LEC50AW (PLEC50AW) Amana Dryer - Instructions

watched video for Each Part

All you need for a Maytag is a snub nose Philips screw driver. The screws on the front panel are at the bottom angled down, so a regular length Phillip's won't work. Just unscrew the 2 screws, then lift the panel up and out. Careful not to pull out too far, there are 2 wires attached to the switch. The replacement switch is NOT an exact copy of the old one. My Maytag is over 30 years old and it only had 2 prongs on the switch. The new one has 3. Don't let that throw you. It is the same size. Just attach, 1 wire to the bronze connector & the other to the silver. Push the switch into the door opening, re-attach the door. Total time 20 minutes. Saved well over $100 in a service call. Anyone with an IQ above freezing can do it.

Remove screws to top of appliance lid and control panel paying close attention to location and type of screws. Lift back of top panel and lift off front top lid until it snaps up. Slide top panel to side and remove upper front panel screws from the inside of dryer one on left and one on right. Be careful to not let front door fall outward. Slide door panel up off of hooks at base of panel. Remove duct assembly by removing three screws located on the inside of the dryer at the front. Slide out and remove air duct assembly.

Removing the High Limit Thermal Fuse was straight forward. Didn't really understand the online instructions but performed a continuity test across terminals and there was no continuity, so I replaced.

Repare took 1-2 hours, next time will probably cut in half now that I know where to remove screws to access motors & fuses and dryer assemblies at base of dryer.

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.

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.

I used a large flat head screwdriver to lift top up, then located 2 screws in the top right and left hand side to remove front. Remove the three Phillip Head Screws that holds the assy in place slide out. Mine had 2 metal pieces with wires. I simply unplugged and took metal pieces and installed in the new assy. Remove excess lint put front back on lowered lid and done! 15-20 minutes

took one out - put new one in

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!

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!

Once I was able to take apart the door assembly, I was able to determine that I needed the lint duct assembly. The parts website was very helpful with diagrams and explanations so that I could order the part with confidence. Since laundry is so important in our house I paid for expedited shipping. The part arrived in Florida less than 24 hours after it was ordered and soon after it was installed and the dryer was working properly.

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.

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.

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.

unpluged the dryer,and removed the top.
took the front of the dryer off,release the belt and removed the drum.
unbolted the idler lever.

then I put it back together.
the bolt that holds the idler lever will be a little hard to replace for some.

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.