ALW5 Amana Washer - Instructions

Sunday night - removed old valve and hose 15 min went online, found & ordered part - 15 min - part showed up Tuesday afternoon, replaced defective valve 15 min - did laundry! Couldn't have been easier or less expensive!

Disconnect power and water, opened up front end by removing four self-tapping screws, removed the electric motor assembly from frame of machine, replace pump and belt and reassembled.

First always unplug appliance.Then I shut off the water.I took the front off the washer.Saw the idler was the problem.Ordered parts and new belt.Removed motor assy,and removed pump.Checked impellors and pump bearing.Installed new parts for idler.Installed belt.Re-installed pump to motor,then re-installed entire assy.Turned on water and ec ... Read more ectricity.Ran complete cycle to test.Re-installed front cover.

Removed the damaged legs, replaced with parts from this site and leveled the washer .

Unpluged electric, diconnected dicharge hose from wall drain, disconnected water lines from rear of washer and at wall hose connection, removed lower front panel, removed large front panel, disconnected hoses at motor(put towels at hoses to catch water leakage)THEN-took washer to the garage and tuned up side down. Removed front two tub sp ... Read more rings, removed (4) motor bolts, removed electrical harness from motor, remove and replaced new brake pads. NOTE:brake pads need to be somewhat driven(pushed hard) into brake pad slots. Also it was easier to install the rear pad by removing the 4" knock-out at the side of the washer. Somehow reinstall the knock-out to keep mice and animals from entering the interior of the washer. THEN- reinstall all items in reverse order. Any one mechaniclly minded can replace the brake pad. My wife and I saved lots by doing the replacement myself. THE END. Good job Gary Final note:besure to intall the drive "v" belt around the 2" pulley wheel.Very important.

remove agitator then remove center bolt from hub, match bolt with longer bolt so that gear puller will work. install bolt and gear puller and twist top of gear puller until hub is removed. remove old seal ,use sand cloth or emery cloth to remove all deposits from shoulder. make it shinny, use some dawn dishwashing soap to line the inside ... Read more of the new seal at the bottom and slide into place.take a piece of 2" PVC about 4" long and slide over the top of the seal and tap with a rubber hammer until seal is seated firmly on shoulder. look to see that there are no gaps with a inspection mirror or a make-up mirror.If their are no gaps ,install the hub and tap on the new hub with the rubber hammer. the hub will not seat all the way down so use the old bolt to pull it down, now take out the old bolt and install the new one, this is because the new one has lock tite on it ,your done!

removed the front of the washer, removed the motor and pump. Reinstall new pump.

1) removed front panels from washing machine
2) removed water pump. Three small torque bit screws and (2) hoses.
3) removed motor (because I realized that the belt tensioner also needed work as it was siezed) removed (4) bolts and an electical connector.
4) repaired tensioner by taking apart and cleaning bearing surface. Ne ... Read more eded snap ring plyers to take apart.
5) put motor back in
6) replaced belt
7) put water pump back on
8) intalled front panels back on washer

I called Lucky Buy when I realized it was more than the drain hose.
I asked if they would install for the same $55 if I got the parts online for less than their price & they said yes.
Once the parts came, they came back (Initial call was $20) for the $55 part replacement call.
At one point he said he had to leave & came bac ... Read more k in 20 mins with the pump sawed off (into pieces - it was frozen on the base!)...
He also installed a new belt (Also ordered here for less than their quote!) +
I got braided steel hoses and (3) sets of screens (I'll start changing them annually!) ~
The washer now fills AT LEAST 4x as quickly with new hoses & screens!
The clothing comes out MUCH LESS DAMP with the new belt!
+ it is FAR QUIETER with the new belt!
We're in HEAVEN over here! :-)
ONE THING:
One that first load after the repair, I noticed the water level (Set, as always, to XL) was over halfway UP the side of the agitator's fabric softner dispenser, but thought MAYBE I was "misremembering", but nooo, I don't think I was because LOTS of water spilled out the MIDDLE FRONT BOTTOM once it did the cycle...
(This did not happen when he tested it before leaving - on the SMALL cycle (Which we NEVER use)...
SO!
QUICK FIX:
We set the water level to "LARGE" and all's been fine ever since! :-)
Anyone know whick part we need for the water to stop UNDER the bottom of the fabric softner, like it used to?

I am VERY PLEASED to have found this site and Lucky Buy - I am _SURE_ I saved WAY OVER $100 total (Parts & Labor) & my 15-year old machine is AS GOOD AS NEW NOW (almost - that leak's got to GO! :-)

First I tried to lift the lid on the top of the washing machine. I eventually realized this model doesn't open up from the top. I removed two screws on the very bottom of the front panel of the washing machine. Then pulled gently downward to release the front panel from the two clips holding it in at the top. Once the front panle was ... Read more removed, I found I could easily access the drain hose and disconnect it from the pump by loosening the clamp screw. (Be aware, there is still water in the hose and pump that will run out onto the floor; I had a bucket close by and tried to catch most of this water, but its somewhat futile.) There are two additional hose clips one underneath the tub, and one on the back panel of the washer that hold the hose away from other mechanical parts. Once the hose is freed from those clips it could be removed from the washer by feeding the hose out the back panel. The new hose was then inserted and fed down inside the washer, attached to the pump, tighten the hose clamp screw, clip the hose to the other two clamps so it is out of the way of other parts, reattached the front panel and you're done!

One other note about PartSelect.com...A few days after ordering my part, I had an "International Transaction Fee" show up on my debit card statement. I panicked thinking my card number had been stolen only to call my bank and find out PartSelect is based in Canada.

pulled cover off face of machine to gain axcess
saw pulley had come off brass sleeve( Bad design should have had a larger washer on bottom to help support pulley ) would of prevented this problem
Removed motor to gain axcess to pulley and belt change . Keep a towel near by to catch any extra water still in hoses on ... Read more lower pump

I figured that the best thing to do is buy an adapter for the standpipe and now no more overflowing.

Removed front panel; loosened hose clamp at pump; removed existing drain hose. Easy part.
Installed new hose at pump and tightened hose clamp. Somewhat difficult.
1. Your hose design should be solid flexible rubber hose instead of corrugated type. Had rough time snaking hose to the pump.
2. Your future designs should have r ... Read more ubber hose or hard piping to the exit hole on the back panel and terminated in a male fitting, then connect flexible hose from fitting to drain line. Similar to "hot & cold " water connections.
3. For future customers- care should be taken installing the "black" portion ; it kinked on me 2 or 3 times because you have to keep rotating the entire hose to keep the "black" portion straight.

First, I printed all the diagrams on the Partselect site so I would know how things went together.

I removed the two screws at the bottom of the front panel and removed the panel by pulling the bottom out allowing the top to come off he retaining clips. I then used pliers to remove the two springs holding the front of the wash ... Read more er tub to the base. Then I removed the spring that attached to the idler arm and the motor. (I also took digital pictures of everything in case I forgot the routing of the belt, the location of springs, etc.) Next I loosened the clamps holding the inlet and outlet hoses to the pump. The water loss was minimal as my washer was still functioning, but I could see that if the washer died with a full tub, there could be a lot of water. I then slipped the 2 hoses off the pump. Next I removed the four bolts holding the motor/pump combo from the frame. I unpluged the electrical connector (on the top left side of the pump....it has a locking tab on top that must be depressed to remove it). Then tilt the bottom of the motor/pump combo up and forward to allow it to come out of the machine. Please note the routing of the belt for replacement later.

The pump has 3 screws (torx) that attaches it to the motor. In most cases, it seems the pump will seize to the motor shaft due to the heat of the motor over time. Since the pump is bad anyway, I simply chiseled it off the motor shaft using a flat blade screwdriver and hammer. It is tempting to put the screwdriver between the motor pulley and pump, but this will only bend the pulley.......I know from experience. It will take several good whacks but eventually the pump will come off. In my case the pump had leaked enough that the end of the motor shaft was slightly pitted and corroded. I took a file and cleaned up the end so the new pump would slide on properly. I also put a small amount of machine oil on the motor shaft and wiped it good just to make the pump easier to mount. I then slide the pump on the motor shaft, replaced the 3 torx screws (make sure you have the belt in the right position.....one run of it goes inside the pump mounting stud.) I then reversed the process.....remounted the motor/pump combo, reattached the power connector, replaced the belt on the pulley beneath the drum, reattached the idler tension spring, reattached the 2 hoses and clamps, and reattached the 2 drum holddown springs. I then inserted the top of the front panel on the two clips and tilted it back down into place and replaced the 2 screws at the bottom front.

All in all, it was very easy..........taking only an hour or so. My belt was still in good condition, but I could advise you to go ahead and replace the belt while you are in there. It also could be practical to replace the pulley on top of the pump, as it is easy to bend. I did bend mine, but managed to straighten it back out.

After completing the repair, the washer works perfectly with no leaks.

Thanks for very quick delivery and detailed instructions found on this site. I followed the step-by-step instructions and everything went as planned with one exception, I installed the V-belt in a wrong way after replacing the pump. Next time, I will mark or remember the way belt sits between the motor and the pump.
I found a small ... Read more sock in the pump. Pump itself was still good (I think), but I installed new one along with new belt (just in case).