LE8317L2 (PLE8317L2) Amana Dryer - Instructions

Removed lower panel, door assembly, belt and drum.
Removed blower wheel cover.
Used dremmel tool to cut plastic from metal that attaches the blower to the motor shaft.
Used adjustable wrench to keep motor shaft from turning.
Used vise grip to clamp on metal and turned to loosen blower wheel.
Attached new blower and re-assembled.

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 followed the instructions and it went very well. The only confusing part was the drive belt for the tumbler barrel I just had to visualize the threading arrangement to get it right. Much like a car fan belt.

unplug appliance.removed 2 screws @ the rear of dryer top to tip lid back. unplugged the door switch wires.took out 3 philip screws that hold lint screen to inside of drum.removed 2 screws @ dryer front top. lifted dryer front panel off. the drum was now loose. slipped off old belt - replaced with new. set drum back into place. made sure new belt was on motor pulley & behind tensioner pulley arm. replace & reconnect items in reverse order. plug back in & test. after seeing the wear on the plastic tensioner pulley i regret not ordering that part for replacement also.

I first unpluged the dryer. Then I
Removed two screws and removed bottom cover, Then removed the door assembly.Here I had to unplug the light and door switches. I then removed the four screws that holds the tub mount in place, Then I removed the eight screws that hold the blower cover in place, then removed the blower. replaced blower and reassembled in reverse. I started the dryer and it worked fine.

I had recently had the low limit thermal fuse replaced for the same problem. About a month later same problem but different fuse. I checked the low limit fuse with an ohm meter and it had continuity. When I checked the High limit fuse it did not, there was infinite resistance meaning it was open and not providing current to the heater elements. Out of concern why the high limit blew, I decided to replace the thermostat as well. As I dissembled the dryer there was an over abundance of lint from years of use. I also notice the drum belt had some chunks missing and decided to replace it since I was removing it anyway. Ordered the parts from Part Select and they arrived in a timely manner as promised. Replaced the defective parts, vacuumed out all the lint and junk that was coating the drive motor and other items. Resembled the dryer and it worked good as new. total cost of $60 in parts, and couple of hours and back in business!

I removed the access panel on the lower front. Then I removed the front door panel (noting where the wires went; 1 for red, 2 for black, 3 for grey). Then I removed the 2 screws holding the top down and lifted it up. Then I reached underneath the drum and took the belt off the tensioner. Then I removed the front drum panel with the lint filter, guides, and front felt seal. Then I took out the drum. Then I replaced the roller and post (with bracket). The old post was worn, so it was a good thing I got the new post (thanks to someone else's reccomendation). Then I put it all back together. It was surprizingly easy. I just wish these parts weren't so dad gum expensive. I paid $20 for one roller and post. I wish I could have also replaced the felt seals ($17 each), the other roller (another $8) and the sliders and felt pads ($20 per side). And a new belt. By then, you might as well buy a new dryer!

How to take apart a dryer:
The first way:
1) Remove front lower panel (2 screws on bottom).
2) Remove the front black plastic air duct.
3) If you have long arms, or an extention socket wrench, you might be able to reach the heating unit, otherwise use the Second way:

The second way:
1) Remove front lower panel, as this will expose the screws to the dry door unit.
2) Remove dryer door unit (2 screws on bottom, 2 spring clips on top), and disconnect assoc wires.
3) Remove dryer lid:
3.1) Remove 2 screws on front (previously hidden by door unit
3.2) Remove 2 clip hooks on back of dryer
3.3) Lift lid rear above center guides, and wiggle away from front spring clips
4) Lay dryer on back, as this will allow easier removal of the drum
5) Remove screws securing the heater control unit.

Attempt 1: Disconnected heating element and saw that the heating coils were broken. Ordered new heating coil and new belt.
Attempt 2: 3 weeks after installing new heating element, my wife informed me that the unit was no longer putting out heat!!! So, I ordered the Thermostat and Thermal Fuse. Put dryer back together.
Attempt 3: Turned it on - absolutely nothing - dead, dead, dead. Discussed purchasing new $600+ dryer. Started taking it apart again, and discovered that door wire was never reattached. Meaning the dryer thought the door was wide open.
Attempt 4: Now the dryer squeaks. Took dryer partially apart and added white grease to wheels that support the drum. Currently, all is well with the world.

Moral of the story: Replace the entire heating unit, check belt for cracks and grease the wheels if you get a chance.

Used spackle knife to pop clips on top of dryer. Raised lid of dryer to expose belt. Next used nut driver to disassembly screws from front door and then base ( bag them. Labeled bag and marked inside of dryer with corresponding number to match hardware) disassembled dryer door latch switch and marked red + and white no marking. ( Middle connection not used) removed dryer clean out screen and then removed dryer face next removed dryer blower cover no hardware ( just lift upwards see side clips) opened up side of dryer to gain more access (spread apart manually) removed belt and marked where belt was on tumbler postion with permanent marker used 2 car hold down cords to hold drum in place with back of dryer next removed belt from idler (note to make a drawing so that you know how to wrap this around the idler otherwise the belt will appear to be too large. Remember to reconnect spring. Next step was to removed drum rollers. . . This required a retaining ring pliers cost about $15. I replaced the snap retaining rings. This was easy but requires that you pull the drum forward about 4 inches to position. Next replaced belt and reassembled. Project was a success and runs like new. . . . Saved me $129 service call plus $65 parts without maytag mark-up plus additional labor for the job $130. My cost $65 + $15 tool (retaining ring pliers) $80 versus $259 + ( $65 *50%)ark up on parts) $80 versus $356 -- thanks parts select for saving me $276 during the christmas holiday.

Being my lousy Maytag washer died THE PREVIOUS DAY, spewing water, etc. and I had rushed out and bought a new washer, I was determined not to replace the dryer (though I now am a serious NON_FAN of Maytag).

I disassembled the whole dryer and finally got to the blower wheel which was broken lose from the molded nut. I supposed something like a dime or penny got in there to shred it.

PartSelect's website allowed me to find the part in 5 minutes. It was on my doorstep the next afternoon.

Installation was straightforward BECAUSE I stacked all the screws and and labeled them appropriately. It took about 30 minutes to reassemble and the toughest bit was getting the drum in with the belt positioned properly.

Unplug Dryer. Remove 2 5/16in hex screws fm lower panel,3 51/6in hex screws to vent duct. Remove 2 1/4in hex screws to thermostat. Remove 7 1/4in hex screws to blower cover and 2 5/16in hex screws holding base footings.Use adj. wrench to hold rear nut on motor shaft, use7/8in socket to remove fan frm motor shaft. Remove 3 5/16in hex screws holding fan housing to motor mount. Lift-up on spring tensioned belt pulley to remove belt. Pull motor & mount out [wires are layed toward front allowing removal]. Use 6in flat tip screwdriver to unsnap both front/rear motor clamps.Pinch plastic end clamps and remove motor electrical connector.Motor installation is reverse. For belt removal,remove 2 5/16in hex screws to door panel [unhook 2 wires to upper RT rear to door switch].Remove 4 5/16in hex screws to front bulkhead panel.Allow drum to sag IN PLACE [removal not required to replace belt],note belt location and slide old belt off and new one on
Replace Bulheald and door panel [re-attach door switch wires].Complete install by lifting belt pulley and feeding new belt into place. Hand rotate drum to ensure proper belt allignment and tracking. Replace lower panel. Vacuum interior as necessary. Parts delivered in 3days and fit perfectly.

The repair looked simple enough until it came time to take the out wheel off. Because you can not hold the motor shaft(and the wheel screws on) it was necessary to remove the whole motor assembly and then grind the out shaft down, then use a small screwdriver to take the remaining shaft off.
I must say it was nice to recieve the part in as fast as I did we live in a very rural area and things like that are very hard to find

First of all I would not have done this if it wasn't for
your website. Using the schematics to figure out
the right parts was easy. It was also helpful in the
actual repair process. I have added your website
to my favorites in my browser. The parts arrived in 3 days and I live in Reno. Great Website.

M.B.

I pretty much followed a lot of the earlier postings on partselect.com that provided encouragement to pursue replacing this part on my 17 year old dryer (sorry, money is tight these days and I prefer repair to $800 replacement).

I'd like to add that I borrowed a pair of snap-ring pliers from work which made removal and later securing of roller onto shaft much easier and probably avoided a lot of knuckle bruising and cursing.

I erred though in a couple of places during the replacement. Disassembly took about 20 minutes. However, when I re-assembled I had mistakenly already put the roller onto the shaft before trying to put the drum back in. That isn't possible so I had to remove (an initial groan but only a few extra minutes in the end) the roller from the shaft, then reposition the drum and then the roller back on the shaft.

I also decided to replace the belt while I was in there and I should have taken a picture or made a drawing of the belt route before I took it off since I was later left pondering how the heck to snake the belt onto the shaft and also the tensioner. A quick trip to the internet though showed me a similar route and reminded me how to route it.

I'd also like to add to be cognizant of the wires on the door and front panel when disassembling.

Anyone with any sense of mechanical ability and a little common sense ought to be able to do this repiar.

Thanks Part Select!

did basic diagnostics to narrow down the problem to be likely one of the three parts include w/ the kit. removed front panel and confirmed that part looked like the one on the web page. part arrived 3 business days after ordering.
used nutdriver to remove two screws holding old part in place. pulled old part out still attached to wiring harness and assembled new part and attached wires the same way as the old part. installed new part, plugged in dryer and confirmed that it was heating. replaced front pannel and dryer is now working as well as ever. hardest part was reaching to the back of the dryer from the front while lying on the floor. total cost was cheaper than a service call, let alone paying for parts and labor from a service tech.