ALE866SCW Amana Dryer - Instructions

Replaced the recommended drum rollers, belt and tensioner, light bulb. Found repair manual online (bit of a hunt)made job easier still took 2.5 hrs. Then turned drum by hand no squeak. Turned it on and still squeaked. Isolated to motor. Replaced it (had to take dryer completely apart again but went quicker due to experience also had to disassemble the motor assy and rebuild. Took 1.5 hrs works like new now. The design of the dryer is not bad remove bottom front panel first, screws at very bottom of panel then two more screws are uncovered to remove front. It just lifts up and pulls out. then remove four bolts which hold front frame on (supports drum) all this has to be done to reach the replacement parts. drum wheels are held on by snap rings not the screws (real fun if you take them out) reverse to reassemble.

First I went to Maytag.com thinking it was best to go to the manufacturer for parts. Their search engine did not even recognize my part number. I tried every way I could think of. Then I just entered the model number in google and it sent me to the Partselect.com website. Diagrams came up and I chose parts from the pictures. The parts arrived in about 3 or 4 days and fit perfectly.

Easy repair and done all from the front. Turn off the power at the breaker. Make sure the power is off. Remove 2 screws holding on the lower panel. Then remove 2 screws holding on the door panel. (Pay notice to the order in which the 3 door wires will get re-connected. The 2 light bulb wires probably can go either way.) Then remove 4 screws to a large bracket that supports the front of the drum. (Set these parts aside as you take out the screws.) Then remove the 2 screws from the top panel. Reach in under the drum and release the tension off the belt. It's easy to release, but sorta mind boggling to put back on. Maybe practice that once while it's fresh in your mind. When the belt is off the motor pulley, then lift out the drum. Vaccuum out a lint blanket if you have one. You'll see the 2 drum support rollers and the belt tensioner roller. I didn't know which was squeaking so I replaced all 3. Same method, use ring pliers to take off the retainer ring, remove old, wipe off dust, install new rollers, replace ring. Note the washers are different so put them back on in the same order as removed. Make sure the gasket on the lint assembly gets tucked nicely into the blower housing when you reassemble. Easy repair. If you do pull the dryer away from the wall, replace your flexible exhaust vent with the fire resistant aluminum version.

I believe the best procedure would be to start at the very bottom of the machine - there are two sheet metal screws in the bottom panel. Remove the bottom panel.

Now, there are two sheet metal screws at the bottom of the front door panel that need to be removed. Remove front panel by pulling down to dislodge from plastic pins aligning it to the top panel.

Now the air duct assembly is accessible. From outside machine remove two sheet metal screws holding lower air duct frame. From inside the dryer opening, remove three screws holding the upper frame. Remove old air duct assembly and vaccuum machine.

New air duct assembly is in one piece, so only three inside screws are needed to support it. Make certain the screws are seated well or clothes could get hung up on the screw heads. Reinstall front door panel and bottom panel.

Doing it this way should make the job around 20 to 30 minutes.

DIAGNOSTICS: Unplug dryer to reset controls. Remove lower cover. Plug back in. Start dryer. If flame starts and goes out in a few seconds, probably the cycling thermostat (located centrally near bottom of dryer) is bad. It fits in the center of the thermostat heater (not replaced). Use the on-line schematic. I reset the controls (as above) again and jumpered the cycling thermostat. This time the flame stayed on. I turned off dryer before High Limit Thermal Fuse could blow out. Only a trained electrician should do the above.
REPAIRS: Decided to remove main cover, to get better angle on thermostat screws. Unplugged. Removed door first. Be gentle with wires. Be careful with drum, it will simply fall out if jarred. Remove two screws for cycling thermostat. Remove wires, replace cycling thermostst. Reassemble. Be sure drum is still on rollers on back and anti-friction strips in front.
SHORTCUT: If you use an articulated socket wrench on the thermostat screws, you can save your self the trouble of removing the front cover, door, and possibly drum.

1. Remove bottom sill plate with two screws
2. Remove door, watch for the wire.
3. Remove tub retaining "ring" 4 screws
4. Pull tub forward
5. Pull off the old support roller using the snapring pliers
6. grease the new roller and pins (do both sides)

Reverse it and put it back together and its good as new!

The parts to replace were mounted to the rear wall of the dryer and only the front pane is removeable. With the panel removed the drum had to be pulled carefully straight out. The belt and tention arm were difficult to reposition. Since you have the appliance apart replace both roller and roller support brackets one of which you cannot see from the front. Throughly vaccum all lint and roller wheel debris . If you have an air compressor take the time to blow out the motor . Make sure to rig a device to hold the tention arm back with the belt correctly aligned while sliding the drum back into place. PARTSLECT is great , easy to use and suggests other parts I may not have thought of and quick . Parts were here in 2 days standard shipping. I was in the dog house for putting this off too long. My wife is happy so I'm happy.

First I unplugged the dryer, then I removed the bottom front panel. Then the door I marked the wires to the shut off switch on the door and removed the switch from the door. Next was the lint screen housing and duct work that goes to it. Then I had to reach under the drum and take the belt off of the motor pully and tensioner so I could remove the drum. I removed the drum. I then marked all the wires I had to disconnect. I took the fan housing front panel off. I held the belt drive end of the motor shaft with the pipe wrench, i could have used an open end or an adjustable wrench also. I used a 7/8 six sided socket on the plastic fan nut on the front of the shaft so that if it was hard to loosen I would have a better chance of not rounding the nut. I removed the fan and the back of the housing, unplugged the motor, and removed it. The clips that hold the motor to the motor bracket are a little tricky, I used a screw driver to remove them. I then replaced the motor and put everything back together. One hint you should know is to make sure you mark the drum front so when you put it back in you get it right the first time. I fits in both ways and will go back together but it won't turn free and you'll have to take it all apart again. I tried it by hand both ways and was able to catch the mistake before I put it all back together, but I could have put it together wrong.

First I remove the two scews from the bottom panel of dryer to remove it. Then remove the two screws that held the element in place. I then pulled the element out about 20 inches and disconnected the two wires and re-connected to new element re-installed it. The dryer works like its brand new. No problem to install at all.

This was my first time repairing a dryer. If I knew when I started the project what I know now, it would have been an easy repair. First, you should know that the series number (used for selecting a wiring diagram) is the last two digits of the unit's serial number (not model number). In my case, the series number was 11. The hardest part for me was figuring out how to take the dryer apart. I made the mistake of starting with the top instead of the front. In fact, I removed the control panel and disconnected all the wires, labeling them carefully, and creating a diagram, so i could put it all back together later. I now realize I could have left that all together and just lifted the top up in the front without removing it. That knowledge would have saved hours of work, so I hope it helps someone (prop up the front a few inches and start by removing the panel on the lower front, then remove the screws on the main front panel, and then pull out the bottom of that panel toward you until the top of that front panel disengages from the top of the dryer - the rest is obvious). So it turns out there were two separate problems: 1) the blower wheel had broken completely off of the motor so it wasn't spinning - this is why hot air wasn't being pulled through from the heater in the back of the dryer; 2) the pulley on the spring-loaded lever arm attached to the motor was squeaking due to lack of lubricant. So the solution was to replace the blower wheel and spray WD-40 in the pulley (and also, for good measure in the roller bearings that support the drum in the back of the dryer). Most of the time spent on the repair was just due to my own mistakes. In particular, once I got everything back together after the repair, it stopped squeaking and there was good airflow, but it wasn't heating. I spent an entire day trying to troubleshoot the lack of heat. I tested and bypassed all of the thermostats and heater fuses and the heating element still wouldn't come on. I even managed to accidentally ground one of the leads from the fuse and had to replace a melted wire connector (trip to the Shack). In the end, it turned out that a wire which had been accidentally disconnected from the main power cord to the dryer, I had put back in the wrong spot. There is L1, L2, and neutral going into the dryer. I had the heater on the same circuit as the motor and other stuff. Once I traced the wiring diagram back, I realized this and corrected it by putting the heating circuit back onto L2. Now it "hums like a Singer". If everything had gone smoothly, instead of being a 2-day repair, it would have been a 2 hour repair. 2 hours instead of 1 because to get the leverage I needed to remove the old blower nut, I had to actually pull the motor assembly out of the dryer and move it to my workbench. Someone who is strong or more limber or has better tools might be able to skip that step, reducing the time by about 45 minutes. Good luck!

Took off the four screws to get to the female clip and used pliers to squeeze it out. Next was using pliers to pinch out the male connector and place the new one in.

My husband removed the two screws that hold the element in place. He pulled out the old element, and replace it with the new one. Cleaning out all the lint and replacing the element took about 45 minutes.

I ordered the complete heating element, which included all three parts. My husband removed the defective one, and replaced it with the new one, and the dryer works better than ever!

First I removed the bottom front cover attached with two screws, then the main front cover attached with two screws. I then removed two more screws holding the top in place, detached three wires and raised the top lid. I held the top lid out of the way with a cord tied off to a cabinet above. I then removed four screws holding the front support panel in place and set it to the side with wires still attahced. Then I slid the dryer belt off the drum and removed the drum. Next I removed the cover of the fan wheel by removing several screws. This allowed me to unscrew the fan wheel (reverse threaded) by anchoring the motor shaft with a wrench and using a large socket to turn the nut end of the fan wheel (then was no snap ring). I then popped off the two clamps holding the motor in place and removed the motor. The only tricky part about assembly was putting the belt back on the pulleys once the drum was installed. You can't see the pulleys once the drum is installed so it is done by feel.

I looked at your on-line diagrams (exploded views) and basically used them as dis-assembly info.

I removed the bottom panel, followed by the front panel, the drum holders and drum.

Toughest part was the spring clips holding the motor in place,,,, but notes on your site from other folks doing the same motor replacement solved that one,,,,,, I used a flat bladed screwdriver and pliers to manipulate the clips both off and on

Removed 2 screws from dryer lower front panel and removed panel. Then removed upper front panel (no screws, just clips). Removed screws from existing duct assembly (2 for the duct assembly and 3 that held the top of the assembly to the dryer opening (and the reason for removing the upper front panel). Original part was a two piece assembly, new one is a single part, using less screws. New part is also deeper that original assembly. There was enough room for the extra size. Installed new part, replaced top 3 screws, top panel, and bottom panel. The replacement was very straight forward. Anyone that has done this before could do it in a few minutes but without prior knowledge or a manual, it took a full 1/2 hour to do the replacement.