LE8207W2 (PLE8207W2) Amana Dryer - Instructions

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.

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.

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.

Unplug the dryer. Remove bottom panel by removing the two retaining nuts. Unplug the motor cable connections. Remove the blower unit. Remove the two screws holding the motor down. Release the belt by slipping it off the tension pulley. Slide the motor out carefully.

I had to replace the idler pulley shaft. The pulley had scored the shaft and was digging into it causing the excessive noise. Reinstall the new shaft and pulley. You will need to remove and re-attach the retaining ring.

I took the opportunity to then blow out the motor unit. It was filled with lint. I then decided to replace the original belt.

You need to unscrew the rear retaining clips and use a putty knife or (I ended up using a small tire tool) to lift and separate the top. I then slide the belt up to the front of the drum. I unscrewed each bolt from the drum and removed the belt at each corner. By doing this it kept the drum aligned with the unit. Then just reverse the process to install the new belt.

Re-install the parts in order of removal. Done. Total repair took about 45 minutes. Would have been quicker except I forgot to re-attach the power clip to the motor and had to remove the unit again.

Noise is gone, dryer runs like a champ, hopefully for another ten years.

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

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.

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.

Removed bottom front panel by two screws. glide brackets at about 8 and 4 o'clock positions, with screws coming in from the back. The replacement glide bracket and two drum glide will be needed. I drilled out the screw holes and used the original screws because replacement screws were too short and the screws go in from the front on the replacement glide bracket. You will need to slightly raise the front of the drum to install the glide brackets correctly. the reinstall the front cover.

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.

Followed the recommended repair under noisy machine, replacing the 3 recommended parts. The 10 minute video was extremely helpful. Important note: there are two(2) drum support rollers. Also, you definitely need very small C ring pliers and don't forget to label all wires before disconnecting.

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!

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.

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.

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.