Friday, 2 Sep 2022
This model
A few days ago I heard a nasty clunk when opening the dishwasher door. The next day my wife noticed that the door wanted to flop down instead of holding its position. OK. Must have broken the door spring mechanism
I took a pic of the model number and went looking for the parts list for that model. Found. There is a spring replacement kit. Great. Wonder what a service call would cost.
$160 for showing up and diagnosing the problem, $160/hour to fix, plus the cost of the parts. That’s about 1/4 the cost of a new dishwasher. No thanks. Ours is 8 years old and still works great other than the door. Should be lots of life left in the unit.
I search for the spring kit by part number and found plenty available. Ordered. Next stop was YouTube where I found a how to video. Yeah, this job should be pretty easy. Added benefit is that the new springs are an improvement in the way they attach, reducing a common failure point.
Wednesday, 07 Sep 2022
New springs
with instructions
Cleaned
The new springs arrived a few days ago but we’re in a heat wave and house air conditioning is mid install. Today was cool enough to do the job. I started by cleaning out under the sink – it needed it – and unplugging the dishwasher. I think I’ve got enoughfeed and drain line that I don’t need to touch them. I did shut off the water just in case.
Broke on right side
Broken spring removed
Replaced spring on left, too
Two screws removed and the dishwasher almost slid out like it should. Except there is a little step between where the dishwasher sits and the kitched floor tile. Two more screws removed to get access to the feet to lever them over the step.
The plastic fixture holding a pull cord to the spring on the right side is what broke. I broke some more plastic bits removing the spring. The YouTube video said that was quite likely to happen and no big deal as the improved kit doesn’t used the broken piece to hold the spring in place.
New spring installed on the right. Repeat on the left. Getting the cord to attach to the spring is harder than is should be and resulted in a slight skin pinch on one finger. It’s not a successful home job unless some blood flows.
With both springs in place I slid the dishwasher back under the counter and screwed it in place. The feet were adjusted until the bottom was level and the door shut properly. With the kick cover back in place I turned the water back on and plugged in the unit. Done.