ALE866SAW (PALE866SAW) Amana Dryer - Instructions

I only had to watch your video! The absolute BEST instructions ever. Your videos have saved me already $480 in repair bills in just one month. First my washer needed a snubber ring, and you had that video and then the dryer parts. Thanks again for being there!

I don't have the model number right now, but you video was fantastic.

After unplugging the dryer, I followed the video instructions but did a few tweaks. I used a straight blade screw driver and just pried a little to pop the top and fold it back. I used a nut driver to take off the front. There was enough play in the switch wire to just swing it to the side of the dryer. I also used the nut driver to remove the inner front panel, again just swinging it around to the side without having to disconnect the wires.. I pulled the drum out far enough to take the belt off and put it to the side. I tried to remove the idler lever without taking out the motor but it was very difficult so I unplugged the harness and moved the motor forward, that made removing the bolt and nut easy. I reassembled in reverse order as in the video except I put the belt on the motor and around the idler first and the worked it around the drum as I replaced the drum. If there is one thing majorly different from the video it was the dirt and grease, if your dryer is like mine be sure to have some good hand cleaner for when you are done. There was grease on the idler lever and it's attaching bolt as well as dirt everywhere. It was worth the time to vacuum out the interior while I had the dryer apart, but I wish I would have done it before replacing the lever.

First off you open the top of the dryer by pressing in the the 2 spring clips with a putty knife or metal spatula if you don't have a putty knife. They are located on the same side as the door. Then remove the wires and label them or take a picture of them so you can put them back on the correct terminals. Remove the 2 5/16" screws and the lift up and pull out on the front panel, set it aside. Remove the 4 5/16" screws on the front bulkhead(the thing with the lint catcher on it) this is what the felt ring is attached to. I used brake parts cleaner and a putty knife to remove the old adhesive. Use High Temperature Silicone or some kind of High Temp adhesive to attach the felt ring. Make sure to place the white side of the ring onto the adhesive. Also there should be a rounded face of the ring and a flat face, make sure the rounded face is facing outward. Bead a good amount of adhesive onto the outer ring of the bulkhead and work the felt ring around inch by inch. Don't rush this process or you will have a mess. If you do its okay just use a rag and the brake parts cleaner to wipe down any excess adhesive. Let it cure for 24 hours, otherwise it might make your clothes smell like the adhesive and possibly ruin them. Before replacing the bulkhead back onto the dryer, replace the drum glides. They should be on two brackets below the felt ring. These are important and if they are damaged or missing it can cause more serious problems down the road. Put everything back in reverse order. Make sure the drum and the drum glides are lined up properly. Test the dryer while its empty.

The first problem i had is that the idler pulley went out for the dryer drum. Part of the plastic pulley melted and the drive belt eventually broke. I got the parts to replace the idler pulley and belt from PartSelect. That was a pretty easy repair, but when i had it apart I noticed a small crack in the aluminum pulley on the motor drive shaft, I'm assuming because of the heat generated by the seized up idler pulley. I put it back together anyway. The dryer made it for 2 or 3 batches of clothes and the aluminum pulley on the motor shaft came apart. Turns out the only way to replace that pulley is to replace the motor. The cost for the new motor wasn't all that much and the dryer is in otherwise pretty good shape, so I ordered the new motor. The motor assembly was easy to replace and works great. Glad I was able to get it fixed without too much expense. I literally spent less that an hour altogether with both repairs. I was happy with the parts and service from partselect.com, they also have great how to videos.

On line video was great and easy to follow. The only problem I encountered was with removal of the front panel. Ours is a 20-year old dryer and the front configuration is different. You cannot lift the top, as shown in the video, before you remove the front. There is a lower front panel that has two 5/16" screws at the bottom and drops off. There are two 5/16" screws in the bottom of the door panel which allows it to drop off. Finally you remove two 5/16" screws in the brackets that hold the top to the sides and the top then tips up and to the rear. From there on the video is perfect.

Really easy popped the lid with a flat head screwdriver, then marked wires for door light and switch, took 2 5/16 bolts to remove front door, then 4 bolts also 5/16 to remove front panel but be care ful and remove drum belt then take panel and drum out. Then took a set of ring pliers to remove wheel slapped new one on.then reverse sreps to assemble.