ALW680RAC (PALW680RAC) Amana Washer - Instructions

Had to remove pump-not easy. Nothing wrong with pump, but had to trash it to get it off the motor shaft, so I had to replace it, too.

Pop up top of cabinet and remove front panel. (I leaned unit back against a wall to facilitate internal access once panel was removed.)


Remove motor assy - 4 screws & connector.

Remove 3 pump screws (torx) and 2 hoses. Pry pump off motor shaft (not easy). I used a heat gun to help expand the plastic fitting on the motor shaft.

Remove old belt, put on new belt. (Do not use automotive belt-this belt is designed to slip because it also spins the tub. The tub will not spin when it's full of water, and the pump will not pump the water if the tub is bogging down the pump. Plus, you will probably overheat the motor.)

Press new pump back on motor shaft (advise not to re-use old pump as seals were probably damaged by removal process.)

Caution: Pressing pump onto motor shaft may cause pump rotor to bind in housing. Try to press it on a little too far so you back off slightly.

Replace pump screws.

Replace motor, giving attention to belt alignment.

Replace motor screws and connector.

Re-attach hoses on pump.

Button up cabinet.

Done.

The hardest part was removing the pump. If not for that, it would have been a 15-min, $20 repair.

Because I felt it wise to replace the pump also, it was a $70 repair.

It took some trial and error but overall not a difficult project. 1. Take the front covers off. 2. Undo the pully spring to loosen belt 3. Remove belt off idler pulley wheel and free up belt from the large wheel. 4. Disconect the wiring harness and the hoses. 5. Undo the motor mounting bolts (4) 6. Take motor out of washer and remove the 3 screws holding the pump to the motor. 7. The pump had melted to the shaft and required I chisel the pump off of the shaft. 8. Attach new pump paying attention to where the belt is positioned. 9. Reattach the motor bolts, hoses, and wiring harnes. 10. Attach the belt and test the pump. 11. Put the front back on.

Water was leaking on the floor during the wash cycle and especially during draining of the washer. I removed the front panel at ground level and watched while draining after a rinse.

I t was obvious that water was spraying from a hole in the rubber end of the hose (the hose is a fused assembly of a plastic section and a rubber section).

So, I finished draining, removed the hose (required pliers to squeeze off a hose clamp).

Upon inspecting the hose, it was also apparent that the hole was caused by rubbing against a support bracket for the motor. This should not happen, but it did because the plastic standoff supposed to keep the hose away from the bracket was installed 180 degrees backwards.

So, I simply replaced the hose and turned the bracket around to the correct orientation.

Everything worked as planned and my repair cost was much less than if I had called someone out.

Unplugged the washing machine and turned off the water to the machine. Removed the two front covers; unhooked the two front springs; removed the (4) motor mounting bolts; unhooked the two hoses for the water pump; unhooked the wiring harness; removed the belt from the driven pulley; pulled the motor assembly out; removed the (3) screws to separate the water pump from the motor; removed the belt from the motor pulley; installed new belt and repeated above in reverse to put everything back together; started washing machine and it worked great.

This is not a bad repair, but give yourself some time. I did not have to take the tranny and motor out, but the inner and outer tub and all related parts had to come out, along with the outer tub base. If you are replacing the tub bearing, you HAVE to order the seal kit. Don't try to skimp like I did, since you will need the seal kit as this is what causes that bearing to fail in the first place. We forgot how quiet the washer was after I fixed it, and it saved us from buying a new washer since we were ready to say the heck with it and buy a new pair. You might need an 1.5 inch socket to get the big nut off the spindle, but I was able to get with a visegrip and hammer. The nice thing about this repair is even if you screw it up, you won't have water all over the place because of the seal design. I just checked under the washer a few times for the first few weeks and all seems fine.

I was doing laundry one day, and noticed that the washer did not drain. I drained the water via a shop vac and checked the hoses. There was a baby sock stuck in the hose leading to the pump! I cleared the jam and the washer finally drained again. Once I ran another load, the washer wouldn't drain. I repeated the procedure, and found that the motor was spinning but the pump was not working. I disconnected the machine and proceded to remove the pump. I found that, due to blockage, the motor had reamed out the housing that turns the pump. So, at the advice of my father, who has used this site for other repairs, I entered the model make and number. I was able to view an exploded schematic of the washer in order to correctly identify the part I needed. I found the part, ordered it, and it came to me in about 2 days. I replaced the pump, and my washer has worked great ever since. Thank you PartSelect.com.

All went well 1-remove front panel 2 screws 2-remove 2 front springs tilt tub 3-forward bottom out 4-remove pump 3 torx screws 5-r and r belt pulley and spring reassemble fast service as well thank you

to replace the seals is the easier part of the job. I Removed the front panels and removed the front screws for the top and opened up. Then you have to remove the agitator, then the bell plug, the bolt holding the bell along with the bell, then the 1-1/2" nut under that. then slide the plastic washer that fits into the splne. to remove the drum you have to remove the plastic top to the drum assembly. Then you can remove the drum along with the along with the alumunum splined hud that is atrtached the the metal drum. Before removing the drum the seal under the plastic washer mentioned above needs to be removed. once the drum is out you can in bolt the aluminum splined hub from the metal drum. The outer plastic drum has a seal that is glued and slides over the vertical flange. The glue is not included in the kit. once the botom seal is installed. install the new aluminum splined hub to the metal drum. install lower seal to botom of the splined hub. reinstall the hub. once the large nut and plastic spined washer is installed. The top seal neds to tapped onto the hub agian with an object that matches the dia. of the seal flange. the n install the bell, nut ans plug. The bell does not like to align to the splined shaft, do not force it. reinstall the agitor an assemble the rest.

took off 2 bolts
on front panel (at the bottom). removed the spring tentioner.
next i spun the belt around until it came off
the pullies.
Then i removed 4 bolts holding the (pump and motor) spun this around to expose the pump screws(4) Took off the pump and did the same inreverse order except i put a new belt on also...
Good LUCK!!!

Remove the electrical power plug and disconnect the water hoses at the back. Remove the lower front panel by taking out the two screws at the bottom edge. Then lift out the upper front panel which exposes the two sheet metal screws holding down the top panel. Lift open the top panel and secure it up about 90 degrees so it doesn't flop over backwards. Twine tied to something overhead works fine. Replacement procedure for the valve is obvious, once exposed.

Unplugged washer then took back off control panel. Removed clamp and tube from pressure switch. Pushed in tabs with a screwdriver and lifted top. Removed clamp and broken tube. Put new tube in place and tighten clamp with nutdriver. Closed top and put other end of tube on pressure switch with clamp. Put back on control panel and plugged in. Clamps are to big for application but do work. So far so good!

As the other posting said, it appears our problem was due to constant overloading, as an inspection of the machine with the bottom service panel removed clearly revealed all three milkstool legs broken away from the round center piece. My teen-agers are now aware that I am somewhat displeased about this.
My first action was to order the repair manual. In retrospect, it was only marginally useful as a job aid, but was essential in verifying ID of the part and understanding details of how the machine works. I started by following the manual which said to remove the agitator. The agitiator didn't want to be removed, even after repeated attempts and applications of varying amounts of both physical and vocal persuasion. So, I reconsidered what I really needed to be doing, and dislodging the agitator (and subsequently all of the spline seals) really wasn't necessary. I just needed to get to and replace the crushed milkstool (and leave everything with a seal alone!).
So, Phase 1 - I removed the front panels, and tilted up the top. I then disconnected the power cable to the motor and the inlet/outlet hoses to the pump (more on my haste in this step in a moment...). The wiring harness is held in place on the machine back and milkstool by plastic retainers that release when compressed. I then disconnected the green ground wire, the panel that holds the blue water inlet valve assembly, the black hose on top of the tub and the clear air pressure hose (just pulls straight out of the tub side connector). This allowed the top to be removed and set aside. I then pulled the drain hose through and pulled the plate that holds it in place from the back, then removed all the screws that hold the cabinet to the base, then set the cabinet aside. Next, I disconnected all 7 springs from the base to the tub, and the tub was free. I pulled the tub from the base (not too heavy) and inverted it to get at the motor/pump/milkstool.
Phase 2 - gently removed the idler spring and removed the belt from the pulley. Pulled 10 1/2" self-tapping screws that hold the milkstool to the tub and the motor to the milkstool (these can be discarded as you get new ones with the milkstool). Now pulled 6 screws that hold the brake pads in place, and pulled the brakepads. The manual says to replace the pads whenever pulled, but these didn't look terribly worn, and work just fine after reassembly. The pulley then came off easily, and then subsequently so did the milkstool (with integrated bearing). Reassembly was the reverse of disassembly, and all seemed logical enough until I got to reattaching the hoses to the pump. The manual does not make it clear which one goes where, and I forgot to take a picture of that part of the machine before dismantling. Long story short, I put them on backwards, and you'll probably not be surprised to hear the machine didn't work as anticipated when we turned it on! (wouldn't spin, wouldn't pump out the water and made a nice puddle in the laundry room). Once we ladled out all of the water from the tub and reversed the hoses, everything worked fine. So - words to the wise (1) mark hoses, wires, etc with tape, grease pencil, whatever works for you BEFORE disassembly and (2) take close-up digital pics as you progress.

I removed the front cover to gain access to the motor. I saw that the belt was starting to get chewed up so I removed it. While looking at the schematic on Parts.com I noticed the Idler Pulley Wheel was much larger then one currently on the machine. I ordered that also in case I needed it. I needed it. Once I replaced the belt and the pulley the machine ran better then ever. Originally I thought I just needed the belt but thanks to Parts.com I realized I needed a little more. Thanks.

First remove the bottom front access door. The helix drive nut and pulley were both chewed up. I pushed the pulley up into the brake assembly to make sure it released properly. Mine released and the drum spun freely (I had my 8 yr old assistant turn the drum first). The helix nut turned with the drum so I assumed the transmission was good to go. Once my drive nut and pulley came in (two days), [UNPLUG WASHER AND DISCONNECT WATER] I took the top front cover off and lifted the top up and back on it's hinges. Next I disconnected the motor wiring harness, the bleach tube, the fill hose, the six drum springs, and the drain hose from the pump. Pulled the drum out of the shell and flipped it upside down. I took off the helix drive nut and removed the 8 bolts that hold the "milk stool and bearing assembly" and motor to the drum, also 2 screws that go into the plastic reservoir. I raised the milk stool enough to get the pulley out. (Belt was good) Put in new pulley and pushed the milk stool back down. (I was careful to keep the bearing on the shaft splines). Put the belt back on the pulley and idler. Put in all the bolts and put back together in reverse order. I recommend starting with the back drum springs, that's how I did it and it was easy. About an hour. Good luck.

I searched "sav2655aww repair" (my model number) on the internet, and found people who had the same problem - and did the same repair. Some put up very detailed instructions.
Anyway, with instruction, it was a pretty easy job. Remove the front panels, disconnect the hoses from the water pump, unplug the electrical connector from the motor, remove the 4 bolts that hold the motor mount, and slip off what was left of the belt. To replace the belt, I also needed to temporarily remove the water pump (3 torx screws) from the motor, because the belt snaked in between those two parts. Once replaced, I remounted the motor, slipped the belt over the main wheel (under the tub), set the belt tension wheel to take up the slack, and reattached the hoses and wires. Surprisingly, the belt replacement took care of the noise (the whole unit would sway out and repeatedly hit the front panel during a wash - I suppose it wasn't agitating or spinning correctly). Works like new.