ALW880QAW (PALW880QAW) Amana Washer - Instructions

Water was leaking on the floor during the wash cycle and especially during draining of the washer. I removed the front panel at ground level and watched while draining after a rinse.

I t was obvious that water was spraying from a hole in the rubber end of the hose (the hose is a fused assembly of a plastic section and a rubber section).

So, I finished draining, removed the hose (required pliers to squeeze off a hose clamp).

Upon inspecting the hose, it was also apparent that the hole was caused by rubbing against a support bracket for the motor. This should not happen, but it did because the plastic standoff supposed to keep the hose away from the bracket was installed 180 degrees backwards.

So, I simply replaced the hose and turned the bracket around to the correct orientation.

Everything worked as planned and my repair cost was much less than if I had called someone out.

removed outer enclosure to expose inside workings. removed all retaining springs to tub and transmission housing. Inverted tub to access agitator pulley and belt. Removed pulley and cut belt off.(I knew I was replacing it, anyway.)Had to remove large tub bracket to exchange new pulley for old. Disconnect bleach reservoir filler tubing on tub assembly. Disconnect power connector to drive motor. Removed water pump to access drive pulley where new belt belongs. Aligned belt to pulleys and checked idler pulley tension which was acceptable. Replace helix drive lug against spin/agitator and tightened retaining bolt. Assembled components in reverse order and conducted test run. Success. Smooth running machine and saved about $200 on professional labor costs. I had no repair manual but you should have a personal confidence in general repair work. Something like a history of taking things apart and putting them back together successfully. I had an independent appliance repair guy examine the washer and he said it was too complicated for him. Once I had it apart, it seemed fairly basic. Good luck!

firsted layed washer back On A Angle For Easy Acess To Motor Removed Both Hoses And Four bolts pulled Motor Assembly out replced belt @ idler Pulley Reinstalled Motor.

This is not a bad repair, but give yourself some time. I did not have to take the tranny and motor out, but the inner and outer tub and all related parts had to come out, along with the outer tub base. If you are replacing the tub bearing, you HAVE to order the seal kit. Don't try to skimp like I did, since you will need the seal kit as this is what causes that bearing to fail in the first place. We forgot how quiet the washer was after I fixed it, and it saved us from buying a new washer since we were ready to say the heck with it and buy a new pair. You might need an 1.5 inch socket to get the big nut off the spindle, but I was able to get with a visegrip and hammer. The nice thing about this repair is even if you screw it up, you won't have water all over the place because of the seal design. I just checked under the washer a few times for the first few weeks and all seems fine.

I was doing laundry one day, and noticed that the washer did not drain. I drained the water via a shop vac and checked the hoses. There was a baby sock stuck in the hose leading to the pump! I cleared the jam and the washer finally drained again. Once I ran another load, the washer wouldn't drain. I repeated the procedure, and found that the motor was spinning but the pump was not working. I disconnected the machine and proceded to remove the pump. I found that, due to blockage, the motor had reamed out the housing that turns the pump. So, at the advice of my father, who has used this site for other repairs, I entered the model make and number. I was able to view an exploded schematic of the washer in order to correctly identify the part I needed. I found the part, ordered it, and it came to me in about 2 days. I replaced the pump, and my washer has worked great ever since. Thank you PartSelect.com.

to replace the seals is the easier part of the job. I Removed the front panels and removed the front screws for the top and opened up. Then you have to remove the agitator, then the bell plug, the bolt holding the bell along with the bell, then the 1-1/2" nut under that. then slide the plastic washer that fits into the splne. to remove the drum you have to remove the plastic top to the drum assembly. Then you can remove the drum along with the along with the alumunum splined hud that is atrtached the the metal drum. Before removing the drum the seal under the plastic washer mentioned above needs to be removed. once the drum is out you can in bolt the aluminum splined hub from the metal drum. The outer plastic drum has a seal that is glued and slides over the vertical flange. The glue is not included in the kit. once the botom seal is installed. install the new aluminum splined hub to the metal drum. install lower seal to botom of the splined hub. reinstall the hub. once the large nut and plastic spined washer is installed. The top seal neds to tapped onto the hub agian with an object that matches the dia. of the seal flange. the n install the bell, nut ans plug. The bell does not like to align to the splined shaft, do not force it. reinstall the agitor an assemble the rest.

I first unplugged the washer. I removed the 2 screws that hold the front panel and removed the front panel, they are located at the very bottom outer edges of the front panel.
I then removed 4 of the large springs that are attached to the drum, this washer has six but I only removed the front 4. Removed the two hoses going to the water pump and drain hose, removed 4 bolts that attach the motor to its mounting bracket. Unplugged the wiring harnesses going to motor and what looks like a capacitor mounted to the side of the motor.Then I removed the drive belt. ( when the machine would first start to spin it would make a clacking noise which ended up being a chunk out the the drive belt causing the belt tenshioner to slap causing that noise and letting the drum spin during the wash cycle. So far very easy. I then removed the motor and when it is disconnected you can then remove the water pump. Three hex head bolts need to be removed and it pulls right off. I then removed the six bolts that hold the brake pads in place. I applied silicone grease to the new brake pads and installed them. The pad at the back of the drum was very hard to line up with the holes. I used a very small screwdriver to line up the disc brake mounting holes to get the bolts started and it worked fine. I then put it all back together and it works great. I have to add that I have been an auto mechanic for 28 years and not to brag but this is not your average repair job.

Unplugged washer then took back off control panel. Removed clamp and tube from pressure switch. Pushed in tabs with a screwdriver and lifted top. Removed clamp and broken tube. Put new tube in place and tighten clamp with nutdriver. Closed top and put other end of tube on pressure switch with clamp. Put back on control panel and plugged in. Clamps are to big for application but do work. So far so good!

Remove the electrical power plug and disconnect the water hoses at the back. Remove the lower front panel by taking out the two screws at the bottom edge. Then lift out the upper front panel which exposes the two sheet metal screws holding down the top panel. Lift open the top panel and secure it up about 90 degrees so it doesn't flop over backwards. Twine tied to something overhead works fine. Replacement procedure for the valve is obvious, once exposed.

As the other posting said, it appears our problem was due to constant overloading, as an inspection of the machine with the bottom service panel removed clearly revealed all three milkstool legs broken away from the round center piece. My teen-agers are now aware that I am somewhat displeased about this.
My first action was to order the repair manual. In retrospect, it was only marginally useful as a job aid, but was essential in verifying ID of the part and understanding details of how the machine works. I started by following the manual which said to remove the agitator. The agitiator didn't want to be removed, even after repeated attempts and applications of varying amounts of both physical and vocal persuasion. So, I reconsidered what I really needed to be doing, and dislodging the agitator (and subsequently all of the spline seals) really wasn't necessary. I just needed to get to and replace the crushed milkstool (and leave everything with a seal alone!).
So, Phase 1 - I removed the front panels, and tilted up the top. I then disconnected the power cable to the motor and the inlet/outlet hoses to the pump (more on my haste in this step in a moment...). The wiring harness is held in place on the machine back and milkstool by plastic retainers that release when compressed. I then disconnected the green ground wire, the panel that holds the blue water inlet valve assembly, the black hose on top of the tub and the clear air pressure hose (just pulls straight out of the tub side connector). This allowed the top to be removed and set aside. I then pulled the drain hose through and pulled the plate that holds it in place from the back, then removed all the screws that hold the cabinet to the base, then set the cabinet aside. Next, I disconnected all 7 springs from the base to the tub, and the tub was free. I pulled the tub from the base (not too heavy) and inverted it to get at the motor/pump/milkstool.
Phase 2 - gently removed the idler spring and removed the belt from the pulley. Pulled 10 1/2" self-tapping screws that hold the milkstool to the tub and the motor to the milkstool (these can be discarded as you get new ones with the milkstool). Now pulled 6 screws that hold the brake pads in place, and pulled the brakepads. The manual says to replace the pads whenever pulled, but these didn't look terribly worn, and work just fine after reassembly. The pulley then came off easily, and then subsequently so did the milkstool (with integrated bearing). Reassembly was the reverse of disassembly, and all seemed logical enough until I got to reattaching the hoses to the pump. The manual does not make it clear which one goes where, and I forgot to take a picture of that part of the machine before dismantling. Long story short, I put them on backwards, and you'll probably not be surprised to hear the machine didn't work as anticipated when we turned it on! (wouldn't spin, wouldn't pump out the water and made a nice puddle in the laundry room). Once we ladled out all of the water from the tub and reversed the hoses, everything worked fine. So - words to the wise (1) mark hoses, wires, etc with tape, grease pencil, whatever works for you BEFORE disassembly and (2) take close-up digital pics as you progress.

took off the front cover.
disconected the wiring from moter.
removed the motor.
replaced the brake pads one at a time used a flat screw driver to spred the plates apart.

The Plasatic Helix Drive Lup
took bolt at the botom of shaft off
this released the Helix drive lug.
took old lug off and inatalled new
replaced bolt and washer.

I took off the lower front panel and “watched” with a flashlight during the spin cycle. I could see that the idler pulley was intermittently stopping and starting. The back of the drive belt was also worn in the center. When the idler pulley was moving, it squeaked, when it didn’t, the friction wore the belt and made the smell.

To replace the Idler Pulley Wheel:
1. Take off the lower and upper front panels to access the motor assembly.
2. Remove motor by loosening four bolts.
3. Remove spring that applies tension to the idler pulley.
4. Remove the electrical connector by squeezing the plastic tab on top.
5. Remove hoses by gripping clamps with pliers (put down rags first to catch water)
6. Unhook belt from tub pulley
7. Remove 1 cabinet spring to make it easier to remove motor
8. Remove motor.
9. Remove allen screws holding the pump to the motor
10. Remove the pump and belt (take note of the location of the belt before removing).
11. Remove retaining ring to replace Idler Pulley Wheel (this was probably the trickiest part; I used a very tiny needle nose pliers and straight screwdriver).
12. Replace the washers on either side of the Idler Pulley Wheel as well as the retaining ring.
13. Replace belt.
14. Reassemble in reverse order.
15. Be thankful for the money you saved on a service call.

Unplug the washer to prevent shock while handling motor. Remove the front botton access panel. Move the drive belt off the idler pulley to provide slack to move belt off the other pulleys. Note position or take picture of belt position before removal to aid in getting it in the correct position for reinstallation. Move the hose clamps up the hoses far enough to remove the hoses from the pump. A towel is handy here as there is still a little water in the hoses and pump. Remove the four bolts holding the motor bracket to the bottom of the washer. The wiring to the motor does not need to be disconnected. Rotate the bracket with motor and pump attached so that the assembly is horizontal and the pump is to the right hand side. Use the torx bit to remove the bolts holding the pump in place. Install the new pump, being careful to get the drive belt in the proper position while doing so. Do not over tighten the bolts on the new pump since it is plastic. Rotate the motor bracket back to its original position and install the four bolts. Get all four bolts installed loosely before tightening any fully to insure the bracket is aligned properly and none of the bolts will be in a bind. Once the bolts are tight, put the drive belt on the small pulley and then work in around to position on the large pulley. Position the belt back into its position on the idler pulley. Put the hoses on the pump as far as they will go then slide the hose clamps back into their original position. Replace the bottom access panel and plug the washer back in.

Unplug washer, turn off water supply, disconnect hoses from washer valve(have bucket ready for water remaining in hoses), Remove bottom front panel by unscrewing two hex head screws near floor then pulling panel toward you and down, remove top front panel same as bottom to expose screws securing washer top, lift washer top and prop open or tilt back onto counter(hold washer lid when tilting back). The inlet valve is on the back right. Label and unplug wires, unscrew hose clamp and remove hose, go to back of washer and unscrew plate holding valve and remove. Mount new valve to plate and fasten from back of washer, reconnect hose and wiring, close cover and fasten screws, replace front covers and secure, reconnect water supply hoses(do not over tighten), turn on water and plug in washer.

Brake pad kit does not come with installation instructions even though it says it does. Remove bottom front panel from washer. There are three brake pads. One of mine (the right one) broke into three pieces and was found on the bottom of the washer. This is how I identified what was wrong. Run the washing machine on the handwash extra light cycle (you could use another cycle, I used this one because I believe it is the shortest), there is a point in the cycle where the disk clamping the brake pads separates from the brake pads and allows you to remove and replace the pads. During other parts of the cycle, the disk is clamped onto the brakes and you could not remove or install a brake pad. I removed the two black hose on the bottom right to get to the right brake pad. Have a 2 gallon bucket ready to collect the water if you did run the washer as above. With difficulty, I was also able to reach around the back side of the right brake pad. I used a socket wrench set. I then removed and replaced the left brake pad. I left the rear brake pad in place. I was not able to get to it.