[Dobermann]

Poor thing... she's screaming at me, begging for help, begging for the pain to stop. She turns, she heats up, heck, she would even do her job but for the tears she pulls from my eyes. I cannot stand listening to her suffering, so I put her out of her misery for a while.

But being the task master than I am, after a while I cannot resist and must once again ask her to do her job. But again, the screaming and whining starts up straightaway. As best I can tell, it sounds like it is coming from her back side. No sounds of whips or chains, just non-stop screaming. It can't possibly be good for her.

I'm going to have to unplug her life support and open her up. I will check her rollers during this exploratory investigation, but what else should I have a look at?

Thanks,
Dobermann

[sidfink43]

Go ahead and replace the rollers, belt and idler assembly and you should be all set.

[Dobermann]

Thanks! I will read up on what I need to do and get the parts ordered this weekend. Hopefully it will be easy (and cheap) to fix.

Dobermann

[Dobermann]

Which idler assy did you have in mind? There are four different ones found here:

Motor and fan assemblies replacement parts for AMANA LGA60AL | AppliancePartsPros.com

Two are item #16s and two are item #999s that each look different, not just different mfg.

Thanks,
Dobermann

[SublimeMasterJW]

The drum rides on plastic glides. They get thin and start metal to metal like brake shoes. Is that what you hear? The rollers will have a thump or a growl if they get bad but not much of a squeal. Anything is possible though.
Unplug it. Start here on older models:

Pull the base towards you:

Newer models:

Maytag/Crosley/Admiral innards:

Aman/Speed queen innards:

[Dobermann]

Well, I took her panels off and had a look inside. I vacuumed out a bunch of lint and WD40'd the inside moving parts. As it turns out, it has a new belt and new rollers. I now remember that this was done by someone else less than a year ago.

I squirted the rollers as best I could, but I could not squirt the rear side of the rollers as the drum was still in. I also could not spray one other area where the belt went around, but I did let it drip down onto that area from above. I dread taking out the drum...

I discovered that there was a small gas shut off valve inside the unit, as I had to open it back up after I closed it as it ran, spun, was quiet, but did not heat up. So by the end of the day, it was finally running quietly with heat. I was happy... all was at peace with the world.

But wait! There's more! Today when I go to use it, it starts to start up by turning a few seconds, then it just stops. It does not matter if I hold the control button, it still dies.

I tried to fake it out by having the lid open and seeing if I could help the drum spin when switching it on. This made no difference. If I try it too often, the motor says that's it for now and stops dead. When I come back, I get the same problem of it not staying running.

Suggestions???

Dobermann

[SublimeMasterJW]

Well if it trys fer a sec then quits it must be the motor. Does it seem hard to turn the drum? How did the glides look in front? They are kinda small and easy to miss. If the plastic is gone the felt pad will pinch with heavy wet clothes in there.
The Glide

[Dobermann]

It's not too hard to move most times. It only turns in one direction.

I ended up taking out the drum anyway. I looked at the glides, and both of them had lots of plastic on them still. I took some picts of them and can upload them tomorrow if need be. I cleaned the area they slide on the drum and WD40'd that, too.

Put it all back together, and it does the same thing. It tries to start, then just stops after about one second.

So you think it might be the motor? Maybe something else?

Thanks!
Dobermann

[SublimeMasterJW]

check the stiffness and play in the motor. An old HVAC trick is to make some 1/8th inch holes in the rotten cotton wells on each side of this non repairable throw away motor and add some high temp resistant non flammable Zoomspout oil. Work the motor loose and retry.

[Dobermann]

Thank you for this info and all your help. I think I am going to toss in the towel on it at this point, as last night Mom offered to give me her gas dryer. Swapping that is much easier at this point. I think it is a little smaller, but it works.

Again, thanks for all your help,
Dobermann