Sluggish Washing Machine

[sunedog]

I'm looking for some troubleshooting advice on an Amana washing machine. I know we have at least one former Maytag repairman here.

9 year old Amana "Commercial Quality" top loader model LWA50AW.

My wife tried to wash a lot of beach towels at one time. About mid way through the cycle, she told me the washer sounded funny and the plastic tray under the washer was nearly full of water. I checked and the machine was definitely sluggish. It was full of water and the agitator moved, but very slowly. We took almost all the towels out and let it continue the cycle. It sounded better. Since then, the machine still seems sluggish compared to what we remember. There is no more water in the catch tray.

I wrote the Repair Guru at repairclinic.com and all they said was "We may have burnt the belt or damaged the motor which you might inspect." Sounds reasonable.

I assume I can see if the belt is damaged by visual inspection (maybe a sniff test, too). Any other suggestions?

How do I test the motor to determine if it is damaged?

I was expecting them to tell me the pump is the likely source of the leak. Any way to test it? Can I run the machine with the covers off so I can see if it leaks?

TIA

[KarTek]

I'd agree the belt is the number one suspect. They can be difficult to change but not impossible for the average DIY'er. I have no idea where the water came from...

[865sp300e]

Here is how to access the inside of your Amana washer:
http://www.applianceaid.com/amana-wash.html#access

Having the repair manual is a good to have if you want to fix it yourself:
Service manual, Amana/Speed Queen 1 belt style washers

Here is a parts diagram and it shows you how it is routed:
http://www3.sears.com/imaging/ImageP...&titleID=00005

Here is the belt, in case others need to order it too:
Belt

[sunedog]

Excellent website. Can't wait to dive into my machine (figuretively speaking). Unfortunately, I'm heading out of town for about 10 days and won't have an opportunity to try any of these until I get back.

Thanks!

[sunedog]

Following up to report I was able to fix it. Thank you for the resources listed above.

When I got the covers off, the belt was obviously shot. It was cracked every inch or so on the inside and a big chunk was missing. The pump had some water on top of it. Since the hoses looked good and the clamps were tight, I figured the pump must be leaking somewhere. So I replaced the belt and pump and the machine works fine now. Total cost was around $80 in parts.

I took advantage of the repair guru at repairclinic.com. They provided detailed instructions on how much to take apart and in what order. I suspect they pulled the procedure out of an archive and didn't write it specifically for me, but it was specific to my model washer and exactly what I needed.

[Mistress]

Sune- That's great. When can we bring our dirty laundry down for a test run?

[sunedog]

Originally Posted by Mistress

Sune- That's great. When can we bring our dirty laundry down for a test run?

How about this weekend? But I have to warn you, my washer doesn't have a "leather" cycle.

[Mistress]

Originally Posted by sunedog

How about this weekend? But I have to warn you, my washer doesn't have a "leather" cycle.

O.K. I'll bring down the "pleather," that can go on the gentle cycle.

[JenTay]

Originally Posted by sunedog

I'm looking for some troubleshooting advice on an Amana washing machine. I know we have at least one former Maytag repairman here.


TIA

We had a similar problem. It turned out that the the "dogs" were worn. I'm not kidding. That's what they are called.

The dogs are basically unidirectional cogs that are made of plastic. they wear out and they pretty cheap and easy to replace. I would start here before looking at belts or motors.

From memory, i think the agitator cap pops off. There is one main nut holding it down. Then the whole agitator comes out. The dogs are then released (sorry, i couldn't resist) by pulling out the top half of the agitator. the dogs cost about $2 each. there are 4 dogs in there.

Hope that helps

[sunedog]

Thanks for the info Jennifer. But mine was definitely the belt. It was only hanging on by threads.

You are invited, however, to join Mistress and me this weekend when we take it for a test run.

Wonder what we can do to kill time while we wash our skivvies...

[Johnhef]

Think you all can figure out whats up with my Dryer?
I'm leaning toward a worn out motor- You get one start with it, if it runs for 5 minutes and you stop it, it wont start again till after a "cool down" period. It will also cut out on its own after 10 minutes or so and we're not able to restart it. I popped the back of the unit off but didnt see anything out of the ordinary, havent been able to get to the drive motor yet.

[Larry Delor]

Electric Dryer?
Does it sound like it is making an attempt to turn over (hum)? If you do, my amateur self thinks it could be a capacitor.
My next suspect would be a temp limit switch gone awry.

[mpolli]

If it is humming that is a clue as was just said.

Does it have different modes such as auto, timed, etc? If so will it work in a different mode? I have seen some that don't work on auto but work on timed for example.

[Tymbrymi]

How's the airflow? If there is enough lint in the rest of the dryer (that screen doesn't catch anywhere near all of it) the airflow could be blocked a bit (or there could be a kink in the hose). If the airflow is blocked there won't be enough air to keep the heater element cool... there could be an overtemp limit on that element so the house doesn't burn down.

The other thoughts on the motor sound pretty good too. Especially with the 5 minute restart thing.

[KarTek]

Might just need a thorough cleaning - vacuum out the discharge pipe, the motor cooling vents, etc...