Started squealing sporadically recently, and eventually gave up the ghost, I think the motor bearings couldn't take it any longer after 26 years of service. No problem. Took her apart, and picked up a genuine replacement motor, W10410996. Did a new blower wheel too since the shaft of the old one had cracked off. All genuine parts.

New motor is 1/3 hp instead of the 1/4 hp original, but same RPM. Wire block was a perfect fit, but mounting grommets that came on the new motor didn't match my model's bracket, so took them off my old motor, put them on the new one, put it all back together and thought I was good to go.

Problem is the drum on my machine doesn't have the oompf it used to. Put more than a handful of clothes in there and it slows to a crawl and stops. Drum runs like a race horse when empty.

Nothing a new belt won't fix I thought. No dice. Problem persists with brand new belt.

Rollers spin freely, idler pulley spins freely, drum can be turned by hand without too much resistance, drum glides are only 4 years old, look fine, and not worn through.

Motor alignment seemed a little off, so I shimmed the back right corner of the motor mounting bracket about 1/8" up and that seems to have help that issue, but my drum still doesn't have its drive. Idler pulley bracket seems to have a lot of play, but I assume this is normal? Visual inspection of belt and pulley while machine is running doesn't raise any red flags, sounds better than it has in recent memory (no weird noises).

Belt is threaded correctly, and when drum slows down, it seems motor keeps spinning but power isn't being transferred. Wondering is the stock motor pulley that came on this new motor a problem? That's about all I have left to throw parts at. Anyone else out there experienced this?

Do idler pulley springs wear out? Seems to be fine based on visual inspection, but I don't have a way to measure the tension to prove it. Spring doesn't look at all stressed.

Would love to keep this machine going, but can't seem to crack this mystery and the clothes are piling up. Any help appreciated!

Bearings on old motor are shot, so throwing it back in is not really an option.

Do I need to add or a remove a jumper on the new motor because of different thermal reset setup? My unit has a full molex-plug style connector, and it fit into the new motor just fine, and based on a quick visual comparison, wiring for the two motors seems to be about the same.

Is it possible the new motor is running "slower" and that's the source of the issue? The new motor is rated for the same number of RPMs, but not sure if there are different windings with different speeds on these.

Though motor seems to keep spinning when drum slows, which makes me think maybe the new motor pulley that came installed on the motor is the issue. Original was an old cast brass one that just looks a lot beefier than the new ones.

The motor pulley would need to be checked to make sure it is not damaged. If the motor pulley is good, it is likely that the idler pulley spring 33002459 is not providing enough tension on the belt to have the motor and belt effectively rotate the drum.