AA6121 Amana Washer - Instructions

Disassembled washer as per directions with seal kit. Removed inner tub. Cut both tub shaft bearing in half; punched out from outter tub. Installed new bearings using .5 inch threaded rod, washer and bolts. Installed new seal on inner tub shaft. Installed inner tube. Re-assembled washer.

We did not have instructions on how to remove broken agitator. Looking online, we found easy instructions but found it difficult to remove the agitator even though it was supposed to be an easy task.
Our particular model was supposed to "pop" off with little resistance. Not so!
It took some stong muscle and will power to remove the part but putting the new agitator on was simple.

Removed the front panel, could see water leaking from the tub area near the shaft in the center of the machine. Dripping out once the water level reached the hub. Swing the top up, remove the large plastic ring at top of tub. remove the top of the agitor, pulls off easily. Remove the agitator with a firm pull up, not as easy but does come off. Removed the 4 bolt holding the tub. 2 broke off, but not to worry, the new kit has a complete hub. Pulled off the bell seal, pry up. Used an impact gun with 1-1/2" socket to remove the nut. The hub was frozen to the shaft. Tried a puller but ended up breaking the hub. I finally cut it off in pieces and pryed it off (the hardest part of job). Cleaned up the spline with a small file and patience. Installed the new seal kit. Ended up buying the M800 3M sealant on line. I went this far, another $40 for that. Fitted it all back up per instructions. No leaks. All good.

Unplug the electrical cord. Remove the front cover with two screws at the bottom. Unhook the front two springs on the tub that secure it to the floor of the machine. Tilt the tub back as far as possible. Remove the electrical connector to the motor at the motor with the plastic tab release. Remove the four screws that attach the motor mount to the floor of the washer. Unhook the two hoses that attach to the pump on the motor bottom. Catch the water in a towel or in a flat tray. Unloop the belt from around the pulley on the bottom of the washer tub shaft and remove the motor, pump and belt as a unit. Remove the brake pads by removing the single bolt atop each one and pull it out of the machine. This will take the longest amount of time. You will have trouble getting the new pads in position, especially the one at the back. You many need to gently spread the brake disks to allow the pads to enter using a padded screw driver. Lightly lubricate the new brake pads before installing with silicone grease and replace the bolt and grommet with the new ones provided on each. Using a torx screwdriver, remove the pump from the motor and discard the worn belt. Remove the idler pulley using snap ring pliers and replace with a new one. Install the new belt and idler. Replace the pump with a new one, or reuse the old one if it seems in good repair and is not too old (mine was 15 years old--I replaced it). Remount the motor, pulley and belt on the machine and secure with 4 bolts--loop the belt around the main pulley on tub shaft. Reattach the hoses to the pump. Reconnect the electrical supply to the motor. Rehook the two spring to the front of the tub. Plug the washer back into the wall outlet. Pour in a couple of gallons of water into the tub before starting to ensure that the pump does not operate in a dry condition. Start and test operation. Be Happy. Wash hands and have a cold one.

Turned off water & unpluged ac power. Removed 2 screws on front panel. Removed panel. Found peices of V belt. Removed 4 screws from electric motor which allowed the belt to come out. Ordered new belt on line. Received the item in one day. Reversed the above sequence above. Now the washer is running as good as new.

My Amana washing machine burned up a second belt in about three weeks. Prior to that, the spin cycle was very loud. Online research revealed the problem was most likely the hub bearing. I ordered a new bearing, belt and hub and seal kit. The repair is a difficult one as the parts have been on the tranmission shaft many years with the mounting corrosion and mineral build up. I was able to pull the agitator off with no problem. The drive bell would have been easier to pull had I used a gear puller but did not own one. I use two crow bars to lift it off the shaft and I knew I'd be replacing it anyway so was not concerned about damaging it although I didn't. The most difficult part to remove was the large hex nut. I didn't want to purchase the tool to remove it so I used an open end adjustable wrench adn a hammer to remove it. However it took many hours of soaking the nut in sprayed on WD-40 to loosen it. For a while I thought it wasn't going to budge. Oh and btw, the nut comes off counterclockwise on this model. This is important. Other makes of washers have left handed threads, requiring clockwise removal, but this one does not. The hub assembly was pulled using the crow bar method. Again, it was going to be replaced anyway. The lint filter was cleaned and reused. The remainder of the dissassembly went OK using the directions in the repair manual. http://www.scribd.com/doc/8677902/Amana-Top-Load-Washer-Service-Manual. Reassembly went fine using the repair manual accept that the new drive bell was much more difficult to drive onto the shaft than I thought it would be. I eventually got it on using my shop vac rigid tube to go around it and hammering on a block of wood placed on top of it. I also used this shop vac tube to seat the seal that goes on the shaft just before the drive bell. It was the perfect tool for it as I wasn't going to purchase the special tool suggested in the repair manual. I'd already purchased $185 in parts. The kits come with grease but not the anti seizure compound or the industrial sealant needed. The anti seisure compound can be purchased from an auto parts store. It's not expensive. The industrial sealant is expensive. After researching what it was and why it was needed, I took a chance on silicone sealant. I'm not suggesting it is a good substitute but my washer has not leaked after 5 loads. Plus the sealant is really a backup to the main seal that goes on the transmission shaft before the hub assembly. But I'm pleased overall with the parts and accompanying directions and the washer is working great, spinning quietly. This is not an easy repair. It takes patience and a place to work on it. Frankly, with other things to do as well as go to work, it took me four days to complete, mostly due to the difficulty in removing the large hex nut. It might be worth investing in the removal tool if you're unsuccessful using home tools. Good luck.

As another person commented, there is a small 'door' on the rear where the water inlet is located. Don't know if this was meant for easy access to change this part or not but I didn't use it. I found it much easier to just remove the front panel (2 lower corner screws), loosen the top (2 corner screws) and tilt it up and out of the way. From there it was easy to disconnect the hoses and four electrical plugs (easy to remember the order). The unit is held in place by one screw which is located between the water inlets.

First thing I did was to read the great information from other customers. John from Milton's post titled "frayed v belt" was excellent; so was Joseph from Goldsboro NC under the Pump part posts. I would add the following info which wasn't readily available. The Torx/starbit size mentioned in the posts referenced is a T25 the Amana lw8203w2 I have. I bought a t25 size torx wrench at my local hardware store for $2. I got everything together --the belt took some arm strength for an amateur like me to get on. Also, would recommend gloves as some of the edges are sharp down there. Everything appeared okay and when I started the spin cycle it started then cut off. I thought maybe besides the fan belt there was electronics faulty. However, I found an amana repair guide for my model online at scribd and under the troubleshooting section, it described the cutout of the spin cycle and if the new fan belt is too tight, it will bind and the spin cycle will cut out. So I opened up the front again and worked the belt for several turns to "stretch it" and voila, it worked perfectly.