ALE643RBW (PALE643RBW) Amana Dryer - Instructions

Took dryer apart, and found that the idler arm pulley was in pieces. Ordered the replacement from Partselect.com. Received part very promptly. Decided to also order a new belt, and that arrived in a very timely manner also. Put the parts in, and assembled the dryer. This was for my 90 year old grandmother, and she is ever so pleased that it is up and running again. Completed the repairs for about $50, and saved big money by doing it myself versus a service call, that would have boiled down to replacing the unit for the price it would have cost to fix. Will use partselect in the future for all my appliance repairs, as they offer a great selection of parts for all different appliances. Very pleased with satisfied with quality, and service from Partselect.com

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.

Removed bottom panel, lint vent assembly, door assembly, removed belt, drum, then heating element from back panel. Unplugged wires from heating element and put them on new element in same order screwed the element back in then all the steps in reverse order. Now I have heat when I run the dryer.
Partselect was extremely fast in shipping my order. I will shop here again!

Replaced the two drum rollers and the tensioning arm roller. NOTES: 1. There are two drum rollers, the diagram seems to show only one. Recommend replacing both drum rollers and the support bracket shaft assemblies since the shafts might be scored. 2. The tensioning arm roller was actually much worse and frozen, so once you are in it is best to replace ALL three rollers. 3. I also replaced the belt since it was worse for wear from the frozen rollers. 4. The PartSelect video for the procedure is for the Whirlpool branded version of this dryer. The internal parts and construction are identical, however, the initial steps for opening up the dryer are different. On the Amana the top also tilts up, but is held down by two bolts, and not just the spring clips. Steps are: a) Remove bottom kick plate which is held in by two bolts on the lower front edge. b) remove the retention bolts that are now exposed on the front panel and remove the front panel by pulling it down from the top spring clips. c) Unbolt and remove the front drum retention panel. d) The two bolts that hold down the top can now be removed and the top panel tilted up so the drum can be lifted out after the belt is loosened. The whole process is very quick and easy. Only tricky part is fumbling around behind the motor to move the tensioning roller and arm to remove and re-install the belt. Also, I had cheap spring clip pliers so I was fumbling with the spring clips that hold the rollers on their shafts.

watched video for Each Part

Removed lower front panel.

Removed door assembly* making note of the wire positions on the door switch
* When removing the door assembly DO NOT LET IT DROP DOWN! Doing so will destroy the door switch. Swing the door assembly upward from the bottom toward you as high as it will go then pull it free.

Removed the drum and belt assembly.

Removed the idler pulley and idler pully spring.

Vacuumed up the interior dryer floor and blew out the motor w/ comp air. Also cleaned the ribbed motor pulley with a nylon brush and brake cleaner sprayed on a shop towel.

Removed the drum tires and cleaned their shafts and internal bearing sleeves with brake cleaner sprayed on a shop towel.

Reinstalled the drum tires after lubricating their shafts with a very light coat of general purpose grease.

Replaced the idler pulley and idler pulley spring after cleaning and lubing shaft and pulley bearing as done on the drum tires.

Reinstalled the drum with the new belt (ribbed side down) roughly in place.

Reinstalled the front door assembly after reconnecting it's wiring making sure to insert it's top locking tabs with the bottom of the door held up high then swung down into place

Tensioned the belt by positioning the flat side of the belt that comes down the right side of the drum over the idler pulley flat side down and then the ribbed side of the belt over the motor shaft. You will have to move the idler pulley arm to apply full tension against the spring in order to have the slack to get it around the motor shaft.

Reinstalled the lower front panel.

Checked dryer operation OK.

This repair was rated a bit difficult because I didn't know the trick for removing/installing the door assembly and destroyed the switch. Furthermore, putting the belt back on is a somewhat difficult challenge because you have to do it mostly by feel

I watched the repair video and followed the instruction given to replace the belt. The instructions were easy to follow and to the point. The one thing that was not covered was to vacuum the interior prior to closing the dryer up.

Door switch was very easy to replace as it simply snaps in for the outside and you just clip on the two control wires that already have clips on them.

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.

There was no repair, just replacing the old, wornout lint filter. But I wanted to thank you for the ease in finding the part and for your prompt delivery. I really appreciate that. If we need any other parts we will order them from you.
Thanks again!

My repair was very easy, the lint trap just comes assembled like when you buy the dryer. However, I had a hard time finding the dryer part at a store.
Part select had the item, they made it really easy to find online. The best part is how fast I received it! My dryer broke the day before thanksgiving (wednesday) i ordered the part that night and had it saturday morning! and thats with thursday being thanksgiving! I didnt even the pay extra for faster shipping! I would use them again and recommend them!

Changed, got in aimed wrong direction-best to take a digital photo before you disassemble. Overtightened bolt and nut in assembly, it seized. Attempted to drill/grind it off, should have removed motor. Drill skipped up into motor windings. Could have replaced dryer, decided not, fixed by ordering motor, mount, nut and bolt and new belt idler. Reassembly was a snap till the gremlins hit again and I lost one of the drum glides. After a trip across town, I reassembled and it was good to go. Disassembly, use a screw driver to pry up the top, use the nut driver to remove upper front left and right screws, lift front forward and off bottom hooks. You have to release the wiring harness, it has four connectors. Use a sharpy marker and write the wire colors next to the plug-ins connectors you pull gently off and set the door aside. The second wires are two wires for the inner assembly which again need to be marked for color and then pulled loose. Pull them through the plastic hold down so they're out of the way. Use nut driver to remove four screws from inner drum holder, pry gently off dryer blower. Reaching around both sides of the blower housing find the belt tensioner, pull it to the right, push the belt out of it. Lift the drum out, up slightly over the back rollers. Set aside. Use the nut driver to remove the screws into the base holding the motor mount down, now lift the motor/blower assembly forward and pull gently loose from the dryer vent pipe. Set it up where you can work on it. Using the nut driver, take the screws off the blower housing, use a vise grip to secure the motor and use a 7/8 inch turning counter clockwise to remove the turbine. Use the nut driver to remove the screws holding the turbine housing in place, pop the motor clips off. Pull the motor off and remove the nut and bolt of the belt idler assembly using a wrench on the back and a socket wrench on the other side. Reverse order to reassemble, when tightening the idler arm tighten it to where you feel it stop but not any further. Put the belt around the drum again, get it in the previous location on the drum, feel around the drum to make sure belt isn't twisted, bring belt in from the back between the idler wheel and the vent pipe in a loop (Make sure the belt is behind the tension spring rather than in front), Tip the idler arm upward, use the other hand to slide the belt loop up over the motor pulley. One final note is this being a Maytag you might write these direction on the inside of the front panel for next time.

Removed all of the front outer bolts holding in the lower plate, front door assembly, drum outer frame and drum. While removing the outer sheel there are colored wire connections that activate the linterior light and door sensors in which I marked the interior sheel with a marker so I knew which wire went where. Before removing the drum I drew a sketch on how the belt is ran thru the pullys and around the drum, so I would have no problem reinstaLLING IT.The rooler bracket was easily removed with a socket wrench and the retaining wring was pried with a pliers. Reinstallation of the shaft, roller and ring were as simple as removal. I then cleaned the entire interior and lint basket for optimal performance. The most difficult part is pulling the belt back around the drum, but still not very difficult. Finally I reattached nall removed parts as they were removed and I now have a like new dryer for about $20.00 vs, buying anew one or repair fees costing Hundred$ OF DOLLERS.
Thanks Partsselect.com Again!

Remove the two screws on the lower front panel. It is easier if you remove the three screws for the venting.I couldn't beleive the amount of lint trapped in there a fire hazard.The heater core is on the lower left corner in the back of the dryer.Remove the two screws and pull the old heater core out.The wires are long enough to pull all the way out.Attach wires from the old one one at a time so you don't mix one up. Then reinstall reversing the above procedure.

The belt tensioner was the problem and the belt had very fine cracks in it so I ordered four parts: the belt tensioner, belt and the two drum rollers. I had to work to clean the fan and the LARGE dust bunnies. I'm writing this to encourage others to consider installing new duct work, mine was becoming a fire hazard. At a minimum clean all the duct work. Your dryer will work so much better. Thank you for your printable help!??