PLW8363L2B Amana Washer - Instructions

VERY EASY!!!
SAFETY FIRST-Always unplug the appliance.
Use 8mm socket to remove front panel screws. Loosened up two hose clamps connected to the pump and removed both lines (Hoses contain water, use a towel) which is located underneath the motor. Disconnect motor electrical connector on the left side of the motor. With socket, remove 4 mounting bracket screws that secure the motor and pump assembly. Pull back the tension/idler pulley to loosen belt off the main pulley to the washer drum. Tilt and pull out motor/pump assembly. Underneath the pump, use star-bit to remove the pump from motor assembly to remove the belt. Install new belt on motor pulley (Good time to check for debris or anything restricing free movement of pump) and re-install pump. Install the motor/pump assembly and loosely secure the motor/pump assembly. Place the belt onto the motor pulley and pull back the tensioner/idler pulley to allow slack of belt to be placed on washer drum pulley. Put the belt on the lip of the drum pulley and rotate while pulling back the tensioner/idler pulley until the belt is seated on the groove of the drum pulley. Tighten the motor/pump assembley. Re-attach the 2 hoses and tighten down the clamps. Re-connect the electrical connector to the motor...Don't forget to plug in the washer and secure the front panel...Piece 'O cake, you're done! About 15 minutes to do the job. Much like changing a belt on most vehicles.

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.

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.

Unplug the washer
Took off the front with nut driver to two fasteners at the bottom.
Took off two tub springs using channel lock pliers.
Tipped the tub back for more hand room.
Took brake bolts off with box end wrench.
Put Screw driver above brake clamps and pried down to make the old brake pads drop down below the seats and then take brakes off. You might have to use a screw driver to expand the brake clamps so they will release the brake. (brake clamps look like a pulley but the edges will spread some bit.)
Twisted large screw driver between the brake clamps and pushed new brake in as far as would go while beside (to the left or right of) the brake seat.
Pried brake clamps down and rotated brake around until it is lined up with the brake seat. Then pried pads up into the seat.
Re-twisted large screw driver between the brake clamps to separate them and pulled the brake pad back to within 1/8th to 1/16th inch of the back. This lined up the bolt hole.
Inserted the bolt with rubber grommett into the brake pad hole and twisted it counter clockwise and tightened with wrench. (If the bolt would not thread, then you have to adjust the brake pad forward or backward until the holes line up.) Tighten the bolt until it is firmly tight.

There are three brakes. Each is installed the same way. The one in back required a little cross legged contortion for me to reach around both sides of the motor and two front brake pad mounts. The key is lining up the bolt hole in the brake pad with the mount. I pretty well had it figured out after the second pad install. Time for me.. 4 hours. Cost, leg cramps, sore muscles from awkward positions, and the joy of not having to buy a new washer.

Return the springs to the tub on the front. Close front panel and return the two fasteners with the nut drivers.

How did I know I needed the brakes? When in agitation mode the tub spun the opposite direction of the spin cycle. When the agitator turned the opposite direction, the water inside went into a very strong vortex and sometimes sloshed out the top or around the top edges When there were a lot of clothes and a high fill level in the tub. We also had trouble with straps winding around the agitator. The tub spun so quickly that the water without agitation was driven to the top outer edges of the tub by centrifugal force.

This was my fist time attempting to fix a washer. I had to guess on the length of the belt since the model number on the machine had worn off and the belt had snapped in a way that made determining the length difficult. At first, I ordered a belt that was too small. I realized this after I was unable to remount the motor stand onto the bottom of the machine. This model had the motor assembly right in front of the unit. It was easily accessed after removing the panel on the front of the machine. It was easy to remove the 4 screws (they were all visible) on the motor stand. After that I was able to disconnect the pump belt. This machine has seperate belts for agitation and the pump. The pump belt must be removed in order to install the agitator belt because they both are driven by the same shaft and the pump belt is positioned on the bottom. There is also a tension wheel for the agitator belt which might be easily overlooked. Make sure to install the agitator belt so that the tension wheel is on the outside of the belt's path. The whole job is fairly easy if you have the right part to begin with. If you have to force the belt onto the wheels, then you probably have a belt that is too small.

The washer is four years old.
This is the second time I needed to replace this same drain hose on this same washer since I had the machine
There is only my wife ant myself maybe, 2 -3 medium size loads per week - why I would have two drain lines develop the same problem in almost the same location in two years is disconcerting
There must be a design problem with the clear plastic hose - Suggest Maytag go to a thick walled rubber hose
The hole is alway inside the washer on the bottom just after the hose bracket - I suspect that something rubbing causing a small pin hole to develop - when the condition first starts it is very difficult to located -There will be water under the washer
Run the washer and discharge the water - to locate

The replacement must be made through the lower front removable panel - and is easier to do if the pump return hose is also disconnected from the pump

Be very carful with the thin wall replacement hose - very light weight plastic - do not pull across the floor of washer - it could easily get damaged

Your company did a get job getting the part to me - The Fed Ex track system was great
I could tell exactly where the delivery was al all times -

I replaced the 7 springs holding the tub in place. To do this you have to take the two front bolts out the holds to front panel on the machine. Remove the front panel and you will see the bolt in each front corner holding the top in place. Remove these. Then remove the 8 bolts at the bottom of the three remaining sides of the machine. After removing these you can move the sides out of the way enough to remove each one of the 7 springs holding the tub in place. Then one by one replace the springs and put the sides back on in the order they were removed. Hopefully, if you are having trouble keeping your machine in balance in the spin cycle, this will fix your machine as it fixed ours.

Three brake pads are located just above the drive pulley and space symmetrically around the brake wheel. Remove the one screw per brake, slide brake out of brake wheel and replace with new brake. Apply silicone grease to new brakes before installing. Tools: 5/16 boxed end wrench.

Place black rubber adapter on the end of the drain hose and stick in the stand pipe drain. That's all.

Biggest trick is getting the agitator off. It seems like it is bolted on. I used a piece of braided cotton cord to run under both sides of the agitator and just pulled real hard. It WILL pop off.

Next the old seal will also seem to be attached. The edge is firm but not bolted. A small prybar will help.

Easy repair to do, but it did not fix my problem. I decided to get a new washer rather than go through further disassembly.

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

After removing the front panel I was able to reach the bolts holding the brake pads in place. Without the above mentioned ratcheting end wrench it would have been very difficult to start the bolts while replacing them. I would probably consider removing the motor if I had to do this again. It would give a lot better access. no real difficulty other than hard to reach.

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 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!

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 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.

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 rubber 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.