LE8517L2 (PLE8517L2) Amana Dryer - Instructions

I went to RepairClinic.com & FixYa.com for some great advice. I searched the internet for the parts. PartSelect.com was the most inexpensive. Delivery was good. Using the repairman's manual I found on the internet I followed the steps to remove each panel, in order. The wiring was the most bothersome, but okay to resolve; write it down and pull it off! I don't think the rollers, in the back, were bad. The tension idler was extremely worn. I tightened the tension idler bracket at the base. I did need to use an O-Ring Spreader to get all the rollers off and on. Although there were more panels to remove than older models, it was easier! Wrap the belt around the drum before reinstalling. The belt will loop around the drive & tensioner relatively easy. Replace the rubber seal around the drum & replace all the panels. Things are quieter now than I can remember in a long time.

I used your great video for pointers as to what to do. I took off the front, raised the top, vacuumed the whole thing up, that took quite a while. Took out the drum. Did more cleaning. Then took off the old retaining rings with retaining ring pliers, took off the old drum rollers and support. Replaced with new roller supports, washer, roller, washer and retaining rings. Then I replaced the belt. Tested it and turned the wrong way and it came off. Replaced and tested it again and I don't know why but it came off. Replaced the belt again, tested fine. Then I replaced the felt pads and glides, they were worn. I ended up asking my husband to help hold the drum so I could get the front back on. Replaced front and door. Tried the dryer. Works great AND very, very little noise. Note: when taking the wiring off the light and the door switch, I took photo's of those places with my cell phone and had them to look at to make sure the wiring was correct.

After removing the lower access panel, I observed the drum and belt and saw it turning freely. The support rollers in the back turned freely and were in good condition as well. At odd intervals the unit made a humming or grinding noise, and i decided to check the blower wheel (the other rotating part in the system). I found that the central hub of the wheel (which is made of a nylon like plastic) had sheared off from the wheel itself. I ordered a new part and started to remove the old wheel. **NOTE** many of the stories I read described how this part would have a reverse thread, it did not and that cost me an extra 30 minutes to figure out (the new part had arrows showing the correct direction to put on and remove - the original didn't). Once everything was cleaned and reassembled, I started the dryer again, but got no heat. I had previously replaced the heating element, so I thought my wiring was wrong. That wasn't the problem, but a hint from this site about checking the incoming wiring was the solution, my ground wire had come off the terminal in the back of the dryer and I wasn't getting the volatge across the element that it required. With the ground wire back in place, everything worked fine.

Unlike the other stories I read (and the video posted on the site), my unit had a lower maintenance panel on the front face which required quite a different disassembly. Once I took off the lower panel, there were screws at the bottom of the top panel. Once removed, the top front panel came out and exposed the necessary interior components. In order to get the drum out, I took out the screws holding the front of the top on and wiggled the drum out. From there I removed the belt and offending idler lever, put in the new ones and hooked the spring back up. Reverse procedure to assemble and the problem is completely gone. I even found and removed an unexpected hair band from the front skid plate. Pretty doable if you're willing to spend the time.

removed the front panel and the drum panel cover.replaced the guides and the felt pads and re-assembled.

Propped the machine up in the front, removed the front panel, the door assembly, and the front drum support. Use a Sharpie to mark wire positions. This will help during re-assembly. To get the drum out, you first have to remove the belt from the motor pulley. Drum slides right out. You will need snap-ring pliers to remove the pulley from the idler arm. I also replaced the drive belt because it was cheap, and always a good idea to replace it when you are this far into the machine if it is a few years old. Re-assemble in the reverse order of disassembly. An easy fix for the average do-it-yourself person.

Terminal Block was cracked and dryer was not receiving enough voltage, causing the heating element not to heat. Here were the steps I took to fix the problem:
1. Turn off breaker to dryer from 240v outlet
2. Unplug dryer from 240v wall outlet.
3. On outside, rear of dryer, remove cover plate and the clamp that the power cord goes through with nut driver or phillips screwdriver and take picture or write down how the power cord wires go to the terminal block.
4. Use nut driver or phillips screwdriver to remove the power cord wires from terminal block and ground wire from dryer body.
5. On top front of dryer, use large slotted screwdriver or some other tool to push in on the two clips in order to lift the cover up on dryer.
6. Take picture or write down how wires are attached to terminal block.
7. Remove wires from terminal block with nut driver or phillips screwdriver.
8. Use nut driver to remove terminal block from washer and install the new terminal block.
9. Reinstall wires to new terminal block.
10. Close dryer cover.
11. Reinstall clamp onto power cord wires and reinstall wires to new terminal block and ground wire to washer body then put cover plate back on.
12. Plug in dryer then turn on breaker.
13. Start dryer to see if it heats now.

Unable to find a repair manual or accurate diagram, I forged ahead and removed the top and front panels of the dryer. It took two tries to figure out how to thread the belt (nine of my ten thumbs kept getting in the way!), but after a coffee break, the job came together, and I've taken the clothesline down!

First I was told by the maytag repair man that the motor was shot and it would be 467 dollars to repair. Since I didn't have that kind of money I decided to take it apart to see if I could replace the motor myself. Once I had it apart I saw the part that held the motor in place was broken off and the motor was out of place causing it too shut itself off. Once I figured it all out it took about 2 minutes to replace the less than 6 dollar part! Thanks partSelect!!!

Per instructions I printed off online: took off door, then the front panel. Pulled out the old switch/button, connected the new switch/button, made sure the new button was working; put the panel back on then the door and DONE!

I first watched the video and disassembled the dryer to see if I could determine what part was squeaking. All looked good except the wheel on the Idler lever which was tight. I vacuumed up the years of lint and reassembled the dryer and waited for the parts to arrive. I ordered the idler lever and also the 2 drum support wheels, belt and 2 drum guides since I thought that is was a good idea to go ahead and replace these parts once I had the dryer disassembled again. Good choice on the belt as once I removed the old belt there was a crack on the underside of the belt. I bought snap ring pliers at home depot but the tips were too big to fit the holes on the snap rings on the drum rollers. I bought another snap ring plier set from an automotive store that came wth 5 snap ring attachments - but again all were too large to fit the snap rings on the drum support rollers. I used a nail and small screwdriver to expand and pull off the snap rings but this approach was frustrating and time consuming. Not sure where to get snap ring pliers that are small enough to fit the holes on the snap rings - so hope that you have better luck locating a set thats small enough! I was able to return the pliers that I purchased - so all good. I was surprised at how easy the dryer came apart and how easy it was easy to work on. When disassembling the dryer - we took pictures of the wire connections before we disconnected them, however at one point we tilted the dryer back to clean behind it and the top slipped a little away from the side panel of the dryer and one of the wires that was connect to the wire block that is up by where the power cord connects cam loose - and it took some time to find and figure out a wiring diagram for this connection. Suggest that you take a pictire of this wire connection block once you lift the lid - just in case a slip occurs and a wire may disconnect. When replacing the idler lever -
have a little grease available when you install the new idler lever (between the arm and the bolt area as it constantly moves and the old brease has probably worn away) . After making these repairs I dont think I will ever buy a new dryer as any part , including the heater and motor would be easy to replace and cheaper than a new dryer.

Dryer stopped tumbling, so bad belt was my first thought. Dryer is in vacation home so did not have immediate access to it to diagnose. Ordered belt and discovered that the poorly designed motor pulley had broken and the belt jumped onto the motor shaft and burned through the original belt. Week 2 after ordering pulley, installation went per YouTube video. Glad I also replaced the belt because it was brittle and cracked. Suspect it had been slipping because sheets would ball up into a log, possibly because the drum wasn't spinning fast enough. Anyhoo, after repair all seems OK.

I removed the dryer front and replaced the door switch.
Next I replaced the drum glide reassembled the dryer.

I just took the bottom front panel off and the parts I needed to rplace where in the back and very easy to get to . I decided to replace all 3 while I was in there. The parts were not to high, so that is why I did that.

I took off two screws on the front panel and removed it. I then located the old element inside at the back, left side of the dryer. I removed the two screws holding it in and then transfered the wires to the new element. My dryer works better than it ever did before. Thanks,