ALE643RCW Amana Dryer - Instructions

I followed the steps in the partselect videos and it was pretty easy. A small adjustable wrench was a lot easier to use than the needle nose pliers recommended in the video. The metal bearing inside the wheel on the idler lever turned out to be the main cause of the problem. It had worn a lot and more on one side than the other so the wheel was wobbling back and forth. However, the belt was clearly deteriorating as well, so I'm glad I replaced it. The glides were thin but serviceable, but also very easy to replace. I also replaced the two wheels in the back of the machine that support the drum. Probably did not need to do that.

This was real easy just slid the latch in front panel and attached to latch assembly to the door. The repair was about 45 seconds.

Began by unplugging power then removed the two screws from bottom access panel removed panel. Used a putty knife to push the release clips hold the top panel removed the two screws holding the front door and housing noted the three wires for the door switch removed those. Released the tension on the belt at the idler pulley lifted the drum assembly from the dryer. Tested the high limit fuse assembly with a volt ohm meter found no continuity indicating the fuse was blown. After reading the many other reviews I also test the high limit thermostat and found that it was not working as it should order bout parts and replaced all in reverse order plugged the unit back in and now have a working dryer.

Removed front lower panel bolts ,top panel bolts and removed panels. Then slid putty knife between top cover on each end and swung top cover back. Released tension off tub tensioner n removed tub . Removed snap ring n rollers n replaced with new. Insalled tub n belt n panels.

Push new catch in the opening, close the door and VOILA! the door stays closed. Please note that the cost of this part is exorbitant- it's worth about 50 cents but with shipping it cost about $11.00. Check your local hardware store first.

Turn off dryer 220V breaker at panel. Remove front kick panel (two 5/16 hex screws at lower corners). Check continuity of high limit thermal fuse with meter; no continuity: fuse blown. Remove two wire clips with pliers. Remove fuse with nut driver (two 1/4 hex screws). Install new fuse. Replace two wires. Replace kick panel with two screws. Reset breaker at panel. Reset, start timer: dryer has heat.

After ordering the part, I read the information left by other users. I used a screw driver to pop out the piece, and then put the new latch in the opening. A gentle pop with the side of my hand, and the door latch went right into place. Who knew there was a second door latch on the other side that could've been used?

I replaced the two drum support rollers, the idler pulley wheel, and the belt. Replacing support rollers and pulley wheel requires snap ring pliers, to spread apart the tiny retainer ring that holds the wheels onto the shafts. Get a good quality one! The $23 pliers at Home Depot works great. The one I got for $3.99 online was garbage, and caused me to break one of the retainer rings. I'd recommend buying an extra retainer ring before beginning this repair, and practicing using the pliers with it. It's a very delicate operation and you have to have a steady hand. RE the Idler pulley wheel - this was the most likely cause of the squeaking noise. The old one had a deep groove worn into it by the belt, which may have caused it to spin off-balance on the shaft, resulting in the squeaking noise. RE replacing the belt: at first this task looks impossible, because you can't see exactly how the belt is threaded until you fully remove the drum, but you can't remove the drum until you've removed the belt! Put your hands behind and try to feel how it's threaded, before removing the belt. I drew a diagram to help me visualize how the belt is positioned: looking at the drum from the front, imagine the belt running clockwise around the drum, and after it goes across the top of the drum to the right, it threads UNDER the idler pulley wheel, then clockwise around and under the motor shaft, then back under the drum and around (I hope this helps, it's hard to describe in words). To replace the belt you need to first remove the two screws that secure the top panel of the dryer, and lift the top panel up (like the hood on a car). Then the sequence of steps to replace the belt is: 1) slide the belt off the drum, toward the back of the dryer. 2) remove the drum from the machine 3) if belt is still threaded, make a note of how it's positioned 4) Remove the belt completely 5) thread the new belt under the pulley wheel and around the motor shaft as described above, and 6) keeping the belt fairly taught, place the drum back in position and slide the new belt around the drum in the reverse direction, from back toward front. 7) test the belt by rotating the drum a little to ensure the belt and motor are rotating smoothly together. IMPORTANT: the ribbed-rubber inner side of the belt must be in contact with the drum and with the motor shaft. The belt may twist as you're putting it on, so feel it all the way around to make sure it's flat, and untwist it if necessary. Hope this helps -- it will make more sense when you're actually doing it. Though this may all seem complicated, it's actually a fairly simple machine with only a few moving parts, so it's not as hard as I am making it sound. Courage, and good luck!

Took apart front and top panels. Eight screws in total. Removed belt from pulley then drum. Removed both support rollers, idler pulley. Installed new items. Five wires that must be removed and reinstalled. I made diagram of wiring. Drum glides remove easy. Install new ones. It is best to install the belt on drum, then on the pulley. Install all panels.

I researched the online how to video and when the parts came went at like a pro!

for a while the dryer was really loud when on. i took the front cover, and could pin point it to the idler pulley wheel. i would squirt some wd 40 on the wheel just to get by. one day the dryer stopped turning so i thought the belt broke. after following the instructions on this site on now to take off the front panel, and tub holder (the panel that has the lint trap in it, i was able to take out the tub and find that the pulley wheel had broke apart. i ordered the new part and got a new belt at the same time. why not replace while i had it apart. i didnt have snap ring pliers to remove the snap ring so i got 2 small finishing nails that would fit in the holes and was able to pull apart the ring and get it off. i slid on the new wheel, and put the snap ring back on. ii watch the video on how to replace the belt and it was a sinch. the dryer was already apart and to fix it, took about 15 min. for $18 in parts, the dryer has never sounded better.parts select saves me money everytime.

I followed the instructions provided by Partselect. The video and information were very clear and accurate. I have never taken a dryer apart, but have some tools and the cost savings plus the reward of fixing it myself were enough to inspire me to try. I was so happy with this experience I recently diagnosed and fixed a friends dryer with the helpful information from Partselect.

I recently found your site and was pleasantly pleased with your troubleshooting suggestions and repair videos. My dryer was sounding like there was a pair of gym shoes inside bouncing around and your suggestion of the drum support rollers was right on the money. My dryer cabinet came apart a little differently then what the video showed but was workable.
I would like to suggest sending the washers that go in front of and behind the drum support roller with the drum rollers. The washers on my dryer were completely ground down to powder so I drilled out some stainless steel washers I had in my supply of extra parts. These washers are hard to find in a hardware store due to being so thin.
I would suggest to anyone changing these drum rollers to go ahead and order/replace the drum belt and front guides as long as you have the machine apart and had to take these off to get to drum rollers. I have had my dryer maintenance free for 17 years and figured they were probably close to being worn out as well. My front guides were paper thin and the drum belt had lots of cracks.
Total cost of bringing dryer back up to par was only $45.00. Saved at least $180.00 doing myself.

Looked on your wonderful site and found two parts that were listed as 80% the problem. Took a chance and ordered both parts. Husband replaced both parts. And, yeah. . . . . . . . . We had heat. So not sure which one it needed. . . . But, the price of your parts beat the costs of any repair man. Thank you so much. We're drying clothes again!!! Lk

took dryer apart and replaced the drum support rollers. This did not work and problem is still there. The videos at the part select did not help since they seemed to be for a different dryer and nothing in them helped in any way to work on my unit. I did get a repair man out and was told that he had not seen one built like this one before.