LWA30BW (PLWA30BW) 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.

This was the second time for the repair. The original bearing lasted 5 years then became noisy. Replaced it, and the unit worked great 5 more years and the noise came back. So I knew exactly what needed fixing what to order, parts wise. This is not a project for the faint of heart, you will completely disassemble your washer to change out the main bearing. Roughly here are the steps: 1, pull out the agitator with a good firm jerk up. 2, remove the rubber plug in the center of the drive hub, 3 remove the bolt you have just exposed. 4, pry up on the hub, use a puller if you have to to remove it. 5, pry off the cone shaped rubber seal and remove the large main nut from the drive shaft. 6, remove the 4 bolts holding tub, 7 remove the front panel and unscrew the front of the top panel, tip the top up. 8, lift out the tub, 9, remove the 6 large springs holdig the inner assembly to the base, 10, disconnect the water to tank hose and the fill level hose, 11, disconnect the motor cable at the motor, 12, free up the drain hose and pull it, 13, have a helper lift the inner assembly out and move it to a work area, 14, unbolt the drum from the base, motor, and counter weight 15, pry the drive hub off the transmission shaft, 16, remove the rubber seal from the drum, 17 flip the drum and remove the 3 bolts holding the bearing in place. Reverse to put it back. These steps are from memory so they may not be exact. The exploded views on PartsSelect.com web help, as to the instructions that come with the parts.

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.

Removed the front of the washer, then lifted the top up and held it up with a prop. Pulled the agitator straight up and started the disasembly. Using the photos in the hub and seal kit was a big help. The large nut on the output shaft had to be cut off with my dremel tool and the hub removed with a wheeler puller. Assembly was pretty much straight forward. Primed the pump and started the machine for the stated time and was a sucess.

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

I first unplugged the washer. I removed the 2 screws that hold the front panel and removed the front panel, they are located at the very bottom outer edges of the front panel.
I then removed 4 of the large springs that are attached to the drum, this washer has six but I only removed the front 4. Removed the two hoses going to the water pump and drain hose, removed 4 bolts that attach the motor to its mounting bracket. Unplugged the wiring harnesses going to motor and what looks like a capacitor mounted to the side of the motor.Then I removed the drive belt. ( when the machine would first start to spin it would make a clacking noise which ended up being a chunk out the the drive belt causing the belt tenshioner to slap causing that noise and letting the drum spin during the wash cycle. So far very easy. I then removed the motor and when it is disconnected you can then remove the water pump. Three hex head bolts need to be removed and it pulls right off. I then removed the six bolts that hold the brake pads in place. I applied silicone grease to the new brake pads and installed them. The pad at the back of the drum was very hard to line up with the holes. I used a very small screwdriver to line up the disc brake mounting holes to get the bolts started and it worked fine. I then put it all back together and it works great. I have to add that I have been an auto mechanic for 28 years and not to brag but this is not your average repair job.

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!!!

Took off the agitator, removed inner tub, exposing the hub drive. Found fusion between hub drive and agitator shaft. Rather than using a wheel puller as instructions recommended I got my masonry hammer and removed the drive hub in pieces. Removed debris from the tub. Installed sealant around lower seal as instructed. Re-assembled inner tub, agitator with new upper seal. Plugged in the washer, turned on the water. No leak. Happy happy.

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.

I did as the directions said that came with the kit. Except everything came off by hand until I got to the hub nut. Instead of waiting for another shipment and buying a tool I would have used once and never touched again I called SEARS and a technician came to my house because I did not have the hub nut hex wrench. He called it a spanner wrench. Once he used the tool to get off the nut I was in business. Until I had to put the nut back on. I ended up wrapping a towel around the end of a 12" adjustable crescent wrenc and litle by little smacked it with a hammer until the nut looked like it was all the way down. Just to put the nut back on my way took almost an hour alone. The directions said that a puller was needed to get off the adjutator shaft (unsure of correct name), but it came off with a little wiggleing. Once I put the new one on it would not budge off so a small puller would have been needed to remove it if I needed to again. And puting it back on was a chore in it self. I ended up using a hammer and 6" 1/2" drive extension with a 20 something MM socket on the end to force it down all the way. And the shat that the large seal goes over also requires a tool which is also not mentioned until you read the directions. I was able to twist and force on the new one with a little bit of included grease around the meeting surface. For the most part the directions were correct, but left out a bunch of nice to know things that the average person who is not mechnically inclined may not have figured out. Overall the whole procedd was pretty easy once all the tools were available. Suggestions I would make are to say in the advertisement of the seal kit that the Hub nut hex wrech (spanner wrench) and seal tool will be needed inorder to complete the removal and/ or installation. Which are sold seprately.

Unplugged power to the washer. Moved washer out from wall just about two feet. Removed the two screws holding on the top decorative piece, then the three screws holding the back of the control box on. There were two screws holding the old timer in. I had to look at the new timer to see that the turn-knob unscrews counter-clockwise from the timer shaft. Unplugged the single cable connector from the old timer, plugged it to the new timer and screwed everything back in. It was a snap and the washer was back up and running perfectly. Replacing a mechanical timer is a breeze. It took me longer to find my nutdriver than to complete the repair.