ALW480DAW Amana Washer - Instructions

took the belt out and took the thing out and fixed then put it back.

First removed all screws with a nutdriver then lifted the body from the base. Removed the two hoses at the pump (be ready for excess water). Removed the 9/16 bolts (4) to drop the motor assy. I also took off the two front balance springs to have easy access. I at this point was able to remove the pulley and put new belt & pump on the motor. Remember to watch carefully to align belt. removing the idler pulley is a no brainer. Took about 45mins. to complete, a no pro job!!

Part received was correct (5 days ARO). Removed motor assy from unit (left wires connected). Found drive belt was also worn out & obtained a new one locally. Seperated old pump from rusted motor shaft using 2 screwdrivers. Had to use a file to lightly "polish" rust off motor shaft to install new pump. On-line parts diagram helpful in getting belt properly alinged to idler pully. Machine now runs smoothly, dosn't leak and sound like new. Wife happy (me too)!

Ipulled the front panel off and found that the brake pads had broken into pieces, ordered new pads. Two of the pads were accessed from the front of the machine and were relatively easy to replace by removing the two attaching bolts, spreading gap in area that they fit into with a plastic pry tool. I gained access to the third pad by removing the punch-outs on the side of the machine (circular). If I had not had these prepuched pieces available to me I would have simply cut an access hole in the rear of the machine with a jig saw, (who will ever see it).

I disconnected the water supply line to washer and moved washer into open area. I removed the front panel of washer to gain access to drain hose. I removed hose and reinstalled new hose. I did turn the hose holder inside the washer as it allowed the old hose to rub against the housing support of the washer causing the hose to leak. I was glad that I read the article that someone mentioned in their repair. The new hose was somewhat difficult to maneuver through the back of the washer and through the part that held the hose; otherwise, it was rather easy. Thanks for the feed back on your web page.

After turning on the machine set to the spin cycle and acertaining that the problem was not a switch or the motor the lower cover was removed (Two sheet metal hex head screws)with appropriate socket. The failure of the belt was self-evident, having sprayed itself in granuals, the belt itself having parted with easy removal.
A search of the internet produced the order for drive belt, which arrived in a timely manner trough Fedex.

Replacing the belt was the most labor intensive part of the process. No mirror being available a CD was placed in the base of the machine in order to view what fasteners (Three torx head) fasened the pump to the motor assembly. Removal of the pump was necessary in order to replace the belt.

The removal of the fasteners required that three holes (120* angular spacing, 1/2" diameter, located on the pump fastener bosses) be drilled in the machine base in order to
remove and replace. This required setting the machine on its side. (Tell the engineers to put an inspection plate there in order to negate having to drill the holes. Thankx.) Pump assembly was lowered off driveshaft and belt replaced. Tensioner set on belt after pump assembly fit to driveshaft and torx fasteners replaced and tightened. Machine powered up, checked for function. In use. Lower cover replaced. I'll be using your buisness for parts again, no doubt.

Laid washer on its side and had to remove the motor,replaced the pulley and belt replaced the motor and put all parts back together washer spins and runs like it did when it was new.we did not need the screw or nut but did not know when ordering parts

I found about 2-3 baby socks stuck in the pump and couldnt remove them so I had to replace the part. Unfortunately I found this website AFTER I took the bad pump off. So I ended up removing the lower front panel and then flipping the washer upside down and removing the bottom of the washer and taking the pump off because I couldnt see any other way to get it off. The new pump arrived very quickly and I put it back on and put the bottom panel back on and flipped the washer back right side up. I certainly made it more difficult then it had to be but it was still fairly easy. Now I see all I needed to do was remove the motor to get the pump off. Oh well.

I takened the 4 bolts out of the motor assimbley, and droped the whole thing out where I could see the screws that held the water pump on, and I took them out, and lifted the water pump, and put the belt in place, and the new pully on , and the new spring in place. Then I reversed the proseger.
It works like a new one.

Remove the front of the washer. Remove the pump and motor assembly using the 1/2 inch socket. Remove the pump from the motor and hoses from the pump. Replace the bad idler pulley and place new belt on pulley. Reassemble the pump to the motor and install the assembly back into the washing machine. Reasemble the hoses and put belt on driven pulley for the drum. Reinstall the front cover.

I first ordered the parts and to my dismay, I ordered the wrong belt for the spin belt. I called customer service in which received an Return Merchandise Number and ordered the correct belt. PartSelect was prompt on sending the correct out by FedEx, thank you for an excellent experience.

I read what the others had done and thought it was the lower bearing so I originally tore it down and replaced just the lower bearing.

Unfortunately, after 2 + hours of doing that and putting it back together, it still didn't fix the problem. So I read more reviews and others claimed to use this kit and that it fixed the problem. So I ordered the kit.

BTW, Parts Select rocks!!!! They get me the part within about 2 days every time.. Great Service! Thanks guys!

Anyhow, part came in, knowing how to tear this thing down now, I was able to get to where I needed to be within about 45 minutes.

2 things that were difficult.

The first was removing the plate at the bottom of the tub. This is the aluminum plate that looks somewhat like a spoked wheel. Maytag has a tool for this. Without it, you must go at it with a small punch on one of the spokes and carefully tap the seal until it turns. You may have to try it from different angles to loosen it up but it will eventually give way..

Once you get that off, the second little piece of joy is actually removing the seal from the bottom of the tub. Here again, Maytag offers a tool to remove this. Without it, and with years of this rubberized fitting mounted in this plastic tub and corrded with water and crap... you will need to create a bearing puller.

I did so with a 2X4 board straddled across the bottom of the tub. I used an 8 inch lag bolt, drilled a hole through the 2X4 and placed the lag bolt throuigh the board and through the center of the bearing. I attached a large washer and nut to the bottom side of the bearing and then began to tighten the bolt on the other side of the board. By tightening the bolt, the board created alot of tension but not enough still to seperate it from the tub. With the tension on the bearing, I turned the tub over and tapped it with piece of wood the size of the bearing and a rubber mallet. It popped right off. The rest was just reassembly.

Don't forget to remove the sticker backing on the felt gasket to hold the gasket in place while you screw the tub back together...

The good news... Super quiet! So, about 3 hours.... (I had to come up with the idea to remove the bearing and build it) and it's all done..

Yeah.... Fun Saturday.

Unplug and disconnect Power, Drain and h20 connections. Removed front panel, disconnected internal electricrical connections and capicitor from washer. Remove 11 (I think) screws connecting outer cover to base. Remove pull drain hose through the outer cover and hold the end lower that the washer to drain the excess h20. Remove the hoses from the pump and outer tub. Remove outer cover from base exposing the guts. Grab the bottom of the agitator and pull up pretty hard. Agitator will pop off, watch your head. Remove the 4 bolts attaching the Inner tub to the hub. Remove seal from top of transmission spline. You will need a 38mm deep well socket to remove the nut from the top of the transmission. I used a socket and a impact wrench to remove the nut. Remove the teflon seal that is below the nut. You will need a puller and/or grinder to remove the hub from the transmission spline. My puller broke, so I ended up using an air grinder to cut a couple of pizza slices out of the hub. Then I used an air hammer to break the slices off of the hub. Once it is cut the cast aluminum is quite brittle. Pull what remains of the hub off of the transmission spline. Remove the bolts that connect the transmission housing to the outer tub. Remove the 3 bolts from the underside of the outer tub that connect the outer tub to the upper bearing. using a set of vice grips, grab the top of the springs that connect the outer tub to the base and carefully remove them one by one.
The outer tub should slide right off. Remove the bearing from the transmission. Supplies that you will most likely need are the 3m800 sealant, when you get this you will only need a little around the bottom of the lip where the new seal attaches to the bottom of the outer tub. You will also want to get the Seal tool which will ensure that the seal that goes around the top of the transmission spline is seated properly. Assemble in reverse order but keep in mind to attach tub bolts prior to attaching the springs. Also keep in mind that both maytag and amana make a washer with the same model number LWA80AW. Check to see which one you are ordering for. The kits are different. Don't ask me how I know. Just make sure you get the correct kit the first time, it will save you a whole lot of head scratching.

I had previously done a partial tear down on the machine to see if I thought I could do the repair. The dealer try's to scare you with warnings about special tools etc. Looked OK and after reading other comments on this site, I thought I would try. The only comment that I would add to what has already said is that you should have the recommended sealer or an equivalent sealer. I used weatherstrip adhesive that I had on hand. Hope that it holds up! Like it says in the directions, the seal will lift up if there is too much sealer under the lip of the seal. Just hold down the seal with a weight until the adhesive sets up and then it will stay. I've fixed cars for 30 years and this was an easy repair comparable to replacing wheel bearings.

Hardest thing was moving washing machine away from wall. Two screws on panel. One screw for hose.